Maybe? Objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an equal and opposite force... This old Tony would say that tongue in cheek, but I don't think that's what happened here. Perhaps senor esquivel just needs to work on his delivery.
Anti Backlash also become a factor in case you have a gantry which is to heavy for the stepper motor without power to keep up in place. So it's not only the print but if you finished a print and the z stepper is shut off. Your Gantry can be slowly slide back down onto the freshly printed object or on a CoreXY it can be that the whole plate is just sliding away all the way to the button of the CoreXY printer.
Rather than just talk about it do some tests, I did just that and found that they made a significant difference to the first few layers. When you start the first layer the hotend moves up and then down to start the first layer, after this it normally only moves up but the first few layers are much thinner than the set layer height due to the backlash in the drive screw/nut. This will also cause problems if you are using Z-hop as well as each time it 'hops' the next layer will be the wrong thickness. I tested this using a dial gauge mounted in place of the hotend, like I said perform some experiments don't just talk.
While I am not convinced of the benefits either (I have tried with and without), it might be worth turning yours over so the spring force is working with gravity rather than against it, i.e. use the springs to keep the gantry down, to see if it makes a difference.
Totally agree. The flange should be lower than the half-nut. The way it is installed in the video means that the spring would have to overcome the weight of the bed to push the nut against the lower side of the thread of the screw thus removing the backlash. It makes no sense to have the weight of the bed resting on the upper half nut, all it does is increase friction. It's not surprising that it does not yield any improvement. It should indeed be turned upside down as you are suggesting.
@@jamesmccaul2945 I tried this upgrade and it actually restricted my lead screw movement so I ended up with the z axis binding up. There are a number in the 3D community that think Backlash nuts are snake oil solutions. I think direction wouldn’t matter in this case as restricting the lateral movement is the problem in my case. I would say if you try it observe the results because this was just my experience. I do caution adding a solution to a problem you don’t have can create a whole new problem In itself.
In no case you want the gantry suspended in any kind of springy part during the printing process, you want the most rigid support to guarantee precise layers. in fact spring only helps if it adds force to the gravity, but be aware that it adds friction too. The only situation where I thing this is really useful is to prevent unbalanced z slide (rod rotation) when power is off.
I removed it from my Z axis when I upgraded the spindle on my Sainsmart 3018. Gravity does a good job by keeping it in place. I use a paper sheet and a flashlight to zero it. The backlash is less than the thickness of the paper. I also removed the one on the Y axis because of skipping and offsetting the second carving pass. I see no difference while carving wood but it might become an issue if you do precise tiny laser or carvings jobs.
Unless you have some incredible machine that can exceed 9807mm/s^2 acceleration on Z (i.e. it can reverse direction during a Z hop faster than gravity can pull the gantry back down), anti backlash nuts do literally nothing other than increase friction and thus make your motor(s) work hard. I still have not seen anyone post before and after prints that show a difference in print quality where the only thing they changed was the nuts. Non-planar printing doesn't have any bearing on this, either - that doesn't change gravity's acceleration. If one was to do something silly like try to use leadscrews on X and Y, then that's a different matter entirely, of course. If you're going to do anything to upgrade your Z axis, belting your lead screws together and changing them to 2mm lead (i.e. 2mm movement per rotation rather than the usual, horrible 8mm) are both considerably more important upgrades that have been shown to increase accuracy and quality.
Leadscrews on X and Y is what I do, cause my machine runs as a mill as well, so for that it does need some extra stiffness, and then they do make a heck of a difference. In Z I just have them cause I bought enough (cheap as heck in Aliexpress after all), and the extra friction keeps the heavier than normal X axis from falling when the motors turn off. Obviously my machine is a special case, on which those nuts do what they are designed to do. If I increase my accelerations to about 2000mm/s the Y (bed) axis starts to have backlash again from it's weight. I might add some spacer on the spring to make some extra force or get a stronger one maybe, but 1000mm/s is still fine so dunno. Another cool thing with the Z that you can do if you got dual motors and an ABL probe is the auto adjust, it's what I've got.
