Denford Software & Machines

The Z axis on my Microrouter Compact will move in the opposite direction to the one been requested and will just stop moving after a few seconds

With regard to your Microrouter Compact problem of the Z axis moving in an unpredictable manner.

If you see the attached picture, can you remove the back panel on the machine and unplug the Z and X axis motor plugs and swap them over, there is no need to loosen any wires but check they are secure in their respective plugs.
Having done this, power the machine back up and see if the fault is transferred to the X axis, if it is it could mean that the control board is faulty, if the problem stays with the Z axis then it could be a broken motor wire or faulty motor.
To check for a broken motor wire, with an electrical meter set to resistance (Ohms) probe the BROWN and ORANGE wires and then the RED and YELLOW wires on the Z axis plug, if the motor wires and internals are OK you should get about 1 Ohm resistance on each pair of wires, if you get OPEN CIRCUIT indicated on the meter then a wire or the motor may be faulty

NB, the orange motor connectors may have black plastic slide pins which prevent you from getting the connectors in the wrong place.

You will have to remove the pins on the plugs in order to swap them.

Note: If you do this the home button for the Z will jog the wrong axis so will never complete the home move.

You may want to use the secret home button to allow the machine into jog mode without homing.


To do this refer to:

VRMilling 5
viewtopic.php?t=62&highlight=secret

VR Milling 2
viewtopic.php?t=53&highlight=secret

I seemed to have the same problem - z axis works sometimes and not others, plus it reverses up/down direction occasionally. Tried your diagnosis directions (VERY HELPFUL) and found broken (red) wire on stepper motor above z axis where wire enters the motor.....Do you have a fix for this? My machine is less than 5 months old!

I'm sure it will be covered under warranty - contact our Customer Services 01484 728000 to organise a visit or replacement to be sent.