Linear Guide Maintenance DIY

[@Cutest1TheGame]

Thank you. I just disassembled an HG20 linear rail carriage from China for a friend of mine because it seemed to slide well in one direction but would catch in the other direction. It was my first time to take one of these apart. I cleaned out all the old grease with isopropyl alcohol, dried it, did a visual check on the ball bearings, removed a few small pieces of metal shards and then it took me about a week to get it all back together with all the stops and starts because I seem to have a re-engineered version without the hook and one extra piece of long thin plastic. (So none of the reassembly videos I’ve found yet match the pieces I had in this linear rail carriage.) once figuring that out, I think the getting all the ball bearing back in was the hardest part.

[@JBWorx]

Well I am glad you got it back together. It is definitely not for people with a short fuse, one will need patience and it is a slow process. Thx for your comment on this.

[@imqqmi]

Good strategy to find the part that give so much compliance! Thanks for sharing how to reball the rail guides!

[@JBWorx]

Thank you for leaving me a comment Josha

[@mikko3d]

Great tutorial, thank you. I didn't know you could reposition the grease nipple, that will be useful to know.

[@JBWorx]

Yes that modification is easy to do. Also place a screw into the not used hole otherwise grease will shoot out that way.

[@BigBenAdv]

What I find useful when dealing with lots of small parts like this is to use an oven baking tray (these can be had for relatively cheap) as a work surface so they contain the parts that roll around. Additional advantage if dealing with stuff like the balls would be that you could just tilt the tray and have them all roll into a corner for easy consolidation.

[@JBWorx]

That is a very good idea! Thanks for sharing !

[@jamescullins2709]

Great job, I was wondering how you manage to re-ball the guides. I have some that need that, now I think I can do it. Thanks

[@JBWorx]

All I can say is …. patience

[@josephjones4293]

Building a cnc, your videos are really helpful. Good stuff

[@JBWorx]

Thank you Joseph, glad that someone can use the information.

[@FloweringElbow]

Hey there. Thanks for this. really good info, and nice tip on the hole drilling possible rearrange of the grease nipple. I think this might help me... :D

[@JBWorx]

Excellent and thanks for stopping by !!

[@francoismassyn3332]

good info, where can i find that plastic assembly plate to stop the balls from falling out

[@JBWorx]

Hmm good question! I built my machine and the guide block came with them installed, so I kept a couple of them. However you can search for “HIWIN linear guideway accessory”. You can buy new seals, grease, covers, grease nipples etc all separate. Hope this helps.

[@SimenSupreme]

How did you find out what ball size to order? did you measure the old balls yourself? What is the price to reball one bearing block?

[@JBWorx]

I called Ball-Tec to find out what dimension to use. I measured the original ball and the recommendation is 1-5 1/10.000” yes not a typo. The cost is close to a new guide block so financially it makes no sense but from an aspect of quality it does. If I remember right it was $40 per guide block.

[@ihzanursyahbana7773]

What kind of lubricant did you used on the end of video, aince you was not explain those part before. Is it a PTFE silicone grease or white lithium grease?

[@JBWorx]

It is Triflow full synthetic grease, it’s clear and does contain PTFE.

[@BryanHoward]

Thanks for such informative videos!

[@JBWorx]

Thank you !!!

[@lewisparker1472]

Thanks for the videos! I appreciate your attention to detail. This might be a silly question, but how do you remove the blocks without removing the whole gantry?

[@JBWorx]

Good question ! So each side has 2 Guide blocks and one will hold the gantry on that side just fine. So I removed one at a time. If you look really close in the video where I hold the guide block in my hand you can see that the front right one is actually missing.

[@lewisparker1472]

@JBWorxStudio Ah, perfect! That makes sense. Thank you!

[@JBWorx]

Thanks for engaging!

[@vasyapupken]

those plastic ball retainers are very useful when you assemble bearing blocks. i put a retainer first and then just fill all channels with balls. have you done any cutting tests ?

[@JBWorx]

Tanks for the Tipp. No not yet. I am curious if is see a surface finish improvement also with the extra Spindel mount installed.

[@vasyapupken]

@@JBWorx this mount helps for rigidity if makes a short connection between spindle and bearing block behind (when Z blocks are on a spindle plate and this plate is thin) your spindle plate is more than adequate for your spindle size so effect from additional point of contact will be barely noticeable if any a all. in industry spindles a mounted in area close to front bearings. many of them have a mounting flange at the front. but the back end rarely have any substantial support.

[@JBWorx]

Yes I think so too. I had several comments where people improved the “chattering” of their machine but I will be surprised if there is a noticeable difference. I tried to make a vibration analysis using a larger tool before and after support bracket install. However I have trouble to get the sensor to work. It would provide a measurable feedback.

[@zieluch]

where you both balls for replecment, how to find proper size for different hiwin cartridge? Is it possible to replace bales in the ballscrew cartridge ?

[@JBWorx]

Yes it is also possible to replace the balls on a ball screw. The proper size is difficult to answer it depends on the wear of the rails / balls. Like I mentioned in the video and description the increase in diameter is very very small.

