Well I must’ve bumped into the lead screw hard enough where it’s no longer straight, and I can visibly see it wobble when the bed is going up and down. What’s the solution to getting it straightened out with an entire disassembly?
the Zero is in an enclosure, how did you bump it to bend it..??
It’s possible something is just loose…if not, that you will have to replace it…there is no way to make it straight again.
I honestly have no clue how, I was doing some toolhead maintenance and then I realized it was wobbling afterwards when I was homing it. I was afraid I would have to replace it due to it’s complexity and effort, and I have no idea how much it would cost because it’s past the 1 year mark since I’ve owned the machine.
I figure designing a jig or something to attach a dial indicator and then slowly bending it back to as straight as possible could get me back to 90% but I have no idea how to even begin with something that like.
Are you sure that you didn’t just push the bed down on one side & the Z isn’t level..??
Try turning the lead screws by hand all the way to the top or bottom & re-level the bed.
Email Sovol at info@sovol3d.com to see if they will send you a new rod.
If not, ask for the exact dimensions & look on Amazon, you should be able to get a set for under $20.
It’s not the Z not being level. As the bed goes up and down I can see the right lead screw wobble. I must’ve bumped into it when the bed was all the way down because that’s the only way I can see it be slightly bent in this situation. For now I’ve sent Sovol the email with purchase information and serial #. I will report back when I get an update
It’s readily doable, but merely a bit of a faff. It’s a case of finding the spot & pressing/bending it back.
A shaft yes a lead screw not so much. When it bent the threads on one side spread apart. Unfortunately when you bend it back it is unlikely to close back up but stretch the other side. Might be trivial enough not to be noticeable. might not.
I thought the same thing based on my bedslingers. they put the threaded end into a coupler. the Zero however is lathe turned to directly attach a belt pulley.
Leaving the tops of the screws unsupported may not have been the best design choice.
I bet you are not the first to bend one.
If it was a lead screw that bent at the turned down end that is fitted into a bearing, I’ve had some luck turning it until the other end is farthest away and then gradually bending the unthreaded portion just above the bearing or shaft coupling while testing runout, essentially reversing the bend, but the design of the Zero places the end of the threaded rod under the bottom plate of the build chamber, so any bend in the threaded rod will be on the threads. As cardoc noted, trying to bend the threaded portion will probably not work and will mostly further damage the threads. It’s easy to start bending a linear rod or threaded rod and instead of a bend in one plane, there will be multiple bends in multiple planes.
If I tried to fix this, I’d use a dial indicator to find where on the threaded rod the bend occurs and position the build plate there so the bend occurs exactly where it needs to be and not slightly too high or too low. Hopefully, the bed was all the way down and the bend is just above that as that would be the easiest location to replicate. Then very carefully rotate the lead screw so the top position is exactly on the back and then repeatedly bend it exactly forward while testing the runout. You might get lucky to make it work well enough, but probably not.
The likely repair is contacting Sovol for a replacement lead screw. The repair shouldn’t be too difficult or expensive. The precision is all self aligning when you level the bed with the X gantry.
Hi guys, thanks for the discussion around this. The Sovol A/S rep also thought the same about the the bed, but I just sent them a video, and hopefully they will respond with a more appropriate solution/allow me to buy the leadscrew motor. Uploaded here to further clarify. As you can see, the problem is much more pronounced the lower the bed is.
I think it’s very possible to accidentally bump the top of the leadscrew while taking off the toolhead to clear clogs and such if the bed is low enough, and that’s most likely how mine got bent. I was looking at Dr. Horrible’s Oldham Flange mod but it’s definitely alot of work, however it seems like it would prevent such issues in the future.
Shucks. That ain’t hardly bent at all. 
It definitely looks like the bend is at the bottom of the lead screw.
Did you try lowering the bed and giving the lead screw a few gradual nudges in the correct direction to rebend it? That’d be cheaper and easier than replacing the lead screw and you might get lucky. It’s not as if you have a lot to lose because you’ll be replacing the bent lead screw anyway.
Did you try printing a test cube to see the left/right waviness at the pitch of the lead screw?
If the Zero was a commercial grade machine, it’d be over built with three 10 mm Z axis lead screws with bearings at the top and bottom. It’s a bit frustrating that my Zero’s build plate can be bumped and that changes the tilt front to back. I keep an eye on the bed mesh and if it tilts, I manually adjust it by pressing it in the correct direction and check it with another bed mesh. If I don’t crash the head on the front or rear of the the bed, it tends to stay level.
Well Sovol responded with “it’s normal because there isn’t anything bracing the top” so I guess I’ll make do with the oldham mod and hopefully it’s fine, fingers crossed.
Alright. Besides being slow and kind of not understanding the situation for a bit, I was able to buy the leadscrew. $8 for one leadscrew and $7 for shipping.