Lubrication Basics - Keep your 3D printer running smooth and quiet

[@anToha_UA]

You know that the tutorial is a CANON when Voron official manual references it. Very informative, I will buy the lithium spray grease for my rails thanks to this video!

[@obe22099]

I appreciate these shorter videos. There is literally not enough free time for me to watch every 3+hour stream vod. It's a shame because it's great content.

[@TheGalifrey]

Agreed

[@briguy9915]

Same

[@woodwaker1]

I also agree, there is so much good content on You-Tube, that a condensed version is what I need.

[@KanielD]

Yes! Dude has so much knowledge, but damn it’s hard to find time for the live videos

[@evanlane1690]

So true!

[@wbhandy]

Excellent video. One thing: DONT spray your rails with standard WD40. Not only is WD40 a pretty ineffective rust preventer, it will also wash away the grease inside your bearings. I would lube the rail with a thin layer of whatever you lube your bearings with, so you don't dilute the bearing lube with whatever is on the rails.

[@dylanmckenzie33]

We use WD40 in machine maintenance to clean up old oil on the ways of lathes. Then add in some new oil.

[@deeply999]

A bit outdated but WD40 is an actual Rust preventative... Its whole purpose. Its use in lubrication in null but they do have multiple versions for specific applications.

[@RotaruCosminLeonard]

True, but that ain't the usual wd40 penetrant. It says white litium grease on it. I also have a different hight performance release penetrant or something and some ptfe or something lube. So they have many types of stuff.

[@RotaruCosminLeonard]

White lithium grease seems to be common for linear rails. It alao needs to be leas thicker

[@patrickchase5614]

Yup. WD40 was never designed as a lubricant. It was designed to serve as an anti-corrosion treatment for missiles, and as such it was optimized for capillary action (i.e. it tends to penetrate and spread out over whatever surface it's applied to due to its low viscosity and low surface tension) and hydrophobicity. Those properties make it a great cleaning agent for difficult-to-access surfaces, but they're not at all what you want from a lubricant. As you say, it will displace any (better) lubricants that might already be there.

[@BenCos2018]

0:00 intro 3:07 leadscrews 4:33 linear bearings 8:24 linear rails 14:08 cleaning bearings/carriages 16:01 outro

[@Rainmotorsports]

I'm just here for all the comments that think WD-40 only makes one product. Only one so far though. Somebody posted a picture of both WD-40 PTFE lube and WD-40 white lithium grease in a Facebook group the other day and people started going off about it saying that they were solvents... To be fair the cans weren't in English but it was still pretty clear that one was PTFE and the other was lithium grease.

[@DaveDeCoursey]

I just recived my LDO motors kit today (2.4 R2) so I'm now watching some of your "other" videos. I have watched the entire (well, all except the end of 8), I do like the "new" method of taking care of the linear rails injecting the grease into a screw hole. I watched this one mainly for the cleaning.

[@MrHeHim]

Awesome video! I'm glad someone is pointing it out. PTFE (Teflon) Grease, best of both worlds 😉I've been using it since i was a kid in the 90s, packed the bearings on my roller blades when i was 10 y/o and it made a world of difference. Since then it's been my Franks Red Hot, i put that $#!t on everything lol I'm lazy and i simply just brush a thin coat of grease onto the rod/rail, run it over, bush more, run it over, brush, etc etc until grease stops getting absorbed. Clean off old dirty grease that collects at the ends, Do this every few hundred of hours of print time. That's my tip from almost 10 years of printing. Still have the original bearings on my Replicator Dual that has about 10,000+ hours of print time on it. Yeah, the wooden one Next is how important it is to square your machine, stops binding but also reveals how much slop is in the bearings 😁

[@nickcarnevalino7462]

1 - order 200 2mm ball barrings (about $5) 2 - soak linear rails in simple green overnight 3 - disassemble (carefully) the barrings 4 - pack barring track with Mobil grease 5 - reassemble , replacing the odd barring thats now lost in the carpet

[@atoomnet]

Rewatching this video as I am building the next Voron printer. On the site of LDO, in the rail grease guide they use the plastic bags of the rails as the bags where they clean them in. This mostly works, except every bag have a hole or 2 so they leak IPA. Recommend doing the washing outside in the open air.