I think this would function better if it was mounted upside down. The way it is mounted, as seen at 2:15, the spring is pushing the main part of the lead screw nut UP against the bottom facing surface of the lead screw. However, gravity wants to pull the gantry (and lead screw nut) DOWN against the upward facing surface of the lead screw. I doubt the spring has enough force to overcome the mass of the gantry. So the effectiveness of this device is questionable. However, if the lead screw nut and spring are flipped, then the spring will assist gravity in keeping the lead screw nut pressed against the upward facing surface of the lead screw. The only question is if there is enough clearance to mount the lead screw nut and spring upside down (above the bracket instead of below it).
I also installed the anti-backlash device on My Ender 3 v2 this evening as per TH-cam instructions and other illustration, but while doing so, I came to the realization that this is mechanically incorrect! With the loose nut at the bottom, the spring is trying to push the gantry up against the thread play of the drive screw. I seriously doubt if this little spring can overcome the downward gravity forces, caused by the gantry, the x- stepper, the filament feeder stepper plus the Bowden drive feeder, the hot-head and it's fans! The end result would be induced bounce in the play distance if the spring is pushing the other way and it’s best effort can’t overcome the gantry’s down forces. (ie. Downward for force by the gantry and co minus upward push by the spring) Installing it “upside down”, with the loose nut on top, will assist with the gantry’s downward push on the drive screw thread and eliminate bounce or delayed departure (backlash) when the drive screw suddenly pulls down. (ie. Downward for force by the gantry and co plus downward push by the spring). This just makes mechanical sense! Your opinion?
Wondering if antibacklash is more inhibiting the lead screw(s) from flexing side-to-side rather than jumping on the Z axis. It’s visible with your crescent wrench demo, but a longer lever of a 3D printer leadscrew could make it more pronounced depending on how well it’s anchored and how high you’ve gone in the z direction.
I guess you could say that for a couple of bucks on something that's already a wear and service part (so you will be replacing them from time to time, brass is soft stuff, steel lead screws are not) - if it gives you a little peace of mind, it's worth those couple of bucks. That thinking can be a damn slippery slope for mods and upgrades though. So use it sparingly. Suddenly you have a $1200 Ender 3 that performs mostly as stock and is only used for slow PLA prints anyway. But _might_ outlast your Toyota HiLux. Not that that doesn't have significant value, but if considering how quickly this area of tech is developing... Personally I'd much rather replace a $400 printer every 5 years, than be stuck with an original Prusa i3 full of durability-mods until 2030.
I got my printer as bare bones as I can. When I installed duel worm drives; totally added those. Plus, I learned something when I bought them. So, add them. Future proof/provide. Learn.
Had some Z-banding today, so came online just to check my senses and make sure was not missing something. Found this video, which is great and straight to the point, but the endless debate on ABL nuts always makes me laugh. The Ender / I3 cartesian format printers all rely on gravity to index the gantry. Always a little tricky to tune the V-slot delrin rollers - which need to be just right to retain the gantry, but allow it to be indexed freely via gravity and not bind, especially tricky on the non-driven side. The sweet spot can be really tricky to achieve on the eccentrics, and can also be affected by heatsoaking the machine, worn rollers, alloy profile alignment etc, etc, etc. Quality linear guideways / rails are likely better, but cost a bob or two, plus they need setting-up very accurately anyways. You can improve things with two Z-axis motors, but fundamentally the motion system is always relying on gravity. Anti-backlash nuts change nothing, but IMHO they can potentially dampen the Z-movements / resonance, eg during Z-hop movements. But, unless the ABL springs were super-stiff (which they should not be) with enough force to overcome gravity/weight of the gantry, then they should be installed with the main nut down & the floating nut up, ie opposing gravity and thereby gaining the tiny benefit of bearing on the non-loaded face of the lead screw thread - ie using the anti-backlash function!!. However, either orientation will have zero practical affect on any print quality , eg if installed upside down and enhancing gravity as per this video. As actual ABL spring load is very light, so causing very little extra friction, its presence does however