Shapeoko 3 - Z- Axis Help Guide

[edwardrford]

Before you go banging your head against the wall (too many times), here is some informaiton that you might find useful in regards to assembling hte z-axis.

1.) Does your belt appear to be too long? It might just be! We had a batch of bad belts get mixed in with good belts. Please contact customer support (support@carbide3d.com) and we'll ship you a new belt ASAP!

2.) Did you receive a machine between June 20th and July 1st? If so, one of the pulleys provided with your kit is too long! We've already shipped you a new pulley to fix this!- The new pulley will come in a small white bubble mailer via USPS and be delivered on approximately July 2.

Assuming neither of those recalls effect you, here are a few knowledgebase articles that you will find helpful:

1.) How to route the z-belt: http://docs.carbide3d.com/article/31-wh ... -axis-belt
2.) How to properly tension the belt: http://docs.carbide3d.com/article/34-z- ... tensioning

If you're still having an issue, please feel free to contact support directly (support@carbide3d.com) and we'll help you get up and running in no time!

-Edward

[Rowdy Penguin]

Looks like I was in the too big belt shipment phase. Just got my machine yesterday (11 July) and am stuck at finishing the z axis belt loading. Arg, very frustrating after waiting since February. I sent an email to customer support but since it is a weekend, figure I wont hear anything until Monday.

Even with the stepper in the upmost slot position, the belt is still over an inch too long.

[FabricatorCraig]

Looks like I was in the too big belt shipment phase....
...the belt is still over an inch too long.

It might be the case that you have a bad belt, but I believe the difference in length between the "bad" belt and the correct one was about 4mm. In fact, the correct belt is marked with a "520" in the ink stamping on the belt. The bad one was a 524, I think. So, it's possible that with an inch of slack it could be a belt routing problem instead?

I'll let others chime in, but that's my first reaction. What part number does the belt have stamped on yours?

[CastIrony]

Looks like I was in the too big belt shipment phase....
...the belt is still over an inch too long.

It might be the case that you have a bad belt, but I believe the difference in length between the "bad" belt and the correct one was about 4mm. In fact, the correct belt is marked with a "520" in the ink stamping on the belt. The bad one was a 524, I think. So, it's possible that with an inch of slack it could be a belt routing problem instead?

I'll let others chime in, but that's my first reaction. What part number does the belt have stamped on yours?

I had a too-long 524mm-labelled belt, that was replaced with a 520mm-labelled belt.

I'm not sure though if that was the issue, or if my 524mm-labelled belt was actually something closer to 528mm.

[Rowdy Penguin]

I talked with customer service and they helped me resolve the problem pretty quickly. I needed to go back and make some adjustments, actually did a re-build of the z axis plate set up and all seems well now. Sounds like there will be a new set of drawings in the future to help.

I have found that by going back and re-building the plate (whether to fix mistakes or such), my confidence rose in understanding the parts and machine as a whole. I am a woodworker at heart and not very engineer-minded. Takes time to adjust.

If you are having any build problems, definitely recommend contacting customer service - they answered on a weekend even.