TAZ 6 Constant Layer Shifting

Hi All,
I’ve recently been having a lot of trouble with my TAZ 6 layer shifting on large prints in both the X and Y directions. It’s a recurring issue and I just can’t seem to find proper fix for it. Here’s a list of things I’ve either checked or tried:

  • Tightened the belts and checked that the pulley set screws are tight and that one is on the flat part of the motor shaft. I haven’t seen a layer shift happen with my own eyes yet, but I work in the same room as the printer and have never heard the sound of belts skipping.
  • Checked if there’s anything restricting the movement of the bed or the X carriage.
  • Opened the panel on the side and measured the temperature of the stepper drivers with an infrared FLIR camera. The drivers were reaching about 210F. I suspected this high temperature may cause the drivers to overheat and reset, causing layer shifts. In response to this, I added this line to the starting gcode: M907 X70 Y70. This effectively lowers the current going to the X and Y motors. I resliced and another print, then measured the temps again; they were hovering around 135F and 150F for the X and Y drivers, respectively. This same print also layer shifted overnight, but it mainly did it in the Y direction, with only a small amount of movement in the X direction. In prints before, it would layer shift upwards of 10 times. I suspect that my cooling efforts were maybe partially successful, and that that’s why the layer shifting was less extreme.

I’m not sure what else I could do or check to further diagnose and fix this issue. The only thing I can think of is possibly lowering the current a bit more and/or adding another permanently running cooling fan to the electronics.

You may have traded one cause of layer shifting for another. The y axis is carrying a lot more mass than the x axis. If you lower the driver current to below what the motor needs to maintain step position, the stepper will skip. At the same drive current this will likely happen on the y axis first, since this axis is moving the most mass.

I would throw some heat sinks on your motor drivers and run it with the cover off at normal driver currents. If it works, maybe you have an issue with the case fan.

Also, check that your bed plate is secure. If the glass can slide at all this can cause random shifts on high acceleration moves.