Z-axis not strong enough to lift machine torch **SOLVED**

CrossFire ® PRO Troubleshooting
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I recently switched to a hypertherm 45xp with a machine torch from my old hobart, and it’s been running fine. Doing my first big production run today, LOTS of aluminum. Was working fine for hours. Now the z-axis can’t lift the torch anymore. If I disconnect the machine torch mount I can get it to run all the way up and all the way down, but as soon as the torch is mounted, I can’t get it further than a 1/16" off the material. Right before this issue it was raising the torch too high on a line even when I turned off THC, like started lifting until I was 1" above the sheet. Finally decided to just move on to a new part, and I can’t get it to lift the torch anymore.

EDIT: I’m dumb, looks like it was just the coupler, I thought it wasn’t because I couldn’t get it any tighter, but it was stuck or something, so I had to loosen the coupler screws in order to be able to tighter them further than they were? Either way, seems fine now.

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could be the coupler be possibly slipping? does the motor sound like its working correctly or does it sound like it’s struggling?

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3

Motor has a consistent sound, looks like the bearing are catching somewhere, without the torch mounted and running the screw down by hand, there are parts where the bearing housing stays behind then drops suddenly

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And now I can’t get it to move up or down even without the torch mounted

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Plug the Z motor cable into the X axis driver and try to move it with the X axis buttons. If it moves correctly, the stepper motor driver is the problem.

Have you confirmed that the lead screw turns when the motor turns?

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6

he edited his initial post and said it was a loose coupler.

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