potentially dampen any rapid Z minus movement, eg returning gantry height after a Z-hop. Effectively, by installing ABL nuts you have at least doubled the effective contact area of the leadscrew nut, minutely improving accuracy of Z movement and potentially dampening resonance, although due gravity this is a moot point. Back in the day, I fitted ABL nuts to my Ender 3 V2 as one of the first upgrades, but with no expectation of massive improvements, just sensible for Z-axis tuning - as they also allow for some wear of the main leadscrew nut - but far more important are dialing-in those pesky eccentric rollers. You just have to live with reality - the weight of the gantry, the force of gravity and the ~0,3mm backlash in the leadscrew system. To all those who call ABL nuts a miracle solution, I very much doubt this - to install them you need to break down the Z-axis motion system and thereby likely adjust the gantry / eccentric rollers and of course are effectively installing a brand new, unworn leadscrew nut... so without realising it, solve some of your problems that way!!! So to cure my current Z-banding issue that' has just appeared, I'm off to mess around with my eccentric roller adjustments!!!! 🤣🤣
I know a good number of people with Creality 10's (using dual steppers) and Ender 3's that are using this to resolve an anomaly with the machine whereby when powering off the machine the z-axis screws move slightly, especially the one on the right side, so as to throw off the table in Z axis alignment the next time you go to use it. No, this is NOT the traditional anti-backlash use but installing them provides enough drag on the screws to prevent movement when powering down the machine. Before installing mine, every other print I did, I would power on the machine and find that I needed to completely re-level the table. So call them what you wish but that's what I found useful with them.
I have silent fans on my 3d creality's and just never switch them off. The fans barely use any power and the sound is unnoticeable so this solves the issue you're describing. But yes when I do turn them off/on there is quite a loud pop on the dual Z motors and some movement.
I am not sure but i think z- axis moves only in one direction so it should not be necessary. For inertia to build up it would need more an longer speed than just 0.2mm
I’m a fan of the anti backlash nuts it rules a variable out like linear rails instead of the wheels And im thinking of converting from a TR8x8 lead screw to TR8x2 to give me even more precision on the z axis
Ask yourself: Is the Spring strong enough to lift the whole gantry? If not, could it be that u mounted the Backlash-nut the wrong way ? Shouldn't it be mounted on top and push down, rather than trying lifting the whole X-Axis? Because: If it can't lift the whole X-Axis, it's useless because it can't push hard enough to make tension. And yes, your prints look much nicer. But that's coming from the new brass-nut which is not worn out. Not the anti-backlash...
Hi Andrew, I really enjoy your technical content, keep up the great work! Also, I'm curious if you've tried changing from 8mm to 2mm pitch Z-Screws? I recently upgrade my Anycubic Mega Zero v1.0 to dual z-Screws and switched to 2mm pitch at the same time. I've really noticed a huge improvement in z-accuracy and repeatability. It's Especially noticeable if you do a manual bed level.
I think you have your backlash nut installed the wrong direction. The spring is pressing up the upper part and there is working against gravity. The spring should press down the screwed part down to add more force in the same direction as gravity.
Backlash nuts with a spring should be facing down to make sure the nozzle is back at the right height after a z hop, unless you print very very slow. But the principle is true to make sure each turn of the z axis moves the gantry correctly.
I have cr-6 max and i noticed that my nozzle is scrubbing the prints which is dangerous when it moves fast, it can break hotend or destroy the print. It was only doing that when it moved from right to left and i just realized that when it auto levels it pushes the z axis gantry up when it touches the bed and my left z screw is a bit loose so it makes wrong auto leveling values! I am ordering now those nuts to check if this will solve the issue.
Hello, after weeks of frustration adapting auto z calibration using klicky probe on my i3 printer, I found the culprit that causes inaccuracy and it is the backlash in my right lead screw nut. Having 0.0025 to 0.01 range of samples, it is just frustrating and making auto z calibration just useless.
Thank you for the informative video, I noticed you have quite a lot of lubricant on your Z screw, does that not cause binding or gunking? I have always heard you should use very little but I'm curious if your way is better.
