# Sainsmart 3018 stepper motor issue



## VladaJ (Sep 20, 2021)

Hi everyone,
Found this forum and I would appreciate your help, as I am desperate.
I operate a Sainsmart 3018 Pro CNC router as a small side business. Until recently everything worked like a charm but couple days ago the Z axis stopped moving.
My first go-to was cleaning the board and checking the cables. As I switched Z axis cable for the Y axis on both the stepper motor and the control board, the Z axis worked as usual. So I bought replacement cable and tought all is good now, but once the new cable came and I replaced it, the Y axis didn’t work. This got me confused, as anything I did, only two axis were working fine and the third was stuck. There was initial noise from the stepper motor, but it didn’t move.
So I tought the control board is somehow dead and bought a new one with hopes the issue will be over. Today I got the new control board, connected all the cables, but the issue persists, again on Z-axis. All the trials I did were with the USB cable disconnected and only via the cable remote controller, that came with the CNC.
Any hints on what might be wrong, as if only two axis are connected to control board it works ok, once I connect the third one it causes the last one added to not work.
Thank you


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the router forum Vladaj
I am sure someone can help you be patience takes a while for people to see your post


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## VladaJ (Sep 20, 2021)

Thank you Semipro. I decided to battle further and i tried all possible things today with the machine. I dismantled the Z and X axis stepper motors and switched the housings, which still didn’t solve it, but hinted that it might be coming from the Z axis stepper motor. Even got it to move slightly with gentle push on the spindle cradle. But it moved up and down at the same time, so hopefully I have found the culprit.
Ordered a replacement and will change it once it arrives. Since the issue was present also with the new control board I think this might really be it and should also rule out any possible issue coming from the control board itself.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum @VladaJ


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum.


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## Rev. A (Jan 29, 2021)

As soon as you realize what you have uses stepper motors you're screwed. The slightest resistance to getting the axis to where you intend in the time it calculates it should take is thrown off. You have to use encoders or scales made to control axis positioning.


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