[@KennyEaton603]

Mobil Vactra 2, stuff is awesome. It’s basically lathe way oil and is designed to cling to surfaces without becoming sticky. I run it on my machine tools and my printers. The stuff is super slick, lasts a good while and you can apply it with a syringe. I give my printers a shot every couple weeks, been working for years.

[@Lecsi11]

I liked the idea, and went to look for this. Smallest can is 20 liters lol

[@KennyEaton603]

@@Lecsi11 where are you located in the world? I get it by the quart from either Amazon or Ebay. Ive had the same quart for at least 3 years, so 20 liters would be a bit much.

[@TheGalifrey]

I am using the spray white grease method, works really well. Also the red tube fits in the grease ports on some rails.

[@hansoncrack]

I agree with @Osiris Rex these shorter more compact videos are a lot easier for me to engage with. I like the streams but I only have so much time in life to join in and hangout. Missing a lot of the great info in the comments and general discourse of course. Theres also 60 minutes in a 3 hr stream where people just chilling is happening. Thanks for the videos and sharing your opinions and knowledge, cheers.

[@jzytaruk]

You should look into the "Finish Line Grease Gun" and "Phil Woods Portable Grease Gun".. I found this to be useful greasing tools and bearing runs that have fine clearances. you can even remove the tip end and thread in a needle.. you can inject it deeper into bearings, theres also alot of pressure behind it to force old grease out or to push grease down the grease points.. Keep the grease tube attached and theres less clean up and waste too! Finish line and Phil wood both offer greases that fit their guns, but ive found that most "squeeze tube" greases are either 1/2 or 9/16ths screws and works outta the box (finish line is 9/16, PW is 1/2)

[@dodong_daniel]

When I assembled my V2.4, I packed the bearings with grease. Now 900 printing hours later, all still seems to be fine. Have you ever relubed linear rails? And is it possible to do that without (pretty much) disassembling your voron?

[@kilianlindlbauer8277]

Remove the rubber wipers, apply grease to the rail, let the printer run over that spot a few times, repeat to your liking. This works for regreasing, but not for packing your bearings

[@phredka12]

Hivin is recommending high pressure grease, NLGI-2. You applying it through side screwed hole, to fill it up everything inside

[@edulpn]

Thanks for the tips Nero! From the 5 rails that I got on my Voron 0.1 kit, 1 was very smooth, 2 were okay and the other 2 were a bit clunky. After flushing with iso and applying a bit of white lithium grease I noticed they all got smoother (the original clunkier ones turned up better then the original okay ones), but also a bit "slower". They are not sticking or anything, but will take a bit more force to start moving from a resting position. I guess this will all break into place once the printer starts running.

[@DekkarMTBtl]

I'm somewhat confused about what grade of lubrication to use. In the intro, it's recommended to use NLGI Grade 0 or 1, yet one of the preferred lubricants mentioned is Super Lube, which is NLGI Grade 2. I'm guessing it's fine since pretty much everyone in the 3D printing community recommends Super Lube, but that's odd that manufacturers don't actually recommend it.

[@evgenitantikov5865]

It's not odd. People recommend random stuff over the internet, just because someone else recommend it. Most of them can't even tell the difference between different types of lubrication and can't recognize the effects of it. 99,9% of them never tested something else. The herd effect is a real thing.😅 Manufacturers are definitely more qualified. It's odd that you think manufacturers should follow the recommendations from random people on internet.🤣 Thise are the people that created the thing, they live and breathe metal, but no, we have to trust goofy dudes with cameras on their phones 🤣 There is tested and sertified lubrications for linear motion. If you don't care for it, go use sunflower oil if you want, it will still slide...