Installing them nut down causes the spring to add force along gravity. By standard, without the anti-backlash nut, gravity pushes the nut down on the rod (for convention, let's say it touches the top of the leadscrew's thread), and it stays. It shouldn't really disengage ever unless you're using insane accelerations on Z which no one should. If you add an anti-backlash nut, you'll have one side pushing against the top and one side against the bottom of the leadscrew's thread, thus eliminating backlash. Installing it with the nut side up like normal makes the nut - now pressed by the spring - to contact only the bottom of the leadscrew threads instead, while the half-nut does the top part, only with the force of the spring, but fighting against gravity.
So basically, this does absolutely nothing to aid a standard printer, which uses a gravity-based gantry that ONLY EVER GOES UP DURING PRINTING. It is NOT a CNC machine, where this upgrade would make sense. (Although, not really since they use balls). It DOES however give you the chance to bend your lead screws with unnecessary, threaded, addons though, so yay for that LMAO. ISTG, 3D printing has some of the most counterproductive "upgrades" I've ever seen... The misinformation is VERY real in this community. XD
Hi Andrew! I enjoyed the explanation of backlash, I had read up on it but the wrench explanation tied everything together, I have an Ender 5+ that drops slightly on the right hand side when powered down so I bought a replacement leadscrew nut thinking the tolerance was out on mine but that replacement was even worse so I have ordered anti backlash nuts as some people claim it has fixed their same issue, I havent had time to fit these as yet though. Could you please tell me if there are any benefits to flexible couplers on an Ender 5+
The Ender 5 plus seems to have very good placement for its motors, lead screws and nut. Unlike the Ender 3, I think the stock rided couplers are sufficient.
Do you have enough grease on it? It would of been better to show what you are talking about on the 3D printer, instead of an adjustable wrench. Just sayin'.
I've noticed that with my 3d printer that sometimes the gantry holds at the top after fast z movements, it has 2 motors and the problem has huge consequences not just artefacts and is partial due to backlash. This is my observation parts with lots of retractions in them sometimes result in the printer being able to accelerate one of the lead screws before it caries the gantry load. I installed connectors to the lead screws that help against Z axis wobble, but they are the "machined springs" type of connectors. Now with all these factors what i've noticed happening from time to time is that the gantry is able to misalign itself just a tiny bit, and this can bump prints off my bed making printing large batches impossible. This is a problem that started arising from driving up the printing speed. Debugging this issue was terrible because it looked like a bed adhesion issue, until you listened real carefully and could hear the clicking sound. Long story short, anti backlash nuts are not just for artefacts, these are components that if you push your machine will help you avoid issues. This makes it highly advisable to buy the correct components for a machine like this, since you don't want things you think "aren't an issue" becoming one and giving you weeks of headache. haha
I thought anti-backlash stopped your gantry dropping? My Ender 3 Max without the nuts will slowly slide back down the lead screws when the motors aren't powered. Not so when the nuts are installed. As others have said, not a great video as it doesn't answer the question it asks at all.
and thumbnails of videos to the right of the page from other channels I see actually answer it in the thumbnails. Yep, it's about stopping gantry drop.
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
Adding anti-backlash nuts have given me perfect flawless walls.
It's like listening to old Tony except I learnt something
Maybe? Objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an equal and opposite force... This old Tony would say that tongue in cheek, but I don't think that's what happened here. Perhaps senor esquivel just needs to work on his delivery.
Hey dude your channel is a gem. You address issues in detail and in a not bulshitting way. Straight to the point.
incredibly good explanation on backlash! I'm gonna use this video as a reference in the future if I ever need to explain backlash to someone
Anti Backlash also become a factor in case you have a gantry which is to heavy for the stepper motor without power to keep up in place. So it's not only the print but if you finished a print and the z stepper is shut off. Your Gantry can be slowly slide back down onto the freshly printed object or on a CoreXY it can be that the whole plate is just sliding away all the way to the button of the CoreXY printer.
Rather than just talk about it do some tests, I did just that and found that they made a significant difference to the first few layers. When you start the first layer the hotend moves up and then down to start the first layer, after this it normally only moves up but the first few layers are much thinner than the set layer height due to the backlash in the drive screw/nut. This will also cause problems if you are using Z-hop as well as each time it 'hops' the next layer will be the wrong thickness. I tested this using a dial gauge mounted in place of the hotend, like I said perform some experiments don't just talk.
