I recently obtained a Denford Triac. The machine has at some point been upgraded to USB control. I have setup a new PC (Windows 7) to control it and have installed the current version of VR Milling. When I tested the new PC with the TRIAC the X axis, Y axis and spindle control work but the Z axis fails to home (there is no movement in the Z axis and I believe it was already homed). An error message stating the operation timed out is displayed after the Z axis position in the GUI increments. The Z axis does not move under manual jog control.
The Triac was working with a PC that came with the mill (running an older version of VR Milling). I will try the old PC on Monday but was hoping the forum could suggest steps to fix the issue. Should I clean the home switch as suggested by the error message help?


CNC Guru


Try the secret home button then see if it jogs.
If it fails to jog then check the drives in the rack to make sure the Z has not slid out. You could also change the Z with the X to try.
Failing that remove the top colum cover plate & check that the Z axis motor is energised.
If it fails to jog then check the drives in the rack to make sure the Z has not slid out. You could also change the Z with the X to try.
Failing that remove the top colum cover plate & check that the Z axis motor is energised.

Thanks for the pointers. It was, however, cleaning the home switch that fixed the problem.