Is my X-Axis motor dead?
Hello Printers,
I was printing yesterday and my printer made a extremely loud buzzing like noise, the print had shifted so I stopped it. Checked the belt status is it show around 100 or something. I loosened all the screws for the X-axis motor and it refuses to run a belt test. I even removed the belt from the X-axis and did the test a few times, and the result keeps saying 245. With no belt. That's too low right?
With the belt on, but loose screws the test runs for a second or so, then fails.
I moved 2 weeks ago, and recalibrated the printer and I think the X-axis was around ~265 or so. My Y-axis is currently at 276.
Do I need to grease the motor somehow?
RE: Is my X-Axis motor dead?
Sounds like a bearing has seized. Dry bearings cause this sort of thing all the time. Try adding a drop or two of oil on the X rods, slide the extruder back and forth a few times, repeat. Do this until the extruder slides easily.
If the oil trick doesn't help, then you'll probably need to tear the extruder down and replace the bearings. Be sure to pack the new bearings with grease before installing them.
The belt tension numbers tell you about axis friction: nothing about belt tension. Anything below 300 means you have dry bearings dragging the numbers down.
RE: Is my X-Axis motor dead?
@tim-m30
Thanks. I didn't even think to try to move the extruder along the axis manually and it was pretty stiff. I lubed the rods and ran the extruder back and forth and it was really smooth. After I put the motor back on it was able to do the test! But the result was ~200 after I ran it a few times.
When I do the test when the belt is not attached to the motor (the motor was just sitting on my table, not even attached to the printer) , it shows 246. I'd expect that it should be higher since there isn't any load on it? Should I be worried about that?
RE: Is my X-Axis motor dead?
@andre-15
If the stepper motor shows such values in idle mode, there seems to be a defect. Have you ever tried to turn the stepper manually when the printer is switched off? Is something blocking or do you feel no resistance at all? Try to compare the resistance with the other steppers.
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Is my X-Axis motor dead?
Stiff is not good. Gravity should be able to move the axis. Tilt the printer to the side and the extruder should move downhill. Theoretically, X & Y should move equally easy. Both have three bearings on 8 mm rods, a motor and belt. So if one is stiffer than the other, there is a friction problem.
That said, my X is a bit stiffer than Y, but it does move with the gravity test.
As for the belt test numbers, if it is sitting on a desk, that really is the maximum it will reach unless there is a back-emf factor that comes into play when the motor is doing work. Could also be a firmware change between what you are using and my older version. But both X and Y should be equal values when belts are off. If one is higher than the other, as Karl said, something sounds fishy.