I’m putting my A350T together, and all has gone very well.
One area I have a concern with. When installing the X axis, screw holes didn’t line up as well as in all other areas, but by loosing the screws a bit more on both Z axis, I got the holes to line up better. Not perfect, but I got them to go. Which kind of concerned me. But what I have now that everything is tighted up on the Z axis and the X pulled up to the top evenly as instructed is what appears to be an uneven X axis. It’s just a hair off, so I wanted to ask if that is an issue anyone else has seen? There is a bit of play on the right side module which is the one that is slightly lower.
Oof, yea I don’t know how familiar you are with machining terminology but the process you’re describing is tramming, or making the machine tram.
I’d recommend tramming X to the top of the Y modules as that’s what determines the bed flatness the best while still being easily accessible. The internal machining of the linear modules is inconsistent and results in exactly what you’re seeing - one side can be higher than the other.
Here’s how I do it:
Any 2 objects the same height will work, soup cans for instance. Loosen the mounts from X to Z on each side the first time you do this to ensure any residual stress is relieved from the joints.
Once that baseline is established, tighten everything up snug, and you can can then check the accuracy of the top of the modules by pushing X to the top again and seeing if it hits one side before the other.
If it’s slightly off then that’s probably normal. If it’s significantly off then it’s possible one of the Z towers isn’t sitting in its recessed hole in the base just right.
If you’re suspicious of the base you can verify the casting is workably flat with a straight edge. There have reports of the casting being warped which will affect other machine functions.
If you have a digital angle gauge it would be prudent to verify the Z towers are 90 degrees to the base and as perfectly parallel as possible. Here’s the measurements I have on mine for reference (all within 0.35deg of perfect, it should be quite close):
Anyways, probably more information than you need, but hopefully it helps paint a picture of which measurements are the critical ones.
Thanks @brent113 now that my head has exploded! LOL! The amount is very small as far as difference, but I will try your method, and see if I can tweek it enough to make a difference. Again it’s quite a small thing, but we know how those can get out of hand. Thanks for your input.
Yeah since it’s a small thing 90% of what I said doesn’t apply but maybe it’ll help keep things in check in the future if things start to drift.
The main takeaway is have some sort of reference either at the top or on the axis where the mount screws are loose so that there’s no weird stresses built up. Tighten everything up after you’re happy
