Platform tilts when it accelerates in Y direction

This is the notorious z-wobble of the Y-axis linear rails. It has been an issue for a long time, which Snapmaker has apparently refused to acknowledge, and is a fault in the design of the linear rail modules (it can eventually affect the X and Z axis modules as well). The underlying cause it that the bearings inside of the linear rail modules are loose and/or worn. There are 5 options to fix it:

  1. Contact Support to purchase replacement modules (expensive)
  2. Disassemble modules to tighten the bearings (not a guaranteed fix)
  3. Disassemble modules to replace the bearings
  4. Install DIY support rail modification
  5. Install Snapmaker official bracing kit (SM advertises this as additional bracing intended to support the 200W CNC module rather than a fix for the wobble, but they took their inspiration for it from the DIY support mods and originally released it due to owner request/complaints about the wobble, but then refused to offer it free-of-charge to anyone with the issue - shoddy and unsupportive of them, no pun intended)

Note: #1-3 should be considered temporary fixes, as it will eventually happen again. If you choose any of #2-5, you should consider #3 as mandatory along with it in order to retain full integrity of the modules. #5 is probably the most efficient solution, but will cause the permanent loss of some of your z-height build volume, and the longevity and reliability of the kit is not yet fully tested since it is a new product just released within the past few months. #4 has numerous solutions developed by various users/owners, with varying degrees of mechanical aptitude and modification required; you can find most of them here in the forum using the search term “support rails.”

In my case, my A350 purchased new in April 2021 suffered this issue around the 6 month (approx 900 hours of use) mark. I was so infuriated with the poor quality engineering across various aspects of the machine that I didn’t touch it for about 3-6 months. When I finally got around to messing with it again, option #5 didn’t exist at the time, so I ended up going with #3-4 combined. That was more than 2yrs ago, and it has not been an issue since.

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