I suggest getting these, it’ll make the task easy
I don’t know what your debating… i said theres a 36v power supply in there… you said there wasn’t… now you’re saying there is.
Go ahead tap into the masso power input lines… what’s the worst that could happen? At the very least you have to tap into the negative for a relay anyways. I bought those dual line splices as that was my original plan
Possible that i got it wrong, will double check that. However i did have to buck down the power to my driver…for the Nema17. Probably just old age. Sometimes i have to ask what year it is…
“Should”
Let us know how it works out for you… after all its only 20 something bucks for a power supply. I was advised not to, but FAFO
There’s no shake rattle roll, and it’s a spring that when power is applied it passes signal thru without impedence on the motor, but if power is removed the spring let’s go and freezes the male shaft locking it in place.
Btw i didn’t say it was 36v going to masso. I know it’s 24v, all i know is its safe to do it the way i did it. I met a guy that after i did stupid stuff said he would take me under his preherbial wing so as i don’t kill some thing or some one
If you don’t want a brake, what are you doing in this thread, trolling?
I was referring to today…
There’s someone who sells something called the zee keeper or something. An aluminum rolled spring of sorts
We feel the need to quickly interject with all the talk of opening the power supply, adding breaks, etc.
The few chatting seem pretty experienced, but there’s thousands of users reading who aren’t responding with little to no knowledge of anything this thread discuses.
Opening the power supply is not recommended. ‘Tapping’ into anything inside, etc., will void your warranty. Adding aftermarket parts may void your warranty.
If you value your warranty, don’t do any of these things. If you love to tinker, go for it! Just know it may come at a cost!
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For the record, i didn’t do anything in there more than look. Had to do something while i was waiting for the rest of my machine and playing masso emulator only goes so far. Too many thingy ma-jigs and what-cha-ma-whove’s that are probably important too mess with
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”
I know, the conversation got out of hand, and I contributed to that, so for that I’m sorry.
If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is 
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So I measured the voltage from onefinity’s power connections and sure enough it was 36 volts dc…so im not as old as i thought i was
This is the box I printed, and the buck to drop the voltage for the 4th axis driver, it was 36v in dropped to 24v through the buck to get the rotary happily turning. As stated I intend to change out rotary with a new unit and swap in a masso motor with driver built in. Should clean things up .
Also in case your wondering why some of us using spindles want a brake. I included photos of damage to the rotary head and taistock to let you know what can happen when you need an emergency stop. In this case it just cost me bit, and live center.
I also agree with onefinity’s position on this. I wouldn’t advise anyone to go into a perfectly working machine and start tinkering.
In my case I have built two cnc routers. I also was a trained machinist complements of the USAF. My electronics knowledge was obtained through the school of hard knocks. A very expensive way to learn, so that’s why I follow along on these threads, but it only takes one mistake to fry your expensive machine.
Or fry yourself 
Don’t open the power box 
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As a non tech I just have to ask. is the z20 dropping on emergency stop problem been fixed on the machines now shipping? Is there a simple solution if it hasn’t been? Ps i am not going inside the masso controller.
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Hey Robert,
the answer is no respectively to both of your questions 
I was asked for simple possible solution, my answer is here.
The solution in the industry would be using a stepper motor with integrated brake, that passively prevents the stepper turning as soon as power is gone. Such steppers are available as standard part, but not the Elite/Masso stepper as found on the Elite machines.
A quick workaround would be Jim’s method which is putting a block of wood where the spindle could come down. A real fix would be to use the restoring force of a constant-force spring (see balancer / positioner / retractor). There were some propositions in this forum, e.g. here, here, and here. Here is a recent solution.
I think if you want to retrofit a brake like this to an existing Elite/Masso Z stepper, then you can simply continue to follow this thread (@ChrisS attempt).
Note that in terms of safety, a spindle coming down with gravity on emergency stop or on power loss is a nightmare. Here I wrote about Emergency Stop Categories.
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We’ve introduced a new add on, the z-20 motor brake. This is a plug and play solution that requires no extra hardware, wiring, or external drivers. When power is removed from the machine, the motor locks in place holding your spindle and z-slider in their current location. We’ve tested this up to 150lbs. of holding force. This break is an Official Onefinity product, therefore, it is officially supported and will not void your warranty.
See more here:
11/28/23
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