X Axis being tempramental !!!

[shindax]

Hi All,
I have an old Redsail 50w laser cutter which up until now has been working well.
Recently the X axis has been doing strange things.

1. when moved to the limit stop on the far left a graunching noise occurs and the stepper motor seems to judder judder.

2. X axis on occasion will not travel the full distance of the bed to the right hand side.

3. When trying to engrave in this situation the laser head moves slowly for about 2 minutes then suddenly speeds up to normal speed which then steps the rest of the engraving out of place.

Have any of you experienced this and have any advice to help ? The rest of the functions of the machine are working well its just the X axis problem driving me nuts.

Thanks in advance

Dave

[m_c]

Graunching could be the motor stalling, either due to something mechanical, or electrical.

I'd be checking for any mechanical issues (binding etc), then checking for any wiring/connection problems.

[shindax]

Thanks for your reply I will check the mechanical fixings. Concerned about the slow start to engraving then suddenly going back to full speed and full travel !!