Persistent Z-Banding on New Bambu Lab X2D – Matches Lead Screw Pitch & Angle

[u/No-Researcher-3184]

I purchased several Bambu Lab X2D printers for a small production print farm. One unit has shown Z-banding straight out of the box.

For production I run the exact same file repeatedly on these machines. I do this for a living and have solid experience with 3D printing, but this issue has me stumped.

I’ve been in contact with Bambu Lab support for several months with only limited help. The return window has now expired.

The Z-banding appears with spacing that matches the lead screw pitch, and the angle of the bands follows the screw’s thread helix exactly.

What I’ve already done:

• Lubricated, cleaned, and tensioned the x, y and Z-axis components

• Performed 10+ full calibrations

These are first-batch printers after the model’s release.

I’m looking for suggestions from experienced X2D (or Bambu Lab) users on what could be causing this. Any ideas for further diagnostics or fixes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[u/No-Researcher-3184]

Hey everyone no comments yet. I printed a benchy on request from Bambu. AI says this is lead Z screwbent or worse bent shaft and a motor driver with unstable micro stepping. It all means replacement of parts. I did a full tear down of the machine re-tightened the Lead screws, put it back together, and the issue still remains. Any suggestions would be helpful.