I have a 4 axis shop built CNC using a Xylotex parallel 8 wire stepper motors. I am using Mach 3 for the controls. Here what happened. I was using the machine all was fine. While the machine was idle (not moving for a few minutes, less than 5) one of the motors started to hum. It was loud enough to get my attention. I used the arrow keys and move all the motors, the noise stopped immediately. A few seconds later, the noise started again. As I investigated which motor was the issue, I hear a snap from my drive board and the motors went dead. The board no longer works. My question; what happened... I checked all the connections to make sure there wasn't a crossed wire or some type of fault/short. everything was tight and in the proper place. Did the board just give up? There was a small amount of wood dust on the board, but not a lot. Wood dust is non conductive so I assume this was not the problem. Is one of the motors bad, how do I test them. If i get a Gecko, will the same thing happen? anything I can do to protect the board. I am a newbie at the CNC work, but greatly enjoy it. I have made several project that have turned out well, but this has me really bummed out. your help would be appreciated.