Hi team
Began a print, woke up overnight due to a loud grinding noise. Went downstairs and found the grinding was occuring during all xy movements. The machine has worked perfectly up until now.
Couldn’t remove filament; however alarms came up about Motor B. Took the back off, reseated the cable for motor B, the issue remains. Following the wiki, I then swapped motor B on the MCBoard with Motor A, and it came up with a motor A error, indicating the issue is with the motor. I have registered a support ticket, but understand there’s a wait.
Has anyone else experienced a grinding noise along the xy axis? Was the machine old? I wouldn’t have thought a stepper motor would be faultless than three weeks out of the box. Will the parts be replaced free of charge given the age of the machine?
Looking at the motor, it appears to still move, and I haven’t changed anything on the tensioning of the belts.
Haaaaalllpppp
Edit: done videos of the noise X1 - Google Drive
Those noises are usually caused by a lack of lubrication combined with carbon particles getting loose from those rods.
Regular but not too often a good clean as per the help pages can prevent this issue.
Problem is that the bearings rely on the dry lubrication the rods offer.
Once there is too much carbon loose it builds up in all the wrong places and causes undue wear and tear.
Clean those rods as instructed and until your cloth comes back CLEAN.
Silicone oil can be used to offer additional lubrication but is not ideal.
Dry lube with a teflon base, as use for motorbike chains or moving plastic parts is MUCH better - but hard to apply properly.
I find it best to apply the dry lube onto a lintfree cloth to then rub it onto the rods.
One side at a time and with enough rubbing using a dry cloth to ensure there really is only a dry film left on the rod.
When you do the cleaning keep the noise levels down and pay attention to the movement sound.
If you still hear more grinding than rolling noise from the bearings keep using IPA on the rods and move the head - the noise will get good once those mating surfaces are properly clean again.
Removing the old lube…
Nothing lasts forever…
Silicone or teflon based products do not really mix or dissolve.
So IPA and some microfiber cloth will do.
The rest is done by GENTLE rubbing over the rods.
Like with dry rods you only want to get a carbon free cloth back so don’t overdo things.
NEVER try to go AROUND the rod!
When cleaning them only ever go lengthwise!
Failing to do so could mean breaking or elevating carbon fibers that are loose but otherwise not a problem…
Mmmm okay. I’ve hit it with some Isopropyl Alcohol and given it a rub, which hasn’t really done much for the sound alas.
The device is only been in use a week, and the change in sound was sudden and significant - do you think carbon coming off the xy axis would degrade that quickly and impact one stepper motor? It’s strange, because when I cleaned the axis the motor itself had no problems turning not was there any grinding sound.
Thanks for watching and helping out though, it really is much appreciated!
Well, such little use should NOT result in any serious issues…
Might be a stupid question but did you try a reset and full calibration?
You know all this rattling and vibration you had during the initial setup…
If some values for jerk, acceleration or such would require a change because, for example, you moved the printer this should fix it.
Did you loosen those belt tensioners during your cleaning ? 
Just asking as just this and moving the head around can fix any tension related issues - like one belt having more tension than the other.
Probable not the case but still:
I had a failed print once where some small structures snapped off.
Days later I ended up going nuts with grinding noises, missed steps and prints failing at random.
Turned out, after a lot of searching with a flashlight and tiny dental mirrors, that a small of piece of plastic somehow managed to get wedged near a pulley.
Acting a bit like a random locking lever whenever the belt experienced enough vibration.
Can you identify from where exactly your noise originates?
E.g. from inside the head, along the belts or such.
On car engines I use a length of garden hose to hone in on noisy spots.
Adding a bit of cotton wool inside the end facing the music helps.
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I like the idea using garden hose to locate the source of the noise.
Very good tip.
I am having this exact same issue. Identical noise and it happened suddenly. Was any resolution reached on this?
There was, but it was kinda long. I followed support’s instructions - it was a blown stepper motor, and the more complex of the two to replace to boot.
Eventually when support realised I couldn’t replace it on my own, they issued me a replacement printer through their advanced returns process.
Reach out to support, offer to install a new stepper motor yourself, fail, then replacement.
I unfortunately think that is my issue as well. I tried the trick of switching the motor connectors and the same motor still showed up as bad. I will do my best to replace it but i can already tell it is quite tight. Thanks for the reply.
Good luck. If it’s the more complex of the two - Stepper Motor B from memory - the screws were machined in and I couldn’t get good torque from the hex screws provided. I bought a 2mm hex screws with a handle without much luck either; the handle prevented a good clean line on getting the underside screw out.
Replacement hasn’t played up at all though, and I’m printing fine now!