Z axis jams on one side

Hi All,

I am building the Prusa Mendel (i2) I have mostly finished but when testing the X and Y axis are fine. However the Z axis works a little but as it moves up it jams on one side. I have check that everything is aligned well and it all seems good. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be the problem or what I could try?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

MichaelSoft

It jams on the idler side, right?
Try raising and lowering the Z axis with the extruder/motor in the centre. If it still jams then you have serious binding between the bearing and smooth rod. (even if it works ok like that, you still probably have a binding problem). Your X ends should be pushing against the inside edges of the vertical smooth rods quite firmly - if they are not, the axis will bind.

I too had some slight binding when i first started running mine. Even after leveling and re-leveling things, it would stick and 'jump'. I put some white lithium grease on the vertical guide rods and motor oil on the motor drive screws and cycled it up and down a few times. Haven't had the problem pop up since. An extra bit of insurance would be to glue the nuts into each side of the Z axis guide housings - the top and bottom nuts on both sides. Had those pop out a few times. The Z axis drive screws are just cut to length ready thread rods. These were never manufactured to any high degree of straightness or concentricity. Maybe take yours off and roll them on a flat surface and try to straighten them by hand. They don't have to be perfect as the guide rods dictate the straightness and the screws just raise or lower the carriage.

Good luck!

Thanks. This has fixed my issue with the Z-Axis. That move like a charm now.

I am now having issues with power. As the heatbed warms gets up to temperature the power shut off. I am using an ATX however the 12V is only rated up to 8A. I am assuming that this is the problem. Am I right if so do I need another power supply or is there something else I can try?