Dual Z-Axis Upgrade Kit Completed Install Guide!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ย. 2021
- 3D printers that have the z-axis rod on only one side, like many of the popular Creality ones, can have issues with excessive movement that can cause all kinds of random issues, especially on larger prints. In this video, I show you how to add the second z-axis rod using commonly available kits. I walk you through the entire install process, from start to finish.
If you have any questions on the content covered in this video, feel free to leave a comment below with them. I try to reply to all commented within 48 hours.
Referenced Links
Hardware
Dual Z-Axis Kit on Amazon: geni.us/zT01Ejb
Ender 3 Pro on Amazon: geni.us/vIAIx
Ender 3 V2 on Amazon: geni.us/ur8YHM
HATCHBOX Filament on Amazon: geni.us/BJx0Gdj
Videos
How to Lubricate Your 3d Printer (The Simple Way): • How to Lubricate Your ...
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A fundamental flaw in your install. You said to make sure you have the axis level. All you did was turn both steppers by hand while they were disabled. There is no way this is accurate enough. It may look level but if its higher or lower by even one thread pitch the x axis is never going to be square to the frame when switched on. I've installed this kit and my solution is this. Before starting print 2 identical blocks 20mmx10mmx100mm. lower the x gantry manually until it is resting on these upright blocks resting on the base frame(not the bed). The x axis is now perfectly square to the printer frame. When the printer is switched on and homed both z morors are energised and will stay synchronised. NEVER manually turn the z srews after that. If you do you'll have to relevel the x gantry again. Also, those top bearings are not necessary. They look good but serve no real function. In fact, if one or both of the z screws are not perfectly alligned or are ever so slightly bent those top bearings will cause binding. I removed them on my install and it works better without them.
Hi. Thanks for the feedback and extra details. I sure it will end up helping people out.
Omg, tysm! I wish I had this info before. Now I am cleaning up rod shavings. And you confirmed what I heard and also experienced regarding omitting the top bearings. Thanks again!
@@greatestevar I don't have 123 blocks. It might be ghetto, but if it works it works. I'm going to just use an old CHEP cube or something. Maybe even just the bed itself. As long as it's level with the bed, it should be fine.
To add, if you leveled them put a mark on it so if you accidentally turn one a little you can easily turn it back
Spot on. May I add my work around for binding due to bearings. In my case I raised the gantry to the max with the bearings loosened, followed up with then tightening them. It worked for me but may not for everyone. Happy printing to all hope this helps someone out
I hope you found this overview helpful! If you have any questions or would like other tips/tricks, just let me know in the comments. If you would like to help support the channel consider joining our patreon account at www.patreon.com/3dprintscape .
Thanks for the upgrade video. It helped me a lot. I'm still having a little trouble with the x axis beam being level, but I think I can fix that on my own. Great video.
I just bought this upgrade but wanted to post this in case someone else gets one. At 8:40 the eccentric nut goes on 1st, putting the round end back in the screw hole of the existing plate. The wheel goes on next, then the spacer. The hole in the new plate is too small for the round end of the eccentric nut to fit, so it can't go on the screw after the wheel.
Hi. Thanks for sharing.
Yea, this is kind of a big deal. I hope others see this comment.
Just got to this point in my install and was thinking the same. This should be pinned.
I was always a bit confused why a dual axis wasn't the default on more units, it seems like a pretty negligible cost. Thanks for the tutorial, I'll definitely give this one a go.
Hi. I bet its cost. When trying to make something cheaper, things get left out.
Great level of detail on this! You made it look pretty easy, and the tips were helpful too! Covered exactly what I needed! And hey, was that a neopixel setup I saw on your printer in this video? I've been doing that for a couple of years, cool to see that I'm not totally weird. Or if I am, that I'm not alone in being totally weird!
Hi. Thanks for the feedback, i appreciate it. Those are neopixels you see on the printer :) .
Would be interesting comparing this to one of the printed, dual belt conversions available for the E3P.
Hi. I will look into that a bit more and add it to my backlog.
Thanks for the video it is very informative. The most difficult part for me has been finding the right way the brackets go on the PSU as the brackets I have look different to those you show (I purchased the Creality version of the kit) I now have the unit laying on its back next to the printer. I am not sure if the lead is long enough as it only just reaches the edge of my printer. Going to see if I can hunt down a longer extension that will attach the psu to the printer.
Hi. I think they may have changed the mounting holes on the power supply. You should be able to get at least one of the screws in though.
