Drive screw stopping

Resin Printers HALOT-MAGE S & MAGE PRO & regular MAGE
1

Hi there,

I have a Halot Mage 8k (not pro) that I have had since they came out. To-date I have had no real issues with it, until this week.

I have had a number of failed prints that only seem to get around 2-3mm into the print and then the build plate does not lift any further. Hence, when the machine thinks it has finished the print, it hasn’t and I just end up with a base of the print on the build plate.

Having monitored this live I have discovered that the drive screw at the back of the machine seems to stall - it squeaks and makes a sound like it is trying to turn, then nothing. If I give it a helping hand by gently turning the top of the drive screw it suddenly kicks into life and starts working again. I might have to do this 2-3 times at the print and then it seems to progress ok.

I have tried changing the print settings so it does not spend so long in the burn in phase, as I wondered if that was making the plate too sticky, if you know what I mean - i.e. it was too attached the motor couldn’t lift it. However, that doesn’t seem to help.

I am printing something with a large square base straight on the build plate, but that is not unusual for me (I use it to print cases for arduino projects sometimes) and have never had an issue like this - normally it would just detach from the film and fail that way.

I wonder if there is a cog that is worn somewhere, as that what the squeaking sounds like. Has anyone had any issues like this?

Thanks,

Ian

2

Although I cannot be sure……
I have a mage s that started making noises shortly after I started printing one fairly large base file. After investigating the situation I ended up removing the z-axis motor and screw. Cleaning up the coupling, screw, and rails. Re-lubing the rails and screw then tightening the coupling a bit tighter than it was.
I found that if I did not put a small piece of paper or a shim in the slot at the motor it would not tighten properly as the “collar and split was too far down over the motor shaft.
This seemed to fix my issues with the feed.