16
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Accepted
Are there practical reasons to NOT use a stepper motor with lead screw for the X and or Y axes?
I am going to answer this as someone who actually did rework their Prusa i3 fleabay clone to use leadscrews for all axes. Before digging into the matter, the backlash issue can be solved easily with ...
- 921
7
votes
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When is a leadscrew too bent and should be replaced?
It's too bent when it starts to cause issues.
Really, it is that simple. If your prints looks good, you don't hear any screeching sounds, your motors are not losing steps, then you are good and just ...
- 904
6
votes
Are there practical reasons to NOT use a stepper motor with lead screw for the X and or Y axes?
In addition to cost, backlash, which can be experienced in the Z-axis where threaded rods and leadscrews are mostly commonly used, would/could become an issue. The elasticity of GT2 belts generally ...
- 6,688
5
votes
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Does anyone know the thread size (pitch and lead) of the Anet A8's lead screw?
I have the Anet A8, I confirm the threads are Tr8x8(p2). This is explained as "Tr" for trapezoidal thread followed by the nominal diameter in mm. The digits after the "x" denotes the lead of the screw ...
- 37.1k
5
votes
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Lead screws - M8 instead of M5?
as long as you match the parts that is ok.
The m8 rod will give you more stiffness and will be harder to bend.
As the result, you will have to calibrate the steps/mm settings in the firmware.
- 2,002
5
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Would using a leadscrew with 1 or 2 mm lead, en lieu of 8 mm, result in a better printer?
From Accuracy vs Precision and Threaded Rod vs Leadscrews in 3D Printers. I have highlighted the relevant parts:
In general, FFF/FDM printers use relatively infrequent, small, precise
movements on ...
- 6,688
5
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Are there practical reasons to NOT use a stepper motor with lead screw for the X and or Y axes?
Cost would be the primary reason. You can engineer a belt driven system that will be equally accurate, faster, and with longer travel for a lower cost.
Lead screws are comparatively expensive. The ...
- 161
4
votes
Accepted
Why not use GT2 en lieu of a Z-axis threaded rod or leadscrew?
A lead screw can be fitted with a anti-backlash nut to get past your concern about backlash. Generally, backlash is not that of a problem considering the weight of the carriage (e.g. Prusa), or whole ...
- 37.1k
4
votes
Choice of lead for lead screw
I've not seen trapezoid lead screws with 5 mm lead, you can get 5 mm lead ball screws though.
On one printer I use 4 mm lead screws to get native 0.02 mm resolution (so 5 full ...
- 37.1k
4
votes
What size is the lead screw?
You'll need to do some calculation to figure out how long of a lead screw you need. The best solution would be to mock up the entire printer in CAD so you can visualize how everything fits together. ...
4
votes
Lead screw orientation
No, but the answer could depends on how you set up the lead screws, what kind of lead screws are used and how they connect to the stepper. Also it is important how you transfer the linear Z motion ...
- 37.1k
4
votes
Accepted
3D Printed Lead Screw
Expanding on some previous comments which are probably enough to warrant an answer:
What Trish said is completely right. Leadscrews are readily available parts and any dimensional errors in the ...
3
votes
When is a leadscrew too bent and should be replaced?
Cause and effect
Bent screws can cause an effect known as Z-wobble. But, to mitigate this, the non-driven side of the lead screw is left unconstrained. This is intentionally designed as such.
This ...
- 37.1k
3
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3D Printed Lead Screw
Is it possible? Yes. Is it advisable? No
Lead screws need to be smooth and have little to no stretch and there can be a lot of tension on them. However, 3D prints are quite rough by the way they are ...
- 22.5k
3
votes
Choice of lead for lead screw
Direct-drive, 8mm-pitch Z-axis screws is a very common configuration. Although it results in low z-axis resolution, apparently it works well enough for most FFF applications.
Like you, I noticed this ...
- 231
3
votes
Would using a leadscrew with 1 or 2 mm lead, en lieu of 8 mm, result in a better printer?
Longer lead
Pros:
Faster movement (mostly benefits homing)
More standard
Weak motor friendly
Might be slightly more stable (sideways) than shorter leads because of more starts creating more contact ...
- 31
3
votes
Accepted
Would using a leadscrew with 1 or 2 mm lead, en lieu of 8 mm, result in a better printer?
Based on what I've learned over 8 months of printing:
What matters the most is getting a very accurate zero relative to the bed surface. An offset of 30 or 40 microns can strongly affect first-layer ...
- 3,051
3
votes
Lead screws - M8 instead of M5?
Amazon has a few hundred M5 rods listed for sale, so I don't know where or what you've been looking through.
If you change the lead screw, you'll have to change the threaded parts on the gantry ...
- 3,051
2
votes
Does anyone know the thread size (pitch and lead) of the Anet A8's lead screw?
I don't own the printer, but the intertubes identify it as a "TR8X8 T" (8mm diameter / 8mm offset per revolution).
- 4,775
2
votes
Lead screw orientation
The motor is mounted in a fixed position no matter if it's on top or bottom.
You can imagine the lead screw as a rod hanging down and supporting the bed in the Z direction only, because all of the XY ...
- 373
2
votes
Are stepper flex couplings important? How important?
Yes and No
Let's start with the obvious: Flex couplings or rigid couplings are a deliberate choice in designing the printer. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. So let's look into the 4 types of ...
- 22.5k
1
vote
Accepted
Can a Oldham coupler and a Anti-Recoil Nut be used at the same time?
I don't see why you couldn't use them together. They are both dealing with eliminating a different effect.
The Oldham deals with the movement in the X-Y plane, the backlash nut with the Z-axis.
The ...
- 37.1k
1
vote
Choice of lead for lead screw
I expect a T8 with 8 mm pitch to be cheaper (in large quantities) than a T8 with 2 mm pitch (which also exists).
I think that if you have T8x8 you can use 4 milling heads (the screw has 4 starts) ...
- 4,600
1
vote
Accepted
When to use an anti-backlash bolt for a Z drive gear?
First of all, let's look at the geometry: We have a static XY and changing Z on our build plate. This mitigates several problems we might have faced in a different setup, mainly that our lead screw ...
- 22.5k
1
vote
Accepted
Calculating gear ratio for leadscrew
Your lead screw nut advances 8 mm every complete rotation of 200 full steps, so a single full step would change the height by 8/200 = 0.04 mm. This implies you need to set the layer height a ...
- 37.1k
1
vote
Are there practical reasons to NOT use a stepper motor with lead screw for the X and or Y axes?
It is possible to use lead screws; specifically 4 start leadscrews. The only drawback is that you need to be wary of heat.
Let's breakdown the concerns
Cost. Yes it costs more than belts, and it ...
- 2,448
1
vote
Lead screw holder - shall I buy metal or just use a printed one?
Update:
To answer your question, you could use either metal ones or printed ones. Metal housings are way more heavy that printed parts. The housing you refer to is not attached to the platform, but a ...
- 37.1k
1
vote
Z axis: Stepper motor and lead screw torque calculation
This is a work in progress - I'm still plugging in the numbers
A couple of issues:
You appear to be mixing Force (effort) and Inertia and comparing them directly - this mistake seems to have come ...
- 6,688
1
vote
Lead screws - M8 instead of M5?
You can use the screws and rods you can find easily, of course some dimensions will change and is needed to adjust parameters.
I used in my first 3D printer and standard screw of 9.5mm (3/8) the ...
- 1,510
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