Z-Axis getting knocked off?

[Turner]

Hey everybody,

I've been struggling with this for a few weeks now.... My belts are all uniformly the same tension, bolts are all tight.... I am at a loss. All that I can think of is a belt is slipping? Do I need to replace some belts? Also.... is there a standard tension for the belts? I'm not sure if I have mine too tight or not.

Thanks!
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/731 ... AG1110.jpg[/img]

[geneb]

Check to make sure that the drive gears on the stepper motors are tight and there's no damage to the belts. If you've got the older style gear with the plastic outer teeth an an inner metal core, check that the plastic gear hasn't cracked or split.

g.

[Turner]

Ah, okay! I pulled the belts off, which were all just fine, but the pulley over time slowly drifted, so the gear was not aligned with the belt completely. I straightened it out, and it works great... so far! Thanks for the help!

Thanks!

[626Pilot]

If it happens again, try messing with your delta arm length. I printed a series of that exact owl with different arm lengths and I found that the owl would fail at different layers. Once I found the right number it printed all the way up.

[geneb]

Ah, okay! I pulled the belts off, which were all just fine, but the pulley over time slowly drifted, so the gear was not aligned with the belt completely. I straightened it out, and it works great... so far! Thanks for the help!

Thanks!

You're quite welcome!

This is why I recommend using Loc-Tite on the grub screws. Keeps those suckers from wandering off.
Make sure that one of the grub screws is engaging the flat part of the stepper motor shaft as well.

g.

[Turner]

Great idea! Will do. Thanks again!