[@jrbarker7362]

I have the same question! The LDO docs say NGLI 0 or 1 but then Super Lube is recommended which is NGLI 2. Very strange. Also, getting that super lube into a syringe is very difficult, let me tell you lol

[@allwoundup3574]

Yeah this dude isn't paying attention at all

[@jay6976]

Thank you so much for this video, I need a 3D printing less than a year old lol. I am upgrading my y-axis with linear rails because my ender three max neo has two indents where the wheels travel and so I kept getting bump every time the carriage moved on it. So thank you so much for this video again healthy with the grease that I was going to get and the process of getting them greased and clean

[@filanfyretracker]

That spray grease is neat stuff, reminds me of what we have for our garage door chain and spring. Which I admit I have also brought into work and sprayed in drawer runners too, though its a silicone lube not lithium. But I do wonder if it would be good for those linear rails.

[@tillburn]

Great job. One of those, new to printing, must watch vids. :)

[@alexanderparan8748]

Many others recommend using dry lube on the threaded rods instead of gresse because grease colllects dust and dirt on exposed parts..

[@Yavorh55]

True, but also dry lube wears off faster. Trade-offs with every product

[@Chris-hn4lp]

It wears off really fast and doesnt lube as well. I used to use it but eventually switched back to grease because I was literally needing to reapply dry lube every week, if not 2 times a week.

[@komputerg33k]

love the new camera angle, great vid!

[@sanketss84]

I just used super lube - silicon lubricating grease on my lead screws for voron trident build and thankfully the squeaking was gone. I applied a it to a part of lead screw and just run the brass nut over it across the entire length of the screw and wiped off the excess.

[@Cid156]

For linear rail; Remove one screw of the rail, Move the scraper half way over the headscrew hole and force the grease to this small opening... The lazy way

[@HankeStefan]

I do hope this works. I've heard of people who've forgot lubrication completely... :s The rails in the LDO V0 Kit fortunately leave some headscrew holes empty, so there's no need to unscrew one.

[@3dprinter438]

I use Lucas Marine Grease since that is just what I already had for my kayak trailer bearings.

[@Hiberniust]

Thanks for the video! You answered all my questions! Very informational!

[@jamespray]

On my linear bearing blocks, there's no grease channel in the steel block, but the green plastic endcaps do appear to have thin internal channels that lead from the grease holes into the ball bearing tracks. I've never tried getting lube in that way, though, so I can't confirm, just wanted to note that you may not be able to judge this just from the metal block.

[@alanb76]

Hi Nero! Good to see another video.

[@alanb76]

Applying grease or oil to guide rods for linear bearing lubrication isn't ideal, but some does get into the bearing, especially on an older bearing where the wipers have some wear. Prusa recommends this technique if you don't want to disassemble the printer. It's better to disassemble but not always practical.

[@CanuckCreator]

This is true, i have done it myself in the past, but its far from ideal and i never got good results, while it does kinda suck to disassemble to get the linear bearings out, properly packing them with grease and re-assembling gives much better and consistent results, along with lasting much longer

[@alanb76]

@@CanuckCreator When I first built my Prusa Mk3 they didn't recommend any lubrication for the linear bearings, so they didn't get more than the shipping oil at that time. It has been in steady service for a long time now and I still depend on it (at least until I get a Trident built), so I have done a few lube cycles on it without disassembly. Initially I used oil and more recently the Prusa recommended grease (and process), in both cases by putting it on the rods and working some past the wipers. I can tell it is getting into the bearings as it quiets the occasional slight vibration sound the balls make when they are too dry. Oil has to be done more often, the grease lasts quite awhile at keeping the bearings quiet. Whenever one hears the bearings it is time to lube again. Lubing via the rods is better than nothing, but clearly disassembly is best. Violent agreement here. Great video. :)

[@Cid156]

I am also doing this way. It is not perfect but I can clearly see a thin layer of grease on the rod . My scrapers have probably some wear. But I give a try to the nero 3d method once I have five minutes

[@MakerBees333]

T-9 silicon spray knocks the socks off any of those greases or lubes. Developed by Boeing for lubricating aircraft, it protects my table saw and lubes everything in my garage woodworking shop. When it comes to not collecting dust and 12month performance nothing else has come close. One $12 can has lasted all of my household squeaking doors, workshop, and 3-D printing for 3 years. You won’t be disappointed.

