Hi, I have been having problems with one of our lab’s form 3 printers. there is a loud chattering sound when the LPU moves to the left. it seems louder when the resin tray is in place and the vibration has been causing horrible misprints, whole layers shifting and sliding on each other… (really wish I’d gotten a picture, oops). I have already thoroughly cleaned and re-lubricated both the worm gear and the rails, which I would assume would make it smooth in both directions but apparently not.
Having troubleshot this on my own for a few days now I think it could be one of 2 things:
-A worn out plastic bushing on the LPU between it and the rails, or
-something is wrong with the motor on the worm gear itself.
Has anyone encountered anything similar or have any suggestions?
Hi @pleasantview
Thank you for reaching out.
Your first assumption of a dirty/underlubricated Z Axis was spot on for the vast majority of these cases.
Have you used a white Lithium based grease? We highly recommend only using those, like Rheolube 362HB (which is the one we use for these axes). It is also included in our “Form 3 X Axis Cleaning Kit”, which you can find in our store.
If your X Axis has been running quite dry for a certain while, there is a possibility of the ABL Nut being worn out. While it is replacable, the only way to get a new one is with the Form 3 X Drive Assembly Kit.
Before you buy this and do this replacement, I would recommend you open a ticket with us and send us a video of your printer initializing and a couple photos of the ABL Nut (the beige piece connecting the threaded rod to the LPU) and we’d be happy to check the noise level to determine if you need a new ABL nut or if we should maybe go for another round of cleaning.
Kind regards
Jakob