Z axis jams when printing.

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Orochimaru
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:40 am

Z axis jams when printing.

Post by Orochimaru » Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:23 pm

Hi fellows,

I am pretty new to 3d printing and this is my first machine.
I am expiriencing an unleveling of the z axis. After some prints, one lead screw seams to be moving further than the other.
After some prints i had to manually turn one lead screw to level de X axis.
This always happens with the left one, the one not supporting de X axis motor https://speedtest.vet/ https://vidmate.bid/.
With short prints this was not an issue. But, when i tried to print a figure of 10cm height, one of the lead screws of the Z axis stopped going up and the X axis got uneven.

What i did:

i checked that both motors travel the same distance and move at the same speed. That was good.
I reasembled the lead screw and the couplers to check if they were bent or misaligned. That was good too.
I home the z axis, level the X axis, then home again and then moved by the panel the Z axis up and down several times to check that it stays leveled. This worked ok too, no problems detected, y moved the axis by 10cm and by 0.1cm the same distance, and i did not have any issues.
However, when i tried printing again, the z axis jammed again in fairly the same spot than the previuos print.
So, it appears to happen only when printing and it left me dumbfounded.

I also read a fair amount of posts with z axis problems and could not find my problem.

Any bit of help is greatly appriciated.

Cheers and happy printing!

Al Kinnon
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 03, 2020 12:18 am

Re: Z axis jams when printing.

Post by Al Kinnon » Wed Jul 28, 2021 12:31 am

Hi, I had the same issue.

Things that helped me
- clean the screw and vertical bar.
- Check the vertical distance from the bottom between both sides with a digital caliper (as you have been doing)
- 3-in-1 oil the screw and bar on both sides so its lubricated to reduce friction. This made a big difference for me.

After a short time it would start jamming again so I would repeat the above process.

I found updating the z axis top mount with a printed mount of thingyverse which takes a bearing did the trick. I still check the vertical distance of each z axis mount before printing as it does drift for me over time but nowhaere near as bad, and I havent had a jam since using the bearing top mount.
Heres the link for the one I used: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3169211
Well worth a try.

You seem to have some dodgy links in your posts? Whats that all about?

Regards,
Al

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