Make sure your motors etc operate as expected before hooking everything up - that way you can rely on having the electronics set up okay. Then start to assemble your machine.
Your Arduino/Shield/Nema17/A4988´s can make a decent hobby CNC router, but it is easy to overload the Nema17 / A4988 drivers if there is much mechanical drag.
the issue is i have not even made the mechanical aspect of the project. i am just trying to make sure the electronic aspect is ok before i proceed to the mech. aspect. the nema 17 is not loaded with anything other than cable belt tied on it. when testing it with arduino ide it will only move when i place my hand close to it. when i checked the voltage limit for ecah axis the highest was 1.09v, 1.03v and 0.97v in respect to x,y and z.
my arduino is not working anytime i plug it with my pc. the ‘on led’ only blinks slightly and stops. i cant upload 'Arduino: 1.8.1 (Windows 8), Board: “Arduino/Genuino Uno”
Sketch uses 3098 bytes (9%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 220 bytes (10%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1828 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
avrdude: ser_open(): can’t open device “\.\COM18”: The system cannot find the file specified.