[@CanuckCreator]

I didnt really cover specific brands for this reason Was going to grab a can of the t-9 spray to try....only source up here in Canada is amazon at 65$ a can lol

[@MakerBees333]

@@CanuckCreator 😬 yikes, still worth it, I have not priced it for years, haven’t needed to.

[@alanb76]

T9 is an excellent penetrative rust shield. It provides some lubrication but is inferior to quality grease in lubrication performance.

[@MakerBees333]

@@alanb76 technically yes, but the combination of staying power, dust resistants, rust protection, and lubrication have not been beat in my experience. Then again most office 3-D printer setups won’t experience the dust and conditions I often have to deal with.

[@ShotGunner5609]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and doing it in a more easily digestible form!

[@jezclark4882]

I actually found a grease specifically designed for linear rails on 3D printers, and it's NLGI 00, which is slightly thinner than the NLGI 0 you recommend. I think in this case we should take the grease manufacturer's word for it rather then e.g. Hiwin, seeing as the Hiwin specs are all aimed at heavy duty industrial machinery. It should also be noted that if you're going for speed benchies, thinner = faster, too.

[@jezclark4882]

Also, I'd avoid any white grease (Hiwin recommend avoiding it too) - if the pigment is Titanium Dioxide, that stuff can significantly increase wear. They say 'no solid particles' in general.

[@TORDesign]

@@jezclark4882 Is PTFE a solid particle?

[@jezclark4882]

@@TORDesign yes, and you should probably be avoiding it because it can cause the balls to slide, rather than roll, which actually increases wear. That said, if don't mind the extra wear but want to go faster, PTFE seems to be popular with the HevORT and VzBot crowd.

[@TORDesign]

@@jezclark4882 I'd rather avoid wear - speed is not a problem with my Voron - but need to spray into the bearings - big job to remove the rails - so do you think the "WD-40 Specialist ® White Lithium Grease" is therefore the best choice?

[@jezclark4882]

@@TORDesign no I'd avoid anything white in case it has titanium dioxide in it (again, for wear reasons). Grease manufacturers recommend NLGI00, 30-200Cst, Lithium-based and no solid particles. I bought a grease from a manufacturer that fit those specifications and was sold as specifically being for rails on 3D printers; when it arrived, the tub said 'bearing grease' on it, so that might also be worth a search. Can't remember where I got it from, think I found it on amazon.

[@danifem]

when I built my first Voron in 2020 I took all the bearings out soaked them in wd40 and then regressed everything with lithium grease 😓 no building a v0.2 and I am very happy that they changed that recommendation

[@stefankneip9061]

Good video Nero! I like your way of speaking very much! One question regarding lubrication: How do I grease the linear rails in the voron? Do I have to disassemble everything to get the rails on the desk for cleaning and greasing? Or can I grease them inside the case in assembled position? What is your experience with that?

[@mariobros2867]

Awesome stuff man, I 've been having z-wobble on my resing printer and I think the rails need some lube. I'm gonna give it a shot!

[@andreiignat3877]

Hi! Some premium linear rails are prelubed and have a lubrication unit like the Misumi MX carriages.

[@alexdubois6585]

Thanks Nero. Another informative video.

[@JonS]

Very useful video. Can linear rails be lubricated by spraying/injecting through one of the rail holes with the carriage aligned over the top of it?

[@wesc23]

I have done it that way. It works but leaves a slug of grease on top of the rail/bottom of the car. I figure the clinging grease on the car acts as a reservoir.

[@BobDarlington]

Why recommend PTFE/Teflon based lubricants when manufacturers say to never use solids based lubes on recirculating bearings?

[@Klokopf52]

QIDI recommends "any light oil" for linear rails and "any thick grease" for lead screws, so not much to go by to be honest :) I gues the reason they go with oil on rails is because they use some sintered graphite bearings rather than actual ball bearings, also you cant actually take them out without going deeper than you are supposed too. I did my first service after about 3 months and used spray on PTFE oil on rails and MoS2 grease on the lead screws. So far nothing has died.

[@CodeMonkeX]

LOL yeah I bought that EP1 grease tube, and I used such a small amount I think I could literally build 1000 printers with that one tube.