@@3DPrintscape Thank you for the reply. I have managed to get the front one to attach to the printer so the PSU is now upright and the power switch is accessible. The rear of the PSU goes past the bottom base leg and can no longer be attached.
Nice video! I've been thinking about this mod for a while now. I wonder if the V2 has this same flaw (gantry sagging, right side). Seems pretty good for now. thoughts on this? Nice content!
Hi. Thanks for the feedback, i think the v2 has the same issue. It looks like they corrected it in the ender 3 s1 but its a lot more expensive.
I have two Ender 3 Max's and they both have that issue. I just upgraded to dual axis on both of them for less than $50 on Amazon. No more sag!
I have been thinking of getting a couple of these for my Ender 3's as I have to slightly overtighten the wheels or the gantry drops on the right, this does create a slight bit of wear on them and I assume they will eventualy need replacing if I dont add a second leadscrew
Hi. Ya the wheels will end up needing to be replaced at some point, when would just depend on how much you use the printer.
Can you recommend another set of Y split cables for the stepper motors or show a tutorial on rewiring the wires? For some reason, there is a common issue now with these kits sending cables with incorrect wiring and the wires causing the stepper motors to grind and not move
Hi. Interesting, i will look into this a bit more and see what i can do.
Hey , I love your videos.. I have a question regarding your Satsana hot end fan cover , which I watched your previous video. Firstly do you have the .stl file for the one your using in this video on your ender 3 pro plus the fan front cover .. It would be much appreciated. Thank you Martin
Hi. The links to the stl files are in the video descriptions. If they don't work, please let me know.
When you tightened the brass nut for the lead screw, those two screws are loose to allow a bit of play to reduce z banding a little from a bent lead screw. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi. Thanks for the tip.
I did this same upgrade (Ender 3 v2). I found that I needed to bump my vref up to 1.55. Otherwise I was getting strange print failures where the machine would reset and loose it position and print offset on the x axis. After bumping that value I haven't had that issue (20+ prints later). Getting the x gantry level is about the hardest part of the install. My machine didn't have the best quality of parts to get those rollers perfect so I spent quite a bit of time adjusting them, removing the x gantry to square them up etc. In the end I had to just loosen the screws to the mounts and pick a point that had all the rollers close to the same tension on the tracks--never could get them perfect.
I would never install those constraining bushings on the top. Every resource I looked at suggested that if there was any wobble in your z axis screw it would cause more issues in print quality and possibly jam and damage your printer, which would be the worst.
Another issue I have is sometimes the micro adjustments for a z-offset don't work right. Normal z axis movement is fine, but those smaller movements just don't happen so I have to bump the number by 1mm to get an accurate range of movement to be sure my z-offset is correct.
Hi. Thanks for sharing your findings, im sure they will end up helping people out. I didnt need to change my vref settings at all. If the z rods are installed properly, the bushing at the top can help but are not needed. Many people complain about them because the don't make sure the z rods are strait during the install. Ive helped a couple of people on the discord channel around this.
@frank castle Would you do it again? I'm on the fence with this upgrade. tks
What is a "vref"?
@@craigdobis10 Its a voltage reference setting that goes into the motor driver and used by it to control the max power allowed through the motor windings. Higher voltage in is higher amps out. However, too much endangers the motor windings or even the drivers themselves if the cooling isn't perfect.
I did this on my ender 3 max. Only difference is I had to buy a 480mm Z rod and later on I went with bigger stepper motors cause the factory one burned out and I wanted them the same as all the other ones on it. On the max I turned the motors facing in because the width is that much wider.The way I made my gantry level was having some exact spacers on the build plate with hot end in the middle and manual moved them till perfectly touching and also a bubble level to check side to side.Im also solid mount build plate and a CR touch.Since Ive done this I havent had any issues!Only thing to check now and then is Z offset if its not laying down just right but I havent in months and so many prints.Hope this helps
Hi. Thanks for the details, and that makes sense on the stepper motors. Im hoping i wont have an issue with it but if i do i will look into upgrading them.
@@3DPrintscape just let me know if you need to know where I got the bigger steppers
@@davidjohnson8474 Im assuming from Amazon? Or was it from somewhere else?
@@3DPrintscape yes I got both the rod and steppers on Amazon
SFMF, thanks for the video...YUT!!!
You bet!