While I am not convinced of the benefits either (I have tried with and without), it might be worth turning yours over so the spring force is working with gravity rather than against it, i.e. use the springs to keep the gantry down, to see if it makes a difference.
Totally agree. The flange should be lower than the half-nut. The way it is installed in the video means that the spring would have to overcome the weight of the bed to push the nut against the lower side of the thread of the screw thus removing the backlash. It makes no sense to have the weight of the bed resting on the upper half nut, all it does is increase friction. It's not surprising that it does not yield any improvement. It should indeed be turned upside down as you are suggesting.
@@Rfster900 You explained it better than I did.
Agree, they should be flipped to work effectively
@@jamesmccaul2945 I tried this upgrade and it actually restricted my lead screw movement so I ended up with the z axis binding up. There are a number in the 3D community that think Backlash nuts are snake oil solutions. I think direction wouldn’t matter in this case as restricting the lateral movement is the problem in my case. I would say if you try it observe the results because this was just my experience. I do caution adding a solution to a problem you don’t have can create a whole new problem In itself.
In no case you want the gantry suspended in any kind of springy part during the printing process, you want the most rigid support to guarantee precise layers. in fact spring only helps if it adds force to the gravity, but be aware that it adds friction too. The only situation where I thing this is really useful is to prevent unbalanced z slide (rod rotation) when power is off.
I removed it from my Z axis when I upgraded the spindle on my Sainsmart 3018. Gravity does a good job by keeping it in place. I use a paper sheet and a flashlight to zero it. The backlash is less than the thickness of the paper.
I also removed the one on the Y axis because of skipping and offsetting the second carving pass. I see no difference while carving wood but it might become an issue if you do precise tiny laser or carvings jobs.
Unless you have some incredible machine that can exceed 9807mm/s^2 acceleration on Z (i.e. it can reverse direction during a Z hop faster than gravity can pull the gantry back down), anti backlash nuts do literally nothing other than increase friction and thus make your motor(s) work hard.
I still have not seen anyone post before and after prints that show a difference in print quality where the only thing they changed was the nuts.
Non-planar printing doesn't have any bearing on this, either - that doesn't change gravity's acceleration.
If one was to do something silly like try to use leadscrews on X and Y, then that's a different matter entirely, of course.
If you're going to do anything to upgrade your Z axis, belting your lead screws together and changing them to 2mm lead (i.e. 2mm movement per rotation rather than the usual, horrible 8mm) are both considerably more important upgrades that have been shown to increase accuracy and quality.
Leadscrews on X and Y is what I do, cause my machine runs as a mill as well, so for that it does need some extra stiffness, and then they do make a heck of a difference.
In Z I just have them cause I bought enough (cheap as heck in Aliexpress after all), and the extra friction keeps the heavier than normal X axis from falling when the motors turn off.
Obviously my machine is a special case, on which those nuts do what they are designed to do.
If I increase my accelerations to about 2000mm/s the Y (bed) axis starts to have backlash again from it's weight. I might add some spacer on the spring to make some extra force or get a stronger one maybe, but 1000mm/s is still fine so dunno.
Another cool thing with the Z that you can do if you got dual motors and an ABL probe is the auto adjust, it's what I've got.
I think this would function better if it was mounted upside down. The way it is mounted, as seen at 2:15, the spring is pushing the main part of the lead screw nut UP against the bottom facing surface of the lead screw. However, gravity wants to pull the gantry (and lead screw nut) DOWN against the upward facing surface of the lead screw. I doubt the spring has enough force to overcome the mass of the gantry. So the effectiveness of this device is questionable. However, if the lead screw nut and spring are flipped, then the spring will assist gravity in keeping the lead screw nut pressed against the upward facing surface of the lead screw. The only question is if there is enough clearance to mount the lead screw nut and spring upside down (above the bracket instead of below it).
