SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — X axis rod slack

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-28T08:09:50Z

nickythegreek wrote:

I was wondering about this as well. I have a decent clearance along the left Y axis rod. There are 2 white blocks here, but only the top one lies on the rod, and it has started to get a groove. After awhile, the rod gathers white dust from this white block wearing down that I vacuum up.
Is this something that I should be concerned about in the medium/long term? Ian, are you twisting the lower block to make contact with the rod?

That's funny. For me it is always the bottom block which always contacts the rod. Mind you I haven't actually used the printer yet.

I tightened the lower block so now there is just a tiny bit of slack between them.

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T23:23:30Z

If the teflon block is wearing away and leaving dust, you should probably lubricate the rod with some lithium grease. I would think that it would take a fair amount of friction to do that. I don't know if clearance under that rod is as critical. Does it seem like it can wiggle in that space when the X carriage moves back and forth?

I guess wear on the upper block would explain why the fit between the rods and the lower blocks can tend to loosen. That would be a good reason for keeping the rods lubricated.

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T22:51:48Z

Donitz wrote:

I mean the axis going left and right, the one which moves the extruder itself. I assumed that was called the x-axis.

Yes, your original post said the bed or platform was moving up and down so I thought you were confused.

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T22:48:26Z

I was wondering about this as well. I have a decent clearance along the left Y axis rod. There are 2 white blocks here, but only the top one lies on the rod, and it has started to get a groove. After awhile, the rod gathers white dust from this white block wearing down that I vacuum up.

Is this something that I should be concerned about in the medium/long term? Ian, are you twisting the lower block to make contact with the rod?

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T16:36:27Z

So the rod should just barely touch both of the white blocks? Gotcha.

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T16:35:34Z

What I do for that is loosen the screw and twist the block a little so it contacts the rod and tighten it back down. It might wear a little more over time, but at least it will be stable.

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T16:32:01Z

I mean the axis going left and right, the one which moves the extruder itself. I assumed that was called the x-axis.

Re: X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T16:29:13Z

Are you talking about Z axis? Up and down? Do a search on z axis wobble and you'll likely find your answers, this has been resolved with a simple modification.

X axis rod slack

2012-11-27T16:26:28Z

Just got my Solidoodle 2. Most seems to be in order, the belts are tight and nothing is visibly broken.

I notice there is a significant amount of slack between the white plastic blocks and the X-axis rod. It's a little over 1mm and makes the Edit: extruder tip up and down a considerable amount when I press down on it. Is this normal behavior?