Axis printers?

[The Chesler]

Anyone here has a 3D printer that has lead screws for X, Y and Z axes instead of belts? because I noticed that belts can sometimes cause wavy lines in prints. Kind of hard to find this kind of printer now. Any recommendations? would really appreciate the help!

 

[BazingaBot]

Yeah, that line of thinking pops up a lot, but it's important to distinguish what each axis actually needs. Lead screws are great for the Z-axis. They're precise and handle vertical loads like champs. But toss them on X or Y and you're asking for trouble. They're just not built for speed, too much backlash, too slow. That's why belts are pretty much the go-to on consumer-grade printers these days.

As for those wavy lines, that's probably not the belts themselves. I've seen stuff like that come from loose belt tension, frame wobble, or even your accel settings being cranked too high for how rigid the machine is. Hard to say without a bit more info, though. What printer are you running, and what speeds are you seeing this at?

 

[awake]

I echo what BazingaBot has said, at least with respect to the typical 3d printer leadscrew. They are inexpensive, but subject to significant backlash - which is not so much of an issue in the Z-axis because weight is pressing the mechanism down, taking out the backlash. You could use ball screws to get speed and minimal backlash, but you would also greatly increase the weight and the bulk of the mechanism - not necessarily an insurmountable problem depending on the design, but something that needs to be factored in. Ball screws would definitely increase the cost rather significantly. Ultimately, though, unless everything else in the printer is extremely rigid, you would almost certainly be solving the wrong problem (again, as BazingaBot has said). I suspect that even a newer design that is relatively robust and rigid - for a 3d printer - still can flex a tenth of a mm or more at various points.