I also installed the anti-backlash device on My Ender 3 v2 this evening as per TH-cam instructions and other illustration, but while doing so, I came to the realization that this is mechanically incorrect! With the loose nut at the bottom, the spring is trying to push the gantry up against the thread play of the drive screw. I seriously doubt if this little spring can overcome the downward gravity forces, caused by the gantry, the x- stepper, the filament feeder stepper plus the Bowden drive feeder, the hot-head and it's fans! The end result would be induced bounce in the play distance if the spring is pushing the other way and it’s best effort can’t overcome the gantry’s down forces. (ie. Downward for force by the gantry and co minus upward push by the spring)
Installing it “upside down”, with the loose nut on top, will assist with the gantry’s downward push on the drive screw thread and eliminate bounce or delayed departure (backlash) when the drive screw suddenly pulls down. (ie. Downward for force by the gantry and co plus downward push by the spring).
This just makes mechanical sense!
Your opinion?
Wondering if antibacklash is more inhibiting the lead screw(s) from flexing side-to-side rather than jumping on the Z axis. It’s visible with your crescent wrench demo, but a longer lever of a 3D printer leadscrew could make it more pronounced depending on how well it’s anchored and how high you’ve gone in the z direction.
I guess you could say that for a couple of bucks on something that's already a wear and service part (so you will be replacing them from time to time, brass is soft stuff, steel lead screws are not) - if it gives you a little peace of mind, it's worth those couple of bucks.
That thinking can be a damn slippery slope for mods and upgrades though. So use it sparingly. Suddenly you have a $1200 Ender 3 that performs mostly as stock and is only used for slow PLA prints anyway. But _might_ outlast your Toyota HiLux. Not that that doesn't have significant value, but if considering how quickly this area of tech is developing... Personally I'd much rather replace a $400 printer every 5 years, than be stuck with an original Prusa i3 full of durability-mods until 2030.
I got my printer as bare bones as I can. When I installed duel worm drives; totally added those. Plus, I learned something when I bought them. So, add them. Future proof/provide. Learn.
Had some Z-banding today, so came online just to check my senses and make sure was not missing something. Found this video, which is great and straight to the point, but the endless debate on ABL nuts always makes me laugh.
The Ender / I3 cartesian format printers all rely on gravity to index the gantry. Always a little tricky to tune the V-slot delrin rollers - which need to be just right to retain the gantry, but allow it to be indexed freely via gravity and not bind, especially tricky on the non-driven side. The sweet spot can be really tricky to achieve on the eccentrics, and can also be affected by heatsoaking the machine, worn rollers, alloy profile alignment etc, etc, etc. Quality linear guideways / rails are likely better, but cost a bob or two, plus they need setting-up very accurately anyways. You can improve things with two Z-axis motors, but fundamentally the motion system is always relying on gravity.
Anti-backlash nuts change nothing, but IMHO they can potentially dampen the Z-movements / resonance, eg during Z-hop movements. But, unless the ABL springs were super-stiff (which they should not be) with enough force to overcome gravity/weight of the gantry, then they should be installed with the main nut down & the floating nut up, ie opposing gravity and thereby gaining the tiny benefit of bearing on the non-loaded face of the lead screw thread - ie using the anti-backlash function!!. However, either orientation will have zero practical affect on any print quality , eg if installed upside down and enhancing gravity as per this video. As actual ABL spring load is very light, so causing very little extra friction, its presence does however potentially dampen any rapid Z minus movement, eg returning gantry height after a Z-hop. Effectively, by installing ABL nuts you have at least doubled the effective contact area of the leadscrew nut, minutely improving accuracy of Z movement and potentially dampening resonance, although due gravity this is a moot point. Back in the day, I fitted ABL nuts to my Ender 3 V2 as one of the first upgrades, but with no expectation of massive improvements, just sensible for Z-axis tuning - as they also allow for some wear of the main leadscrew nut - but far more important are dialing-in those pesky eccentric rollers. You just have to live with reality - the weight of the gantry, the force of gravity and the ~0,3mm backlash in the leadscrew system.
To all those who call ABL nuts a miracle solution, I very much doubt this - to install them you need to break down the Z-axis motion system and thereby likely adjust the gantry / eccentric rollers and of course are effectively installing a brand new, unworn leadscrew nut... so without realising it, solve some of your problems that way!!!
