Random Z Issue

I swapped the stepper with a known working stepper and the problem appears to have vanished. I haven’t run the program while actually cutting anything, but I did a dry run “in the air” and the Z axis operated flawlessly.

The Z stepper could have a wiring problem though. I totally forgot that I had to put a connector on the stepper since it came with bare wires. I’m going to try putting a new end on it and see if it works. It could be that there was a loose connection. Or maybe the stepper is bad, who knows.

I did see that Lulzbot has put the stepper I was using on a clearance sale in their online store. They appear to have switched to a different manufacturer. Could be nothing, but it is interesting!

I rewired the old stepper and it seems to be super weak. I can easily hold the shaft with my fingers and overpower it, causing it to reverse direction and generally wig out.

Replacing the Z stepper solved the problem. I did some longer CNC router jobs last night without any issues.

Thanks for the help!