Shapeoko 3 stopping halfway down ballscrew

Hey, recently had to replace the Z axis motor. That went well, back up and running, initialized well but now it won’t go below -95mm, roughly halfway down the ballscrew.

There’s no mechanical grinding, nothing to suggest the machine is at fault and it seems to be a software issue but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get around it without winding down the ballscrew manually to set it at the bottom then reinitializing it. I’m hoping I don’t need to so that’s why I’m here.

Any help appreciated, thank you for your time

What type of Z do you have? The leadscrew in the Z-Plus and the ballscrew on the HDZ are driven at different rates and more/less steps per MM depending on which one you have. During configuration you have to pick the correct Z. To tell the difference at a glance the Z-Plus has a stud at the bottom of the leadscrew with a hole that does not touch the leadscrew. The HDZ has a bearing block at the bottom of the ballscrew. It is important to know which one you have and set it up correctly.

Both the Z-Plus and the HDZ have to have lubrication and the linear rails can become dried out. You use Mobil Vactra #2 oil to lubricate the bearings. That is part of the routine maintenance that should be performed periodically.

If your Z does not go down far enough jog it down as far as it will go. Then power off your SO3 and physically try to move your Z lower by turning the lead/ballscrews. If the Z goes lower you likely have a configuration problem. If it cannot go lower then you likely have a mechanical problem. Turning the lead/ballscrew is not easy but it will turn. If you cannot go lower try going up and inspect the lead/ballscrew for damage or debris.

1 Like

Ill get on that now, know its gonna be a pain but here’s hoping.

Did you configure for the correct sort of Z-axis?

As far as I know. I reconfigured just now, new machine set up yaddayadda, same issue.

I believe I have the HDZ rather than the Z plus. Tried to jog it down, still won’t go below -95mm.

Is your machine mechanically sound? Can you move it manually through the full range and are the linear rails/blocks well lubricated?

Post a photo of your machine and your Grbl settings?

Machine is sound. minus this Z issue its running perfect. Can move it just fine, no issues. Wound the ballscrew all the way down, that’s fine. Will work on pictures soons

Which control board do you have? Does it have DIP switches for micro-stepping?

Couldn’t tell you. Not sure what that means.

Small update on the Z situation, got it to run below -95 thankfully but the motor is now grinding slightly off the bottom of the ballscrew in both directions. Machine can push past it but still concerning