Help needed! I did the dual z axis upgrade and the direct drive upgrade together. The direct drive went smooth and so did the dual axis upgrade, but when i went to run a test print, the main power terminal on the board heated up and melted one side of the terminal. Cut printer off and noticed it only does this when bed is heating. When printer is idle, nothing happens. Did not have this problem before the upgrade.
Hi. I havent had this issue and it really sounds like its not directly related to the upgrades you made. Can you check all the connections going to the bed to see if anything is loose?
@@3DPrintscape Was going to replace board with a silent board upgrade anyway, but need to figure this out first. The only wires I I messed with were the two reds and the red and black on the side block. The one that melted down was the ground on the main terminal, which I never touched. So I'm gonna get some new terminals and try to figure it out from there. Also gonna add ferrules to wires and see if that takes care of it.
@@bigtst36 The connections on these can be bad, so maybe that is what happened. Ive seen the main power supply connector have problems as well.
Great tutorial. Exactly what I was looking for. Have the same kit. Still need to install my BigTreeTech SKR V1.4 Turbo card though. Have you recorded a tutorial for that? Cheers
Hi. I have a guide installing the skr mini e3 v2 but not one for the 1.4 turbo. The process is mostly the same though.
I'll check that out. When I purchased my Ender 3 Pro, it was at a time when they switched to their faster, 32 bit, main board. After installing the BTT Touch Screen (TFT 3.5 E3 V3.0), kept getting a message that there was "No Printer Attached." The Marlin part does recognize the printer. Updated the firmware, but still no joy. Do I need to install the SKR main board to take advantage of the touch screen option?
@@cri8tor You would need the skr board to use the tft35 in touch screen mode.
Thanks as always man....
J/w... Is that top bearing part still frowned upon like it used to be?
Hi. I have read mixed reviews on it in general but there are so many variables at play that i figured i would give it a try. So far, i havent had any issues with it but i did loosen the baring a bit so it can move a little if needed.
@@3DPrintscape awesome, I'll give that a shot as well. I remember when Steven "the asian kid with dope Ender 3 mod videos" had made his video, he retracted his statement because he said he got so much slack for doing that to his single z axis lead screw.
@@shaneswartz6053 I think it depends on how strait everything is to begin with. Unfortunately, with 3d printing, there is no one size fits all.
After installing the dual axis kit and aligning and printing successfully, if the add on stepper is manually moved, throwing the height alignment out will the stepper automatically realign itself when next moved or will it continue to operate out of alignment? Thanks
Hi. It wont with this kit because it uses the same driver. if you have a board that has a separate driver and connect it to that, its possible to auto-align.
Nice video. The only potential issue I see but can't confirm as you did not do a closeup but only spoke that you did screw, spacer, wheel, eccentric nut. Actually it should be screw, eccentric nut, wheel, spacer as the lip of the eccentric nut goes in the extrusion. I could be wrong but this is what I thought you said. The other issue is that I have a recent ender 3 pro and it is missing the 2 holes on the rear of the power supply so the rear bracket does not attach to my power supply so right now I am using gaffers tape there.
Hi. Thanks for the feedback, im pretty sure i put it back together the same way i took it apart but i cant remember. And thats odd on the power supply, i have two ender 3s purchased about a year apart and they have the same power supply.
@@3DPrintscape all the holes look like they were drilled so I guess they left one out. I just drilled it so it's fine now.
@@markcohen5485 Its possible and that works lol
Hi, I was wondering if you had any issue afterwards with the leveling sensor?I upgraded on a BIQU B1 but my BLTouch didn't work afterwards. It appears that firmware needed an upgrade.
Hi. In this case the z axis upgrade didnt need a firmware change as it was connected to the same stepper driver so the firmware i had for the bltouch continued to work.
I know this video is 2yrs old, however I have a few questions. 1- what brand kit did you install? 2- @ 8:40 minutes in the video you put a spacer, then wheel and finally the eccentric nut on, however mine will not fit in the hole on the back plate dies this matter?
Hi. I used the creality kit, link to it is in the video description. It will matter if there is a gap in allowing movement.
I did the same upgrade and the only thing that irritated me was that my second z rod occasionally squeeks when doing leveling or z hops. Even after lubricating. So my near silent printer chirps now. But otherwise it seems worth while.
I had this on my ender 3 max when I did this mod and I went with bigger stepper motors and its dead quiet now!! I used the same size all around so now its not working hard.I found 3 motors on amazon for the price of 2 so now I have an extra if any other fails.
Hi. It could also be that the z rod isnt completely strait. Does it always squeak around the same point?