[@AndrewBetts]

Great video! Can anyone provide a link to the carriage holder STL for the linear rails? I've been searching and have not been able to find anything that seems to match.

[@3dprinterfun905]

Really helpful Video, i learned a lot! Thank you!

[@wolfgangmauer7970]

Very helpful contribution, thank you very much!

[@DetlevRackow]

Regarding the lubrication of MGN rails, the advice from manufacturers is ambiguous. Hiwin recommends relatively thick stuff, but says "check with your lubrication supplier". Klueber is one of their references, and they in turn recommend very liquid greases like NLGI 00 or NLGI 000. Personally, I tried NLGI 2 and NLGI 00/000, which is sold for cheap in 900g tubes for automotive use. I recommend that thin 00/000 stuff over everything else. It is less noisy, and it is easier to apply. It's easy to apply too much of the thick stuff and get sticky balls as a result. With NLGI00/000, I can apply generously without issues. It even makes the intervall longer.

[@ponsaravanan]

Simple and to the point. Thank ou for the video,

[@FrancoisMathieu]

Very informative, thanks!

[@lucasshaver2739]

Hey, I'm a machinist in Washington. My work is thinking of getting a new 3d printer. I showed them the cad and some videos of the voron and they were impressed. But a question I got back was what kind of tolerances is possible with a well built voron?

[@CanuckCreator]

As accurate as you can get spewing molten plastic out of a piece of hot metals :P Vorons are great machines, but be aware, in a work environment, they DIY machines, so they dont come with any tech support/warranty etc. so if something goes wrong your fully responsible for its upkeep and maintenance should anything go wrong

[@lucasshaver2739]

@@CanuckCreator I have a ender 3 and have had surprisingly good numbers and been able to get around .002(inches) with my target. I was just curious if that sounds reasonable for a voron.

[@CanuckCreator]

@@lucasshaver2739 Long as you take the time to tune your slicer profile its possible. Pretty much all 3d printers using the same hardware for motion systems

[@lucasshaver2739]

@@CanuckCreator thank you. I know your time is valuable. I definitely appreciate you letting me bug you. I started printing the 2.4 kit today and hopefully I have a voron for my personal printer very soon.

[@tomekhekin914]

I am not an expert but I was warned many times not to use WD 40 for any kind of lubrication. It was told it was intended to clean not to lub. Maybe this is different. Great video BTW.

[@CanuckCreator]

Your not using as lube, your using it on the rail itself for rust prevention, the bearings in the carriage get grease

[@solidus784]

I wouldn't use regular WD40 for this purpose like you said its a good cleaner but it is also for lubrication just not the best for this use case. What Nero is using is WD40 silicone spray grease which is what I use on my own rails. I use generic white lithium for my lead screws.

[@sambojones8681]

Another important note is there are now a full line of products from the WD-40 company, including grease and oils, along with the traditional WD-40 product for displacing water/ preventing rust.

[@Rainmotorsports]

He isn't using WD-40. He is using WD-40 branded lithium grease you can also get WD-40 branded PTFE Grease. You can get loctite branded stuff for 3D printers now. These are just brands everything except for the original WD-40 product is not NASA era WD-40.

[@jacksoni349]

Awesome tutorial! I think Chris Riley has you beat for thumbnails though... hahaha

[@georgek4278]

I noticed that you recommended NlGI 0 or 1 but both kids you used (the super lube and white lithium) are NIGL 2. Is that good to use as well I assume? Thanks!

[@AfsanehAbbasnezhadianghashghae]

Personally I think you are doing this completely wrong. You need to put in strawberry jam in to the bearings. The seeds in the jam will help with the movement of the bearings :P

[@wernerhiemer406]

But take this with same grain of sugar, or fungus start to build up. Those little hairys are nasty stuff, eating up any smoothness.

[@AfsanehAbbasnezhadianghashghae]

@@wernerhiemer406 That is nothing more than fake news. The sugar, dust and hair will improve things for the bearings.

[@wernerhiemer406]

To say it like some Canadian car extraction bucket emptier: "Gross!"

[@MrButuz]

Great video thanks!!

