Not for the first time and certainly not for the last, it would seem that a round of applause is due for aninanimate rod. Many cheap and cheerful DIY 3D printers, such as the Prusa i3 and other RepRap machines, use a threaded rod for their z-axis. The threaded rod is a cheap piece of equipment, but many users—Daniel included—have encountered irresolvable problems when using the oblong piece of metal.