[@andrewmazurkiewicz105]

Hi Have you got a link to Balltec and the ball bearings you bought. It''s always got to have a scource of quality spare parts. Lg. Andrew

[@JBWorx]

Hi Andrew, have a look at the beginning of the video I posted a picture of the label. It has all information on it including the phone number / web page.

[@andrewmazurkiewicz105]

@@JBWorx Thanks I just noticed that. Can you tell me if changing the ball size changes the preload of the linear guides? Regards Andrew

[@JBWorx]

Yes it will. And you only need a very small increase in diameter to have an effect. For me 0.0003” made a good difference. Maybe 0,0005 would have even had better results. But I am happy with the outcome for now.

[@andrewmazurkiewicz105]

@@JBWorx I've just had a look and they do have a lot of balls !!! Thanks for all your videos. They are very clear and informative. I've been working on putting a cnc machine together using a sorotec compact line as a base system for a couple of years, not had much time and being self taught it's probably taking longer than it should but i'm getting there. The problem is, is that my old makko machine works (sort of) and I don't have space for 2 machines. Once i've got the controller finally designed i'll do the big swap over. Your videos are helpfull as your using many similar parts to what I have collected. Thanky for your prompt replies to. Cheers Andrew

[@JBWorx]

Hey glad that you find value in my videos that makes me happy and motivates me to keep going. Yes this hobby does take quite some time and also can be rather expensive in parts. The sorotec machine will be great I am sure. Good luck 👍

[@muneeburrehman450]

hi i have nsk s15 block with plastic stud at both sides and looking how to grease

[@JBWorx]

There are 2 screws in the front. In the center between them is either a hole or another screw. This is where. The grease nipple goes.

[@rbyt2010]

Great information, thanks!

[@JBWorx]

Glad that you find it useful

[@dougyt261]

It would have been nice to see how much flex you got rid of

[@JBWorx]

From top of my head it went down to 0.02mm pulling on one side or the gantry raiser. Huge improvement

[@DavidHøgsholt]

Hello Jorg, These chrome steel balls are listed at 7.5 bucks. each! Did you really spend close to USD 2000 for that bag?

[@JBWorx]

Heck no 😆, I think it was somewhere around $35 for a set. I was willing to invest that as I knew the guide block would be way better than the original. I remember the website was confusing on the pricing so I called them for clarification and ended up talking to the engineer for an entire hour. Really cool guy, I was amazed how much information there is around these precision balls

[@AntiVaganza]

@@JBWorx (Oh, I wasn't logged into my normal account when I posted that - but hey, one more for the algorithm). Anyhow, pheeew! Good to hear. But after having watched your video, I had a peak at the bal-tec site and the USD7.5 came up, but I think I know how now. I just googled the size and bal tec and clicked on a direct link which has that price for one ball. But the listing was from 2002 and roaming around a bit more it turns out a lot of listings has a price of 7.5 bucks for one, and cents for +1. Makes sense, no one wants to go and find one tiny ball and pack and send it. Yours look to be around 30 cents right now.

[@JBWorx]

@AntiVaganza yes that sounds about right. One trick is to just get a handful of balls and install them to make a test fit. This will allow you to dail in the pre-tension on your guide.

[@AntiVaganza]

I might need to go down this route at some point. I am putting together a solid granite machine (inspired by Fox, of course). And I'll be putting some used Japanese motion hardware on it. I will not go for super beat up stuff of course, but it will be used. I can get it cheap though, so I don't mind making the gamble. But it might just be so that a reballing could help take them back to former glory if need be:) Thanks as always @@JBWorx

[@JBWorx]

That will make a nice machine. Usually name brand guide rails last a really long time. What hurts them is when dirt gets inside. Frequent lubrication will force that dirt back out. Good luck with your build.

[@marianodiaz461]

Hi, thanks, does it means that if we have a ball screw with a single nut , and it has some backlash by putting a different diameter ball the backlash can be eliminated?

[@JBWorx]

For a ball screw it is best to purchase a “anti backlash version” it is usually a double nut with some preload against each other. But yes if the ball nut has too much play you can re-ball them as well.

[@marianodiaz461]

@@JBWorx many non backlash ball screws does only have only one nut ,( including the Bridgeport ball screws sold by Hiwin), the reason I ask is that I don’t have space on my machine to fit a double nut

[@JBWorx]

Yes you can increase the preload by increasing the ball diameter. The engineer from balltec suggested to order just a few balls and put them in, not to operate the machine but for test purposes. This way you are not wasting money for a whole set of balls and can find what fits to your application. Hope this helps.

[@marianodiaz461]

@@JBWorx thank you, thats a great idea

[@adrianharrison5208]

What size is this block that you are working on?

[@JBWorx]

It is a 25 size

[@adrianharrison5208]

@@JBWorx thank you, I want to upgrade my bigger CNC that is on V wheels right now, it's difficult to make my mind up on what size of rails to go with

[@JBWorx]

The 25 can take a lot of force have a look at the HiWin specs.

[@khaledmohamed6048]

What is the type of grease?

[@JBWorx]

For assembly I just use a clear synthetic grease called TriFlow. For correct lubrication you want to use a grease free of solid particulates so no Moly Grease for example. HiWin G05, Kluberlub GL-261 or Mobil Mobilux EP1 are all recommended.