[@stevehanwright481]

Nice work.

[@bakerboy908]

Everywhere was sold old of grease when I built my 2.4 6 months ago. She's running dry... I really should pull it apart and grease it up, but that's so much work :(

[@wrxsubaru02]

7:23 so this is why my Bambu Lab X1C bearing is failing on the left side... It is showing wear marks on the bottom side of the rod, so most likely the bearing is not rotated properly.

[@yaronskp]

After greasing the carriage can I spray WD40 rust prevention spray on the rail? I'm confused.

[@danielmeidan9266]

how about using MOLYKOTE® Z Powder it is a dry lubricant that does not attract dirt

[@jamespray]

What's the part number on the super lube you're using? Seems like the most common stuff is NLGI 2, and your weight recommendations make it sound like that's too thick.

[@DetlevRackow]

You can use NLGI 2, it's working. Yet it makes more sense in applications with more load. For 3D printers, thinner lubrication is advantageous because it has less friction, generating less noise and running a bit smoother. In linear rails, thinner lube has less risk of overlubrication which causes sticky balls.

[@jamespray]

@@DetlevRackow Thanks!

[@dantetemp]

great video! thanks! where did you get the black rails?

[@roscoe3dp470]

I just use Waylube that i (borrow) from work. I keep it in a 30ml vape juice bottle by my printers and just give them a liittle squirt when needed.

[@nateronipizza]

Once cleaned, how long do you wait for them to dry? I've been throwing them in my dehydrator for a half hour or so in the past, but have wondered a couple of times that I've been in a hurry whether just drying them with a hairdryer for a couple minutes would've been sufficient before applying grease.

[@matthijszondervan7638]

Is there any way to do this without taking the rails of the printer?

[@boryshacker]

Finally!

[@xXTronXx_3971]

Hey for the linear rails the dummy piece you said you could print it, however I cant seem to find any stls for it

[@StevenLongley]

Same... I was able to make one by using the CAD files for a Voron 2.4 build. Opened in Fusion 360, you can select the rails and 3D print them. They will be full length, but you can cut them into smaller pieces in your slicer, or modify the file in Blender.

[@xXTronXx_3971]

@@StevenLongley Thanks ill try that out

[@bartacus3521]

Great video for us "heavy modding noobs". Question: does the same apply to LDO rails too, in particular lubing from the start? I've *heard* those are supposed to NOT be lubed out of the box, but lubed in a maintenance sense down the road after some usage. Is that true or false?

[@CanuckCreator]

My LDO rails came with just rust preventative grease on em, so did the flush and re grease right away

[@bartacus3521]

@@CanuckCreator awesome, thank you sir, I will do the same. I have 5 of em in a box just waiting to go, and I trust your word over "theirs" any day of the week!

[@nidavis]

Would you see any issue with keeping the carriages on the rails, slid all the way to one end, and dipping that in the ultrasonic cleaner?

[@CanuckCreator]

Yup, ive done it and it works

[@NicleT]

Does graphite lubricant a good solution?

[@regular3dguy830]

could you use brake cleaner to clean the linear rails and bearings? brake cleaner has good pressure out of the can.

[@CanuckCreator]

You can. Just make sure it's plastic/rubber safe and be sure to grease/oil any metals after as it can REALLY dry em out and make them rust prone

[@hostekmv]

Molykote E-PAST best forever. First what you need it clean bearings use breake cleaner and than use grease.

[@Chris-hn4lp]

anything with Moly in it is advised against for linear rails due to issues with abrasiveness and tolerances. Hiwin even specifically says not to use anything with Moly on their rails.

[@The0nionKnight]

Thanks!

[@LivingTheDream77]

Can i use SAE 5W-30 motor oil ?

[@Bengamzo]

Can’t you just push the grease through one of the bolt hole when the carriage is above it?

[@ScytheNoire]

For years, at least up to the MK3S+, Prusa's instructions said you don't need to grease the bearings and that they came pre-lubricated. Years. *sigh* And everyone who wears glasses should have an ultrasonic cleaner, they are great for deep cleans and super cheap to get a small one.

