Elusive "creaking" from Stealthburner (CW 2 + Revo Voron)

[Dave32]

Hey folks. I have an elusive "creaking" sound from my Stealthburner toolhead, and was hoping the experts might have some advice for my troubleshooting process.

The noise really does sound like a "creak".. like walking across an old wood floor kind of a noise. I wouldn't call it a "tick".
The printer has about 11 hours of print time, and the noise is new.


Things I have tried or checked (not necessarily in order):

1. Placed a mark on the extruder motor shaft: It turns smoothly and doesn't appear to be skipping.
2. Checked E motor temp - hardly even warm to the touch.
3. Extruding while stationary: The noise continues, so A/B/Z issues are ruled out.
4. Reducing extrusion feed rate considerably & raised nozzle temperature: The noise continues, so not beyond volumetric limits
5. Manually fed filament with extruder drive idler disengaged: Filament flows easily, so not a nozzle clog
6. Adjusted the E motor gear lash: Verified that the large plastic gear can be moved back and forth with a slight amount of free play
7. Removed idler arm and lightly sanded the sides to ensure it isn't binding against the CW2 housing: No change, and it moves freely
8. Adjusted the extruder motor drive current: Default was 0.5A, tried as low as 0.2A and as high as 0.7A with no change to the sound
9. Verified that there was no debris in the teeth between the two filament drive gears
10. Verified that there was no damage to the teeth on the large white gear
11. Adjusted the internal drive gear gap screw: makes no change throughout the whole range from all the way in (not making contact) through being out far enough that the drive gears no longer grip the filament
12. Adjusted the tension knob all the way from fully in to falling out: No change
13. Changed the limits and extruded very long distances: The creaking noises appear to repeat and coincide with the same spots on the extruder shaft with the long gear
14. Checked with the idler disengaged entirely: the noise persists.

So that's where I'm at. Based on #13, I think I can also rule out the bearings on that shaft. But the cause of the noise is a mystery. My only thought is that the drive shaft might be slightly asymmetric or non-concentric, but that wouldn't explain why I am only hearing the noise 11 hours in?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[MichaelOToole]

Check all fasteners are secure/tight, the only way I can replicate a creaking sound is where two (separate) pieces overlap or touch and I loosen a fastener connecting them.
If you haven't done so, it's worth checking.

 

[majic79]

I'd say the same as Michael - check that the sandwiching of the tool carrier/cooling channels and the cover plate are all snug - the two SHCS in the X-Axis also need to be "right" - you may need to put a ball-end Allen key into them and nip up a small amount after inserting the hot end carrier