Slipping z-axis after firmware upgrade

My z-axis started slipping after upgrading to 0.78za-dc42 firmware. I've checked the config files and there doesn't seem to be any difference in motor currents or acceleration settings vs official firmware. I'm using iamburny's z-gears which are stiffer than normal, but they've been working fine up until now.

Will increasing the z-motor current help and how much can it be increased without damaging the motor?

Thanks in advance

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2015 03:59AM by drjeep.

Hi drjeep, what M201, M203 and M566 lines do you have in your config.g. file?

0.78za is rather old now. I suggest you use version 1.00m instead.

You can safely increase your motor current to 1000mA or 1200mA, but you shouldn't need to if your Z axis moves smoothly. Have you lubricated the threaded rod?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2015 04:32AM by dc42.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Quote
drjeep
Will increasing the z-motor current help and how much can it be increased without damaging the motor?

I have been feeding the stepper 1200mA for a long time without any problems, notice the higher motor temp might soften the printed extruder parts if PLA, the small (iamburny) gear wheel on the stepper split recently, was the only thing left in PLA

BTW, the extruder seem to run much smother on dc42's latest firmware (RepRapFirmware-1.00l-dc42 installed)

from my config.g
M906 X1000 Y1200 Z800 E1200 ; Set motor currents (mA)

senior moment, sorry!

Erik

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2015 10:54AM by ormerod168.

Quote
dc42
Hi drjeep, what M201, M203 and M566 lines do you have in your config.g. file?

M201 X800 Y800 Z15 E1000 ; Accelerations (mm/s^2)
M203 X15000 Y15000 Z100 E3600 ; Maximum speeds (mm/min)
M566 X600 Y600 Z30 E20 ; Minimum speeds mm/minute

Quote
dc42
0.78za is rather old now. I suggest you use version 1.00m instead.

Ok, I will try upgrading first.

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dc42
You can safely increase your motor current to 1000mA or 1200mA, but you shouldn't need to if your Z axis moves smoothly. Have you lubricated the threaded rod?

Yes, threaded rod is well lubricated. Manually moving up and down works fine, it's when printing and moving up to the next layer where it slips.

Upgrading firmware to 1.00m-dc42 resolved the issue, thanks!

Thanks for letting me know. It's time I removed 0.78za anyway, it was the last of my releases to use the old Move code.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].