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Thread: Lubrication

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    49

    Question Lubrication

    Hi all!

    I'm relatively new to CNC; I bought an OmioCNC X4-800L a couple of years ago, hoping to use it for making front panels, PCBs, and little bits & pieces in my workshop. I never got round to using it much, beyond setting it up and doing a few test cuts - first in packaging foam(!), then MDF. I managed not to break anything, but just as I was getting into the swing of things my life changed dramatically, and I ended up living on a rusty old barge, and had to devote all my attention to making it liveable! That's now nearly achieved, and I've even built a dedicated cabinet to house the X4 (90cm deep, 75cm wide, with 60cm free height inside), but having fetched it out of storage I'm now starting to worry about rust (when you live on a barge you worry a lot about rust...) These machines are definitely not built for a marine environment, and neither ball screws nor linear guide rails are made from corrosion resistant steel. I've spend a good while trying to find answers online, but it seems most people who have these small-ish/cheap-ish gantry routers never bother to lubricate them at all - which is probably a mistake. I can see that the linear guide blocks have tiny little brass grease nipples on them, but they're waaay too small for any of the grease guns I have (like maybe 3mm dia?), and I seriously doubt that the grease used for the prop shaft on a 45' barge is suitable for a delicate device like this The ball screw nuts do not have any nipples at all from what I can see. So, I'm posting here in the hope of getting some help; what sort of grease gun do I need for the nipples on the guide blocks, how do I best lubricate the ball screws, and what lubricant should I be using? Grateful for any input!

    Attachment 456160

    N.b. This is all very much "work in progress"!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    49

    Re: Lubrication

    The X and Y axes are reasonably well protected on this machine, but the Z-axis ballscrew and guides are exposed. If I do use grease to lubricate and protect these, what can I do to prevent chips and dust from entering the Z-axis? I see on OmioCNC's website that their machines now come with accordion style way covers on the Z-axis - has anyone retrofitted these to their machines?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    49

    Re: Lubrication

    And if I do use grease, which would be the better choice, a general purpose grey lithium grease applied with a brush or a white spray-on lithium grease? Bearing(!) in mind that corrosion protection is the key property I'm after...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    49

    Re: Lubrication

    I just realised an accordion style way cover cannot be fitted to my machine, since the carriage travels all the way between the end brackets - there is no room for the bellows

    Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #5

    Re: Lubrication

    in this case a brush curtain might be the only easy solution, or build yourself a sheet metal cover which has a slot for the spindle bracket but otherwise encapsulates the ways?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    49

    Re: Lubrication

    Thanks! I've spent the whole afternoon applying liberal amounts of a basic lithium grease (the grey type, not white) with a small paintbrush to any and all parts which may suffer corrosion, carefully wiping off the excess with a lint free cloth. All three axes run smooth and frictionless, easily turned by hand from end to end without any binding or unevenness. I think it's all good, but yeah, some sort of dust protection on the Z-axis would be nice. Will look into brush curtains; solid plate won't work due to the carriage being quite wide - the opening required would be 75% of the width...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Posts
    2

    Re: Lubrication

    I think any grease would be better than running it dry! Since you've mentioned a marine environment (our shop is about 2 miles from the Pacific ocean), we use a lot of Lucas oil marine grease, mostly for hand tools (drill chucks, etc.)

    From your picture, it looks like there's a small chance you could get an accordion way cover to the outside of the carriage and end brackets. Or for a more custom fix, I have an old surface grinder that uses a couple pieces of sheet metal that ride along each other to cover the ball screw. Obviously you know your machine better than I can see, but if it's possible, a custom piece might help if you start having chip troubles

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