Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though
 
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Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though  

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patrickburns2557
(@patrickburns2557)
New Member
Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though

Hello. I have a Prusa Mini+ with a few hundred hours of print time on it. Up until now, everything has worked great, but I went to use it yesterday and the Z-Axis doesn't seem to be working.

When it attempts to move, no sound is made at all, and the Z-height indicator on the Mini's screen updates as if it thinks it's moving, eventually going into the negatives for the height if it's trying to move down, or past 180mm if it's trying to move up.

I've tried reseating the connection to the buddy board, making sure nothing else came loose, as well as reflashing the firmware, none of which solved it.

However, I don't think it's the motor itself that's gone bad, because I tried powering the motor externally and it worked just fine. It's just that the printer isn't able to move it, it seems.

 

Does anybody have any ideas what it could be, or am I looking at having to get a new buddy board?

This topic was modified 2 years ago by patrickburns2557
Posted : 18/04/2022 9:03 pm
Diem
 Diem
(@diem)
Illustrious Member

With power off try turning the motor by hand - you should feel the steps but nothing else, if it feels gritty or rough then one of the internal bearings may be failing and locking up under pressure...

Cheerio,

Posted : 19/04/2022 3:00 am
patrickburns2557
(@patrickburns2557)
New Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though

Nope, just tried that, and I'm able to turn the motor screw manually as easily as I've ever been able to.

Posted : 19/04/2022 3:35 am
Diem
 Diem
(@diem)
Illustrious Member

OK, with power off temporarily switch the plugs for Z and X axes on the buddy board - the two on the left as you look at it.

Move the X axis to the centre by hand and power up.

Now try moving the axes from the printer menu - be careful not to go too far. The X axis should respond to Z axis commands and vice versa.

If both axes move you had a bad connection or dirty socket; if the X axis moves but Z does not then the motor is suspect, and if Z moves but X does not then the buddy board is probably faulty.  If neither move we have a bigger issue.

Power off and return the plugs to their proper sockets.

Cheerio,

Posted : 19/04/2022 10:28 am
patrickburns2557
(@patrickburns2557)
New Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though

Thanks, I tried swapping them, and telling X-Axis to move makes the Z motor move, but telling the Z-axis to move, the X motor does not move. So it does seem like it may be the buddy board since neither worked in that one slot on the board, but z motor worked in x's slot. Would there be any way of figuring out how to fix this, or would it just be a case of needing a new board?

Posted : 20/04/2022 12:09 am
Diem
 Diem
(@diem)
Illustrious Member

This is beyond ordinary forum help.

It's time to contact Prusa support: Log into your Eshop account, navigate to Help and live chat is at bottom right in most browsers. If not you may need to disable your ad-blocker temporarily.

Cheerio,

Posted : 20/04/2022 10:44 am
Zoltan
(@zoltan)
Member Moderator
RE: Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though

@patrickburns2557

does your Z motor not moving at all or it is moving only up and then stops?

even an old man can learn new things 🙂
Standard I3 mk3s, MMU2S, Prusa Enclosure, Fusion 360, PrusaSlicer, Windows 10
PRUSA MINI+ Prusalink + Prusa Connect

Posted : 28/04/2022 7:24 am
Zoltan
(@zoltan)
Member Moderator
RE: Z-Axis Motor stopped working with printer, Motor works on it's own though

If you have your printer in warranty, surely contact the support ASAP.

even an old man can learn new things 🙂
Standard I3 mk3s, MMU2S, Prusa Enclosure, Fusion 360, PrusaSlicer, Windows 10
PRUSA MINI+ Prusalink + Prusa Connect

Posted : 28/04/2022 7:25 am
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