So to cure my current Z-banding issue that' has just appeared, I'm off to mess around with my eccentric roller adjustments!!!! 🤣🤣
I know a good number of people with Creality 10's (using dual steppers) and Ender 3's that are using this to resolve an anomaly with the machine whereby when powering off the machine the z-axis screws move slightly, especially the one on the right side, so as to throw off the table in Z axis alignment the next time you go to use it.
No, this is NOT the traditional anti-backlash use but installing them provides enough drag on the screws to prevent movement when powering down the machine. Before installing mine, every other print I did, I would power on the machine and find that I needed to completely re-level the table.
So call them what you wish but that's what I found useful with them.
I have silent fans on my 3d creality's and just never switch them off. The fans barely use any power and the sound is unnoticeable so this solves the issue you're describing. But yes when I do turn them off/on there is quite a loud pop on the dual Z motors and some movement.
I am not sure but i think z- axis moves only in one direction so it should not be necessary. For inertia to build up it would need more an longer speed than just 0.2mm
Fabulous clear description
Clear as mud! Great explanation, nice voice and concise video. Go you!
Thank you for the explanation, it really helped me understand these devices.
Such a good explanation, even i understood it! thanks so much
Thank you Andrewesquivel! This video earned you another subscriber!:)
I’m a fan of the anti backlash nuts it rules a variable out like linear rails instead of the wheels
And im thinking of converting from a TR8x8 lead screw to TR8x2 to give me even more precision on the z axis
Backlash correction firmware and slicer add-ons exist too. It's pretty simple code too: If Z is adjusted, subtract or add based on the direction.
I do have a set of Delrin anti-backlash nuts in my dual Z printer, but now I really understand.how it works. Thanks.
Ask yourself: Is the Spring strong enough to lift the whole gantry?
If not, could it be that u mounted the Backlash-nut the wrong way ?
Shouldn't it be mounted on top and push down, rather than trying lifting the whole X-Axis?
Because: If it can't lift the whole X-Axis, it's useless because it can't push hard enough to make tension.
And yes, your prints look much nicer. But that's coming from the new brass-nut which is not worn out. Not the anti-backlash...
Hi Andrew, I really enjoy your technical content, keep up the great work!
Also, I'm curious if you've tried changing from 8mm to 2mm pitch Z-Screws? I recently upgrade my Anycubic Mega Zero v1.0 to dual z-Screws and switched to 2mm pitch at the same time. I've really noticed a huge improvement in z-accuracy and repeatability. It's Especially noticeable if you do a manual bed level.
great explanation
I think you have your backlash nut installed the wrong direction. The spring is pressing up the upper part and there is working against gravity.
The spring should press down the screwed part down to add more force in the same direction as gravity.
Waiting for my anti-backslash spring to test - will it cure elephant foot of my 3d printer
Backlash nuts with a spring should be facing down to make sure the nozzle is back at the right height after a z hop, unless you print very very slow. But the principle is true to make sure each turn of the z axis moves the gantry correctly.
If the spring can’t overcome the weight of the gantry, then mounting in reverse is even more useless
Great comparison! Thanks,
Extremely useful explanation! Thanks!
If you have dual z axis would you fit anti back lash nuts to both z axis?
Zhop or when the printer zeros out before a print
I have cr-6 max and i noticed that my nozzle is scrubbing the prints which is dangerous when it moves fast, it can break hotend or destroy the print. It was only doing that when it moved from right to left and i just realized that when it auto levels it pushes the z axis gantry up when it touches the bed and my left z screw is a bit loose so it makes wrong auto leveling values! I am ordering now those nuts to check if this will solve the issue.
Great illustration.
Heckin great video
Hello, after weeks of frustration adapting auto z calibration using klicky probe on my i3 printer, I found the culprit that causes inaccuracy and it is the backlash in my right lead screw nut. Having 0.0025 to 0.01 range of samples, it is just frustrating and making auto z calibration just useless.
Great explanation, thanks
Thank you for the informative video, I noticed you have quite a lot of lubricant on your Z screw, does that not cause binding or gunking? I have always heard you should use very little but I'm curious if your way is better.
