Error Messages

This error message is typically caused by the controller board losing contact with one of the encoders. This can happy for several reasons, but the most common is dust in the Ethernet connectors. The Ethernet connectors use a spring loaded contact which makes contact in just one place, if dust gets in there vibrations while cutting can lead to intermittent connection. The solution is to use computer duster to clean both ends of the connector. Sealing the connector with hot glue can also help. The decision to replace the Ethernet connectors with JST-XH connectors was done because of this issue.

This error message occurs during the calibration process when the machine is confused.

This one is triggered when the math is telling the machine to do something which is not possible in reality, for example that to move to the left the left belts need to get longer (which is obviously not true since when moving left the left belts should always get shorter).

To fix this issue try restarting the calibration process. If your calibration process has already completed the first step it will have saved that information and it will use it when the process is restarted to be more precise.

If you are seeing this error before the first step of the calibration process has completed double check your measurements for how large the frame is and try entering some slightly different initial guesses for the width and height of the frame.

This error can occur at the beginning of the calibration process when the initial frame dimensions are significantly smaller than what the machine is observing in the real world.

Try increasing your frame size and re-run calibration.

This error can occur at the beginning of the calibration process when the initial frame dimensions are significantly larger than what the machine is observing in the real world.

Try decreasing your frame size and re-run calibration.

When Maslow4 powers up it does not know the length of it’s belts (even if they are already retracted). Pressing the retract all button will pull the belts in until they are fully retracted putting the machine in a state where it knows exactly how long the belts are (zero length).

The belts cannot be extended until this is done.

The calibration process cannot be run until after the belts have been retracted and then fully extended.

If you are seeing this error message, but you believe that your belts are already fully extended try giving them an extra tug. You will know that your belts are fully extended when you hear the cooling fan turn off.

Take slack cannot be run until after the belts have been retracted and then fully extended.

If you are seeing this error message, but you believe that your belts are already fully extended try giving them an extra tug. You will know that your belts are fully extended when you hear the cooling fan turn off.

This error occurs when the machine is sending calibration data to your computer to process, but the computer does not acknowledge that the data has been received.

Generally this error should fix itself. The machine will try to send the data again in 30 seconds.

This error occurs after pressing the “Apply Tension” button when the machine measures that the frame size does not match with what it expects to see.

When this occurs the machine will shutdown to prevent it from damaging itself.

To fix this issue run calibration or determine if something else is wrong (for example one belt is not connected)

This error message occurs when the controller board is repeatedly unable to connect to one of the encoders.

To fix this issue check that the encoder is plugged in fully and clean the connector with compressed air.

This error message occurs when the controller board is repeatedly unable to connect to one of the encoders.

To fix this issue check that the encoder is plugged in fully and clean the connector with compressed air.

If you are seeing this error message on start up before moving the machine it could be a faulty encoder board, encoder wire, or controller board. To determine which is the issue try plugging the encoder into a different port on the controller board. If the issue stays with the same arm (for example Top Left") then the issue is on the controller board side. If the issue moves to a the new port that it is plugged into then the issue is the encoder board.

This looks like an error message, but it’s totally safe to ignore.

Whenever the z-axis moves to a new location it’s position is saved in nonvolatile storage so that if the machine is turned off it will remember when it comes back on.

The very first time the machine turns on it will try to load the z-axis position and will not be able to find anything (because it has never been saved). Once the machine is calibrated for the first time this message will go away.

This error happens when the machine receives a command to move while it is locked. To fix this error click the red “Alarm” button and it will become green and say “Idle”.

This error message occurs in two separate occasions.

First and most commonly, you will see this error message any time that the firmware crashes. After a crash the machine will boot up into “safe” mode which does not use the maslow.yaml file (otherwise a corrupt .yaml file could lead to an infinite loop of starting up and crashing). To clear this message turn the machine off and back on again.

Second, this message can be caused by a corrupted maslow.yaml file. If you see this error message every time the machine boots up, fix any issues in the .yaml file or replace the .yaml file with one which is working.

This error occurs when the config settings cannot be saved because they are invalid. Restarting the machine will fix the issue, but the configuration changes will not be saved.