New A5S Z-Axis Unmoving

PrintKiddie

Just got an A5S today. First 3D printer I've gotten. I assembled it, followed the instructions on the official YouTube channel's  video. However, when I press the Home All option, the Z-Axis just buzzes loudly and doesn't move. I've observed that the right stepper motor is vibrating, while the left doesn't seem to be doing anything. All electrical wiring seems to be correctly attached. I've attempted to use the move Z option for both up or down, and it simply vibrates loudly at me. 

Any advice? I'm hoping to not have to just send it in for replacement.

UPDATE: Thanks in large part to the advice of @Samuel Pinches, the issue has been resolved. In case anyone else has the same issue I want to describe in detail the solution. The cylindrical clamps at the base of the set screws for Z axis elevation have 2 screws in them, top and bottom. The bottom screw in the A5S as initially set up was grinding hard against the metal ringing it. So I removed both of the motors and cylinders as demonstrated in the video that Samuel posted below. Then I removed the four screws from the top retaining piece of each of the motors. This allowed me to access the cylinder's bottom screw (the problem screw). I removed that screw and replaced it with one of the four screws from the retaining piece. I then reassembled, working backward. I repeated for the other motor. This easy swap requiring no additional parts fixed the problem entirely. Hope this helps someone else.

Samuel Pinches

Welcome @PrintKiddie - with the printer off, can you turn the two z axis lead screws by hand to move the z-axis up and down? How stiff are they to turn?

PrintKiddie

@Samuel Pinches the right side screw is pretty stiff but I can turn it with effort. The left side is tight enough that I can't turn it whatsoever

Samuel Pinches

Ok, so sounds like there's a mechanical problem on the left side. The Z motors are connected electrically, so if one cannot turn, the other one will have a hard time turning too. Once the left one is freed, I expect both will turn fine.

Something is stuck: either the motor shaft is siezed, or the nut that lifts the x-axis on the Z-axis is stuck.

The blue grease that jgaurora uses tends to dry over time which doesnt help things. I recommend replacing that grease with higher quality 3D printer lubricant.

Please watch this excellent video by DaHai which shows how the Z axis components are connected - this video is for the A5, but the design is quite similar on the A5S.

PrintKiddie

Awesome. So do you recommend that I disassemble that side, re-lubricate and then reassemble? 

Samuel Pinches

Yep, hopefully then you can find which part is stuck, and then go from there

PrintKiddie

Ok, just got some time to sit down with it. Took off the stepper motor like it said, and the cylinder that rotates the set screw was very tight. When I try to rotate that cylinder it only rotates about 270 degrees either direction. As it approaches 270 it starts to get resistance and then at 270 seems to click into place, again in both directions. I say this because I don't know what "right" looks like. Is this normal? Do I need to change out this cylinder? Photos attached. 

Now the z-axis screw rotates freely.

Samuel Pinches

Apologies - some of your messages went to spam! Shouldn't happen again.

Did you resolve this?