[iMillJoe]

My Shops 14 month old LB4000 took a pretty hard crash a month or so ago. I don't run her that often, but I've been on it all week this week, and have noticed the the Z axis is starting to sound more like our 15+ year old MX45 mills. We have an 8 year old Captain that is quitter when positioning the turret. Is it normal for a machine as new as she is to be making so much noise when rapiding in Z, or is this yet another call we need to make to the techs to get her back in ship shape after the crash?

[tea hole]

So, i hit the wrong damn button and deleted my flowery post, so this is going to be more gritty:
These pictures of a machine at an Okuma display i attended show the Z axis ball screw and nut. (really glad i took these) You will see that they are pretty robust, and there isn't much near by to rub against, so possibly something in the crash caused:

A ruined ball screw
ruined nut
ruined or out of adjustment gibs

These machines are, in my experience, solid, and the oldest ones i've been on have no noise like you describe after thousands of hours and millions of parts.

I would highly advise you have someone come out to investigate.

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[iMillJoe]

Thanks tea hole, I will one again inform my management. I'll probably get told it's something we need to keep an eye on, but thats likely as far as things will get until it breaks, not every one is as proactive as myself.

[OkumaWiz]

It could also be the thrust bearings on the end of the ballscrew. Those usually go before anything else.

Best of luck,

[Algirdas]

it could be tappered gibs also ...

[tea hole]

I think were all talking about the same basic things with thrust bearings and all, in general, if it's not in the gibs, obviously, it is in the ball screw assembly somewhere. Bearings, screw, nut, whatever. How the machine crashed may reflect the damage.
Any word here?