I just got my 5.1 running. When it moves the gantry, both the left and right motors make a distinct clicking sound…almost like it had a card in the spokes. Is that normal?
Does the click click sound happen in correlation to the speed of the jog? I’ve seen bolts come loose on the connectors between stepper and ball screws. It would click once per rotation as the bolt was just barely back out enough to contact the housing.
Similar to the prank played on the shop teacher…big ol zip tie on the drive shaft of the car. No noise at idle, increases with speed 
So there’s no sound for anyone else? Maybe I should have support “listen in”
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Did you pre grease the shafts
No clicking on my S5 Pro 4x4?
I did not pregrease the shafts. Was I supposed to?
Additional lubrication shouldn’t hurt:
https://carbide3d.com/hub/docs/maintenance/
ball screws are a lot noisier than belts (I put on hearing protection before even initializing my machine) — I’d compare the noise to the official videos and check things mechanically — if still concerned, send in a video to the young folks at support@carbide3d.com whose hearing isn’t screwed up from too many years wearing headphones and so forth in the military and they’ll be able to address this.
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Thanks Will. I did send them a video and Tyler confirmed that he’s heard it before, but not all the time. We’re in a wait and see, as everything seems tight. I’ll run some basic geometric shapes this weekend and make sure we don’t have any tracking issues. I’ll try the lubrication route, as that may well be what’s making the sound so prominent.
FYI: My Z makes a similar (but softer) noise, both Y’s do as well. But the X is silent.
- Gary
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It would make sense to me that the ball bearings would occasionally clash against each other as they circulate — maybe @Luke or some mechanical engineer could comment?
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I can tell you this…the sound is coming from inside the motor housing itself. There is nothing visible. My son and I stepped the motor slowly and monitored where it was making the sound and it’s in the same point of rotation each time.
And again, I hear it in all the motors, except for my “X” motor. It’s just that Y-Left is by far the loudest; but you can hear the clicking on Y-Left, Y-Right, and Z
Here’s an update:
It clicks.
I ran a test that drilled four holes, 38" apart then went back a redrilled the same holes, then redrilled them again forcing the travel path across both diagonals. It redrilled the holes perfectly…so I guess I’m not losing any steps.
I also ran a simple circle and it looks pretty good to me:
So I guess I’m just resigned to a loud machine. As long as it’s an accurate one, I’m OK.
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I just purchased a 5.1 within the last month and had the same clacking problem I removed the stepper motor and coupling, checked the bolts to make sure they were all tight and put it back together and problem resolved. I think it may have been coupling alignment or stepper motor bolts not equally torqued but i’m speculating.
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I’ll check with support and see what they think…that sounds hopeful!
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I know the clicking you are talking about. Mine has done it from day 1. I got mine November of 2024. I searched as well and could not find the cause. It hasnt gotten any worse. I find it annoying because there is no reason to be there. Its there whether its freshly lubed or dryish.
Thanks Mark…this is what I’ve found as well. I’m 99% certain it’s in the motor body itself, which I’m not about to open. The definitive test is not something I feel like going through…and that’s to remove the motor and run it detached from the machine to see if I hear it clicking without load.
It’s unquestionably a plastic sound…maybe a zip tie or label hitting something. When I put my hand on the motor while it’s running, I don’t feel vibration, but I hear the click…so it’s SOMETHING, but not necessarily something that’s hitting the outside motor body.
I too have resigned myself to living with it. When I put on my hearing protectors, I don’t really hear it anyway…so, as long as it doesn’t cause me to lose steps (and so far, it seems that it doesn’t), It’s fine…greatly out-weighed by the awesomeness of this machine.
My current quest is to find out how this beefier spindle is going to shorten my jobs…and by how much!
- Gary
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I had a thought this morning about the clicking so i asked google what could cause something to click inside the motor and kind of reaffirmed my theory. It sounds like one of the magnets could be slightly loose inside. Its just the one motor clicking. For me it is the right y axis motor. I have a spare so im going to try a quick swap later. Ill do a video of the before and after swap to see if there is a difference and share it here
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I hear clicking in three of my four motors. Both Y’s and the Z. The X is silent. Left Y (Y2) is louder than Y1 is louder than the Z. Carbide support confirms the sound is familiar, so I’m thinking this is just one of those things.
If something goes south, I know support will stand by it.
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They are definitely at the top of their game with service
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