Lead vs Pitch
Clearing Up The Confusion
At Spool3D, we offer a variety of lead screws with different diameters, lengths, pitches and leads. The most confusing part is identifying the pitch and lead of your 3D printer lead screw. Most 3D printers come with T8, 2mm pitch, 8mm lead, lead screws as standard, but how can you be sure?
1) The simplest way is to check the travel of your lead screw nut. Simply mark the point on your lead screw with a marker the place it is sitting. Turn the nut one full revolution. Measure the distance traveled in millimeters. This is your lead. Pitch is simply the distance between threads in mm.
2) The number of starts on your lead screw. This defines the number of thread systems on your lead screw. A single start lead screw has a lead equal to its pitch, a double start lead screw has a lead twice its pitch, a 4 start lead screw has a lead 4 times its pitch, etc. Pitch is simply the distance between threads in mm. The number of starts on a lead screw can be found by looking at the end and counting the starts.
At Spool3D we currently offer the following T8 lead screws and T8 nuts:
- 1 start; 1 mm pitch; 1 mm lead
- 1 start; 2 mm pitch; 2 mm lead
- 2 start; 2 mm pitch; 4 mm lead
- 4 start; 2 mm pitch; 8 mm lead
- 8 start; 2 mm pitch;16 mm lead
- T8 Nuts
- Anti Backlash T8 Nuts
Recent Posts
-
Fix Rough 3D Print Top Layers & Pillowing | Spool3D
The walls look good. The corners are clean. Then the printer reaches the top of the part and leave …October 14, 2026 -
3D Prints Splitting Between Layers? Causes & Fixes for Weak Layer Adhesion
A 3D print can have a smooth surface, tidy corners and a clean top layer, then split the first time …October 08, 2026 -
3D Printer Under-Extrusion: Causes, Fixes & Troubleshooting
Under-extrusion happens when your 3D printer deposits less plastic than the slicer expects. The res …October 06, 2026