Lubricant should help prevent binding. You simply wipe off excess amounts after moving the Gantry up and down all the way.
My printer out of the box looked just like that after 12 hours.
Currently have them installed right side up. Some install it upside down. I have the creality cr10s pro v2. Any links explaining why some do this?
Installing them nut down causes the spring to add force along gravity.
By standard, without the anti-backlash nut, gravity pushes the nut down on the rod (for convention, let's say it touches the top of the leadscrew's thread), and it stays. It shouldn't really disengage ever unless you're using insane accelerations on Z which no one should. If you add an anti-backlash nut, you'll have one side pushing against the top and one side against the bottom of the leadscrew's thread, thus eliminating backlash.
Installing it with the nut side up like normal makes the nut - now pressed by the spring - to contact only the bottom of the leadscrew threads instead, while the half-nut does the top part, only with the force of the spring, but fighting against gravity.
So basically, this does absolutely nothing to aid a standard printer, which uses a gravity-based gantry that ONLY EVER GOES UP DURING PRINTING.
It is NOT a CNC machine, where this upgrade would make sense. (Although, not really since they use balls).
It DOES however give you the chance to bend your lead screws with unnecessary, threaded, addons though, so yay for that LMAO.
ISTG, 3D printing has some of the most counterproductive "upgrades" I've ever seen... The misinformation is VERY real in this community.
XD
So, I spent just north of 7.5 minutes to not get the answer the title hinted at answering. Awesome.
Very informative video.
Cheers brother
Great video but 20% of my focus was spent on the horrid engineering and manufacturing that went into making that wrench.
You installed them the wrong way around.
I’ve seen many comments in many videos saying the same thing but still haven’t seen a video or even an image of them being mounted upside down
Hi Andrew! I enjoyed the explanation of backlash, I had read up on it but the wrench explanation tied everything together, I have an Ender 5+ that drops slightly on the right hand side when powered down so I bought a replacement leadscrew nut thinking the tolerance was out on mine but that replacement was even worse so I have ordered anti backlash nuts as some people claim it has fixed their same issue, I havent had time to fit these as yet though.
Could you please tell me if there are any benefits to flexible couplers on an Ender 5+
The Ender 5 plus seems to have very good placement for its motors, lead screws and nut. Unlike the Ender 3, I think the stock rided couplers are sufficient.
@@andrewesquivel Thanks Andrew!
Do you have enough grease on it? It would of been better to show what you are talking about on the 3D printer, instead of an adjustable wrench. Just sayin'.
I've noticed that with my 3d printer that sometimes the gantry holds at the top after fast z movements, it has 2 motors and the problem has huge consequences not just artefacts and is partial due to backlash.
This is my observation parts with lots of retractions in them sometimes result in the printer being able to accelerate one of the lead screws before it caries the gantry load. I installed connectors to the lead screws that help against Z axis wobble, but they are the "machined springs" type of connectors. Now with all these factors what i've noticed happening from time to time is that the gantry is able to misalign itself just a tiny bit, and this can bump prints off my bed making printing large batches impossible. This is a problem that started arising from driving up the printing speed.
Debugging this issue was terrible because it looked like a bed adhesion issue, until you listened real carefully and could hear the clicking sound.
Long story short, anti backlash nuts are not just for artefacts, these are components that if you push your machine will help you avoid issues. This makes it highly advisable to buy the correct components for a machine like this, since you don't want things you think "aren't an issue" becoming one and giving you weeks of headache. haha
What is a Z-hop?
you sound like kevin spacey
If u want answare.... its MAYBE
I thought anti-backlash stopped your gantry dropping? My Ender 3 Max without the nuts will slowly slide back down the lead screws when the motors aren't powered. Not so when the nuts are installed.
As others have said, not a great video as it doesn't answer the question it asks at all.
and thumbnails of videos to the right of the page from other channels I see actually answer it in the thumbnails. Yep, it's about stopping gantry drop.
Good vid. Listen at 2x speed.
Damn... that's one shitty wrench. RIP craftsman
Maybe it could help, if you just install it correctly, not upside down?