[@seantavarez9569]

I don't see the file for the 80t gear. where can i get it? mahalo

[@josuehernandez4716]

silly question but would it be the same if i used multi purpose oil instead of grease? I assume grease is the better option but just wanted to know if anyone has done this. Update: After a very short amount of research I have determined that grease does indeed seem to be the best option for linear rails, for anyone wondering.

[@patrezp]

Does anyone have the STLs for the MGN9 holders? I found MGN12 but need for the 9 as well

[@ferdinandhenkel4567]

Anyone knows if the orientation of linear rails also matters or are the loads so low that it doesn’t matter if it’s running on just one set of balls?

[@CuttinInIdaho]

Molybdenum grease literally stops wear....it is an amazing grease. Check out how molybdenum protects metal...it can actually prevent parts from wearing in together.

[@_babyjesus]

nice.

[@JustCreateYou]

What about tri flow ? Would that work

[@luisf7780]

I just finished cleaning my rails and added super lube but the grease i feel like it makes it feel sluggish...im not sure if the ball bearing itself it's not the size ....any recommendations would be appreciated

[@CanuckCreator]

Its fine. The motors will easily overcome the sluggishness from the grease

[@Gitago]

never saw where you compared oil vs grease...

[@JeanBrito666]

What about the WD40 PTFE dry lube?

[@deadlyhydra]

Can't you just pump the grease through the holes in the linear rail to pack these bearings?

[@CanuckCreator]

Yep, thats a method ive been using for awhile now

[@deadlyhydra]

Ahh good to know didn’t actually know that it could be done thank you

[@mycinemax2653]

what about wd40 ptfe spray? I used that, hope theres no problem.

[@harshitgoel96]

Are there any other printer parts that might need to be lubricated?

[@DetlevRackow]

Wherever you have movement that generates friction, including rolling balls, you need lubrication. Sometimes it's pre-lubed in the factory and needs no relubing, but that's only common for ball bearings.

[@garrysmodfan2314]

Thanks i guess... i ordered linear rails for Ender, printed for a week and then i wondered wether the factory lubrication isnt only anti rust sealant.. Bingo, i have to disassemble everything again, sheesh..

[@karellen00]

Maybe I'd prefer not to use superlube or other lubricants with suspended particles, there's the possibility that the lube will dry leaving behind solid stuff that can bind on the bearing or shorten its lifetime. To be honest the possibility is pretty low, probably it would take a lot of time without checking the bearing/rail state to get at that point, but still it's something I would try to avoid!

[@BadVoidShip]

Those particles are the grease. It's teflon/PTFE powder which is same stuff is used in bowden tubes and similar form of it is what makes FEP sheets used on UV printers. PTFE particles left behind shouldn't bind and should even still provide some lubrication (although they will probably fall out and disperse with use). You can get dry lube that does this specifically, it suspends the particles in a solvent instead of oil, it's used on bike chains for example since you don't want dust sticking to it. Also locksmiths use it on padlocks (or graphite based ones). I don't think oil based lube can really 'dry out' because it's oil. Very few oils will actually evaporate (there are ones that are used for oil paint). What can happen is it will go bad over time and 'gunk' up since oil does have a shelf life, but that will happen with or without particles and it will still leave behind stuff causing issues.

[@karellen00]

@@BadVoidShip What I reported is the general consensus. I know that the white powder is itself the lubricant, but if they are solid particles they can be displaced by the movement of the balls, and let the contact area without nothing, or even worse pack together and make small solid pieces that can interfere with the functioning of the rail. Grease on the other hand being fluid tends to maintain at least a film of in on the contact points. Oil will definitely evaporate, and even quickly, especially on a 50-60°C chamber, even grease will, it's well known that you have to regrease rails as periodic maintenance, in fact you'll find it on the panels where being colder it condensates. If you have a "normal" printer that only prints PLA open air, at ambient temperature, and in the range of 60 mm/sec probably you can get away with oil, just checking every now and then if it dried out.

[@mem1001953]

Pls avoid any grease of metal base including lithium or mineral or metal based greases for linear rails.

