# Z Moving Plate Out of Square **URL:** \ **Category:** General Chat\ **Created:** [June 21, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287 "2026-06-21T01:18:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/1 "2026-06-21T01:18:05Z")
Hey team - just bought a PRO6060 off fb marketplace and working to get it dialed back in. Initial tram showed a whopping 1.1mm forward nod on the z axis. Measured everything and narrowed it down to the z moving plate. All of the bolts seem tight and aligned on the plate, but it’s still 1mm out of square from top to bottom. What should I look for to correct? Should I just try to shim under the lower bearing block connections to correct? This is my first Avid, so I don’t know what I don’t know. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/2 "2026-06-21T01:40:16Z")
![IMG_2781](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/f/f64ea3eae3798f70d5b2efbd29e58b613a44eca3.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 4:03am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/3 "2026-06-21T04:03:40Z")
Try loosening the screws in the riser plate and correcting the tilt of the whole gantry before resorting to shimming: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/e/e543caec94abbfa89355652ead30814eb0b47fd6.png) ---
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:33am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/4 "2026-06-21T10:33:03Z")
The x gantry and the bearing plate that rides on it are square- the red parts of the z are square/plumb as well. It’s just that moving plate ---
**Author:** ![JeffsDesign](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/jeffsdesign/32/5574_2.png) [@JeffsDesign](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/JeffsDesign)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/5 "2026-06-21T15:13:26Z")
You could always take that plate off and see if there’s any debris or anything causing that gap? ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/6 "2026-06-21T20:30:29Z")
The more important question is whether your Z-axis travel is actually square. I recently checked mine by placing a machinist’s square on a leveled surface plate and running a dial indicator up and down the square while jogging the Z-axis. Any deviation would indicate the Z-axis isn’t traveling perfectly vertical. ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/7 "2026-06-21T20:45:05Z")
A cylindrical square would be the proper tool for this but given how much flex there is in the frame I doubt it would make any difference. Here is a pic of my setup: ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/d/d90aadc507c1e7232c836ee2132937b35f2830e2.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![JeffsDesign](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/jeffsdesign/32/5574_2.png) [@JeffsDesign](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/JeffsDesign)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/8 "2026-06-21T21:52:05Z")
How would you level your surface plate? ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/9 "2026-06-21T22:13:17Z")
After X and Y have been leveled you can use a dial indicator and shim it ---
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/10 "2026-06-21T22:44:03Z")
That’s super cool - what is the dial indicator riding on? ---
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/11 "2026-06-21T22:47:22Z")
@JeffsDesign trying - problem now is that when I went to loosen the bolts the ball end of my allen wrench sheared off inside the bolt/screw head - trying to get that out without screwing (pun intended?) the aluminum up. Just got back from Harbor Freight with some sweet half price Icon extractors! ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/12 "2026-06-21T22:49:33Z")
Magnetized to a piece of metal I attached to the z axis - but could be anything ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/13 "2026-06-21T22:52:14Z")
I think most of us have stripped those screws on the moving plate at some point - could use a quality upgrade @Eric ---
**Author:** ![JeffsDesign](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/jeffsdesign/32/5574_2.png) [@JeffsDesign](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/JeffsDesign)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/14 "2026-06-22T01:39:14Z")
I had that happen to me as well! I thought it was a good idea to replace them all with new ones ---
**Author:** ![NikosSprocket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/73ab20/32.png) [@NikosSprocket](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/NikosSprocket)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/15 "2026-06-22T14:54:51Z")
Are there any torque specifications for any of the hardware? I could not find them in the assembly manual (pdf); did I miss them? ---
**Author:** ![JeffsDesign](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/jeffsdesign/32/5574_2.png) [@JeffsDesign](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/JeffsDesign)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/16 "2026-06-22T15:53:48Z")
I use the good and tight method which means by feel! I haven’t seen any torque specs either. ---
**Author:** ![NikosSprocket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/73ab20/32.png) [@NikosSprocket](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/NikosSprocket)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/17 "2026-06-22T20:28:48Z")
I hope they will publish some torque specs soon. All threads in aluminum structures can be easily stripped by applying “extra” torque for keeping the parts together. I use [Blue Loctite Stick](https://amzn.to/4xKVyt3) for all my assemblies such as FDM printers, CNC milling, motorcycles etc. ---
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/18 "2026-06-23T02:53:29Z")
Update. I was able to get the moving plate off today. There’s no chips, burrs or obvious defects underneath. I cleaned everything and reattached and the same forward nod is there. The plate it bolts to appears to be square, as does the x gantry plate. See pics. One thing I did check that’s interesting - the nod seems to be smaller the high I move the Z - it could also be because I only have a couple of inches of square at that height ![IMG_2784](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/1/123252c6b2efd2a6319c92fbf4f79b4ac683b485.jpeg) ![IMG_2787](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/3/3838e988e1eab11903cf71b427c6df695c694fba.jpeg) ![IMG_2788](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/9/9d6f3503426e64af733bc8e1c3ef555802843fbf.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![timbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@timbo](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/timbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/19 "2026-06-23T22:48:31Z")
Another update - spent some time on the phone with Avid support, and I’ve ordered a new moving plate, which apparently a new and improved design. Hoping that will ship today and hoping that it solves the problem. The only other thing I can think is that since I THINK it getsa tiny bit better as the z height increases, maybe there’s something I’m not measuring or checking? @greg.obj I think you mentioned this further up the thread with the pic of your dial indicator - what could be bent, out of square, or otherwise wonky that would cause that forward leaning nod to get worse as the plate moves lower on the z axis? ---
**Author:** ![greg.obj](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/greg.obj/32/2807_2.png) [@greg.obj](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/greg.obj)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287/20 "2026-06-23T23:01:22Z")
The moving plate itself isn’t important here - the question is are your vertical linear rails tilted relative to your X and Y linear rails. That is what my setup checks for, moving plate mounted or not. [Next page](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/z-moving-plate-out-of-square/6287.md?page=2)