Saturday, April 29, 2017

Avoiding Z-Axis Desynchronization

One of the problems with the Tronxy printer is that the Z axis is driven by two independent stepper motors.  That means that if only one moves, the calibration of the Z axis is hosed, and it's back to synchronizing the Z axis and releveling the bed.  I'm getting faster, but it's still a pain in the neck.

The most common reason for losing synchronization in my experience is that the right-side motor shifts while I am messing with the filament (changing filament, adjusting the extruder, etc.).

The rule I have developed to avoid problems is this:

ALWAYS HAVE THE STEPPER MOTORS ENABLED WHEN TOUCHING THE EXTRUDER

With the steppers enabled, I have never had the Z-axis motor spin while adjusting the extruder.
 

4 comments:

  1. Hello Carl,

    I have built my printer and did some test prints which turned out ok, but now it seems my extruder is clogging repeatedely and won´t properly print anything. Have you experienced this at all? Any tips on disassemblying the extruder to clean it?

    Thanks and congrats on the blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Warm up the extruder, then power it off.

      Remove the fan cover.

      Use one wrench to hold the extruder body, and a second to twist off the nozzle. It unscrews in the counterclockwise direction.

      For me, the clogging happened when the filament guide tube was not all the way inserted into the nozzle. There should not be a space between the tube and the nozzle that allows the formation of a big plug of melted filament.

      Pushing the guide tube all the way down solved the problem.

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  2. There is an easy way to fix this two motor issues, just link them mechanically. This is how i have it set up : http://tempppz.host-ed.me/tronxymod.jpg

    Its not still final, but just that worked so perfectly that i have had no need to touch it!... This and having auto leveling sensor made the printer pretty much perfect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As the problem is, that having two motors.. is impossible for them to say 100% in sync all the time.. so if they are not mechanically linked.. there will be some drifting always.

      Delete