I just did this upgrade, but using the top bearings just caused binding no matter how much I tried tweaking it so I finally just left them off.
Hi. Is the z rod at a true 90? I have seen this if the frame or something is off a little.
I probably have asked this before but it would be great to be able to swap in a touch screen like that. i'm using custom marlin 2.1.2 firmware
Hi. You would need a SKR board to use the TFT.
@@3DPrintscape thanks for the response. I may do that. I feel that may be more beneficial in the long run for future upgrades.
@@roccocroce I think the upgrade was worth it.
hi, i have everything installed on my ender 3 pro with the creality cr touch and dual z lead screws, however every time I power cycle the machine, or print a different model without power cycling, the x gantry is uneven; i have to go through a 15 minute sequence of restoring defaults, heating up bed, hand leveling with two identical objects on the bed by turning the dual z lead screws, verifying that resetting x offset and z offset with cr touch, in order for my ender 3 nozzle to somehow not end up around 2mm lower on the second lead screw side and dragging into the right side of the bed at the beginning of the print.
would you know of any drop in upgrade boards that i can put in the ender 3 pro that can independently drive each z stepper motor so i can run a g34 command when i start a new print? the skr mini turbo is no longer available on amazon; the skr e3 v.2 and v3 afaik do not support two independent z stepper drivers, although they have 2 z stepper motor ports (which is kind of misleading, but whatever as they say)
thanks for your input and your videos are great!
Hi, Im not aware of a board that would work that has the 2 drivers on the z axis. The creality and SKRs only have the one driver despite some of them having two ports. Thats one of the reasons this daul axis setup is popular. I was running mine like this for a while with no issues. Did you verify your axis and everything is tight and doesn't have any extra movement?
You have to but the eccentric reverse from the other side or the mount will cause extruded to ride up.
Hi. What is this towards, another comment?
I'm trying to figure out if I can do this on anycubic kobra(small)? I think the ender kit works, but not sure which kit to get. any help?
Hi. Honestly i havent worked with the anycubs enough to be able to give you good advice here. That said, the kit in this video is pretty universal, you may just need to modify how its mounted.
Hi there,
Can you show us how to use z auto align on ender 3...
Hi. I will see what i can do there. Im not sure what the options are when only a single driver is used.
@@3DPrintscape Hi,Can Z auto align can be used by using an upgraded mainboard?
@@m.y.mohamedatheeb3899 Ya, if the mainboard has 2 z axis stepper drivers and you connect the steppers to them.
@@3DPrintscape Thank you for you kind response...
Can you Please guide me thorough the process of Installing dual Z-Axis on Ender-3 and compiling firmware With Z-Auto Align for Ender-3 Please?...
@@m.y.mohamedatheeb3899 I will look to see if I can make a video covering the process.
Could you do a CRtouch install vid on a CR-10?
Hi. What board does your cr-10 have? I was planning on doing a cr touch install video for the 4.2.2 board soon.
@@3DPrintscape 4.2.7, I got it and installed it, but nobody has any instructional videos for my specific printer and combo. I have a base CR-10 printer
@@tpl3dprints906 Ah ok, i wont have that combo but its really based on the board not the printer itself.
What display is that on you Ender? Where can I get one with that touch screen?
Hi. Thats the tft35, you would need to get an skr mini to use it. There is a creality touch screen, but i dont really like it much.
I see they didn't fix the need for a spacer between the motor and the vertical support on the Ender 3 Pro. The vertical screw on mine doesn't align properly between the nut and coupler - the same as the original axis.
And my kit came with a new Z-axis cable to plug into the main board with 2 motor ends - not a splitter cable as shown here.
And a one-piec power supply bracket the shifts it back onlng the same rail - this means the motor connector really needs to got to one side, rather than straight back.
Hi. What kit did you end up getting? They may have changed up what comes with it since i made this video.
I have a ender 3. Just upgraded boatd to a 4.2.7 and got the 400xl.
For some reason, my Z axis motors are turning opposite ways. I tried switching them and changing the wires. Still does.
Hi. Sounds like the direction may be inverted in the firmware.
@@3DPrintscape I saw a comment of a guy with the same problem under the selling of this Z-axis kit. He resolved inverting the wires on the connector to plug in the motherboard, it's not difficult with JST plugs. The product has been made before this firmware upgrades.
Does this z axis upgrade stop z wobble and the ender 3?
Hi. It depends whats causing the wobble. I would first make sure your bed isnt causing it.
Do you plan on re-grounding your power supply?
