Z Axis Fail  

Z Axis Fail

Hi all!

I recently completed building my new Prusa Mini+ kit, I was having problems with the self test yesterday with the z axis failing and I spoke with someone on the live chat and we were able to resolve the issue and start first layer calibration but it was getting late so I postponed finishing the first layer until the morning. This morning I turned on my printer and continued with my first layer calibration using the value i had set last night, when it went to start it crashed the nozzle into print bed and dragged it through it moving the print bed off the heat bed and putting a dirty gauge into the sheet, i quickly hit reset to stop it and when it turned back on I used move axis to move it off the print bed and check that everything was ok, luckily the nozzle and print head was not damaged, I then ran selftest to check everything and the z axis started failing again.

I did a factory reset and flashed the firmware again because that’s what cleared the issue yesterday but still having the same issue, it will stop randomly while moving up during the z axis and fail, and if i go to move axis and turn it up all the way to 185 it barely goes higher, however  if i use AutoHome and then go back to move axis it will move all the way to the top as if there was nothing wrong so I run the selftest again and it fails again. after it fails the z axis test and i go to move axis, as soon as i change the value by 1 it moves the print head down to the print bed but the value doesn't change on the screen and if i try to go down by 1 it won't move like it thinks its at the bottom but the value will say on the move axis screen the value that it failed at and if i increase the value to 185 it moves up and stops halfway when it thinks its reached 185. So I went back to the live chat for help and was again helped by a lovely assistant. We went through everything together which I will list below, it had us stumped for a while and the assistant came to the conclusion that I might need to change the trapezoidal nut under the extruder housing, however my kit didn't come with a spare so I need to contact the website I bought it from locally and see if they can send out a replacement.

Things we checked and changed:

• Cleaned the rods and lubricated them a little
• Cleaned the threaded rod and checked for any damage/obstructions (it was all perfect)
• Checked the plugs in the buddy board and swapped the x axis and z axis and used move axis to test them and changed them back and ran the test (failed again)
• Checked all cable for cuts/pinching
• Slightly loosened the screw in the trapezoidal nut and in the 3d printing parts that clamp onto the bearings and rods
• Factory Reset and flashed firmware again (a few times)

I made a couple of videos showing what is happening just in case what I explained isn't making sense haha

Just seeing if anyone has had this problem and came up with a solution.

Thank you in advance

Part 3 Part 2 Part 1 Move axis after failed test