[@maxmustermann2596]

Concerning non-abrasive additives: Some people say, that especially in 3D printers Molybdenum-Grease stops the balls from rolling, which results in problems. What do you think about that? Another problem I always wonder about: "How long does it stay valid, if you don't moe the printer and how long does it stay lubricated, if you use it". I guess the "gumming up" is very much dependent on the environment?

[@riccaregio]

For Moly I suppose you mean molybdenum grease. Well we used that in the factory were I used to work....on 300 mm barrell bearing in steel mill rolls that used to works at over 200°'C. I personally in light loaded bearings tend to use white lithium grease either spray or in a tube.

[@maxmustermann2596]

​ @Riccardo Regio: I edited my post, sorry. I was referring to the mentioned additives, which should just be non-abrasive, and in german bulletin boards, it is often warned not to use Molybdenum-Grease. In Germany, we have LiquiMoly, a company which advertises a lot, and their grease got that additive. When I searched the first time for a lubricant I was forwarded to "Liqui Moly P000371 MOLY 3510 LM 47 Langzeitfett + MoS2" (Langzeitfet = long term grease). Looking more closely it says "for extreme bearing pressure", but I didn't read it at first. It looked like an amount you could use in your hobby projects, and I just hoped to get stuff, which doesn't rot away before I actually use it. It seemed not to have a too high viscosity, and I didn't know about the effect that bearing balls just slide when they get that additive. They actually answered that question in their own bulletin board in German, too: forum-liqui-moly.de/index.php/forum/uebrige-produkte/1213-linearkugellager-schmieren-3d-drucker They answered that they would instead take silicone grease spray (so, it is pretty similar to your recommendation and maybe not the same to prevent people from using their Molybdenum products). However, it might be a problem, we only have in Germany. And I wonder how bad it actually is and if it matters for extremely cheap printers. In the end, that might be a question, if lubrication actually changes a lot, if half of the parts might be considered a little broken ^^.

[@jonathanlarsen4177]

@@maxmustermann2596 LM 47 will surely work, 3D printers don't require perfection to work

[@rowlandstraylight]

HIWIN speciffically advise against molybdenum and ptfe grease as they change the tolerances of the rails

[@maxmustermann2596]

@@rowlandstraylight I knew, that HIWIN advises against it. But I thought it stops the balls from spinning. Aren't the rails with or without preload? Can the change in tolerance due to Molybdenum have more of an impact than the switch between non preloaded to preloaded? I thought last time I read it, I didn't see a reason for their advice. Edit: When searching for the proof, where I read it, I couldn't find it anymore.

[@Antebios]

Soooo... I don't need to disassemble the linear rails anymore to clean and grease them?!?!

[@CanuckCreator]

Most rails now come pretty ok from the factory vs a few years ago Usually a flush and clean are all they need

[@rexxx927]

linear rail balls will be flying everywhere not all bearings can be removed off the shaft some need a retainer for keeping them inside CAUTION i use grease on bearings and carriages get oil super lube pen oil ptfe for me

[@TikTik.]

Is WD-40 PTFE version good for linear rods?

[@CanuckCreator]

Should be fine

[@TikTik.]

@@CanuckCreator Thanks for the reply, I heard that WD-40 just destroys your linear rods, i didn't know if that was true.

[@KeithHuffstutler]

Did you and Chris's Basement get together on this idea, today? kzbin.info/www/bejne/apytkJSemKmhrac

[@simontillema5599]

People always tell me not to use WD-40 for linear movement, but I see you using it. Why?

[@CanuckCreator]

Wd 40 is a brand as well as a item In this case I'm using wd40 brand white lithium spray grease. Not wd40 the water displacement anti rust spray

[@pabski92]

Just checked WD40 White Lithium and it says NLGI 2?

[@pabski92]

It's for my V0.2 and I have one of these in my back pocket - not literally

[@CanuckCreator]

Depends on the brand/source, the white lithium grease i regularly use is nlgi 1.5, i like it a bit on the thicker side, last longer i find

[@techmaster242]

I don't think I've ever heard so much innuendo in a video in my entire life.

[@limbeboy7]

Extra virgin olive oil. That's it

[@victorcoloma9896]

Link lube?😪