Hi. I dont, it wasn't called out as being a requirement or in any of the research i did on it. You bringing it up was the first i even thought of it.
it isnt required because he is using metal brackets to attach psu to frame.
Does this work with SKR mini e3 v3 mother board?
Hi. Ya it would work with that board.
@@3DPrintscape ok great. Thanks so much.
So, using a 'Y' adapter to drive 2 steppers from 1 stepper driver? Twice the amount of current draw from the stepper driver? Not sure the stock ender's were designed for that - that's why we have 3rd party upgrade motherboards with a 4th stepper driver to drive a 2nd z-axis
Also, lifting the x-gantry to the top doesn't level both sides. Most people show to measure from the bottom extrusions with a ruler for accuracy.
I'm not sure I would share your post to others that don't know any better.
HI. Thanks for the feedback. I used the blocks that have the bearing to set the height properly, but your right i didnt explain that well enough in the video. As far as the driver goes, i dont think it will be an issue but i guess it could be. Most of the kits are setup this way though. Using a board like the SKR Mini and the second driver port would prevent any driver issues for sure but most people wont do a board swap for this upgrade.
I find easier with two identical items. ie. small yogurt bottle and rest it on the frame. Lower the Gantry. adjust, tighten. done.
I had to re-level the whole gantry after installing the 2. Z-axis. That was a real pain, because you have to remove the whole gantry from the top, to get to the two screws on the left side of the gantry, that are necessary for aligning the X-axis.
Hi. Ya it can be a pain sometimes. Hopefully you got it working well.
@@3DPrintscape thank you. Yea, now it works absolutely fine in sync and everything. Was definitely worth all the work.
I'm not sure if anyone else has this issue I got to the cable connecting part and I don't know if they gave me the wrong cable but all the tips are the same tip I can't connect it directly to the power pls help
Hi. It does sound like it may not be the right one based on how your describing it. Does the cable look like the one i have in the video or different?
My z axis motors switch on and off at different times despite being connected in parallel. No idea how that works.
Hi. That doesnt sound right at all. They should both be moving at the same time unless they are connected to separate drivers.
My power supply is different. Only the forward bracket works. There's no place for the back bracket to attach to the power supply. Ender 3 Pro
Hi. When was your printer purchased? I wonder if they made a change.
@@3DPrintscape about a month ago
@@horns1305 Interesting, they made some board changes back in January ish, I wonder if they changed the power supply as well.
Yes, same with mine. Only able to mount one side.
@@craigdobis10 Thanks for the info.
2:05 hello 3Dprintscape doggie 😉
Hi. Ya my golden decided he wanted to come say high lol
I found this to be an interesting idea. I would have thought that the second Z axis would be able to drive seperatly to the first Z axis, with the addition of a second Z limit switch. This would also enable a BL touch to also level the X axis on both sides of the printer automatically. Would these functions be able to be added to the firmware?
Hi. If you connect the separate stepper motor to an extra driver port on the board you can control them separately. You would set it up to just use the one limit switch though. All the configs will be made in the firmware before building it.
did it improve print quality?
Hi. A little but not significantly. If your having issues with z banding or something similar it would probably help more.
@@3DPrintscape I don’t have a banding but there is a spot on my prints at a certain height where the print bulges a little as if there was bindingas it goes up the Z. I have tried to rotate the z rod it made it less obvious but I can still see it. I wonder what causes that.
I might give this a try.
@@Guapogiboy Is there any damage on the track or wheel?
I upgraded to a direct drive, in theory, just need the rod, wire and connectors, then print everything else :p
Hi. You will probably need to calibrate the e-steps as well.
Il be honest I dont know how most of you guys have nice and square frames. I always have trouble with my setup
Hi. The way i do it is I dont fully tighten anything down until its full assembled. Then i use a square on the may z axis rails.
Having a lot of trouble myself now. After install my z-offset kept changing. Not a good sign.
@@SiXiam Is the value changing or the distance (meaning you need to update the value). If its the latter, something is loose and moving.
You left out the obvious question - DID IT IMPROVE PRINT QUALITY ???
Hi. This is a hard question to answer because it depends on many variables. I didnt do a direct test with it before and after.
5/16 wrench..... what you really need is a 7mm wrench. there is no standard anything on this machine
Hi. I was using what i had but ya.
Man you keep hiding what you are actually doing! I had to stop watching and find another video cuz you don't show at all how to do.
Hi. Sorry about that. This is an older video and i have been trying to get better about that.