Lubricating linear guide rails

[Mark Abrams]

I have a tool changer which I’ve been running for a couple years. I’ve finally got it really well tuned in terms of tool selection, tool offsets , filament configs, feeding mechanism, etc and have been printing a lot lately. Now I’m starting to hear some sounds related to friction in the bearings, especially in the X axis. The e3d docs lead me to a reference doc for lubricating the bearings https://www.hiwin.com/pdf/lubricating_instructions.pdf but honestly I don’t understand how it’s done. It appears I need a grease gun and special adapter. I dont see anything about the size of the adapter. Is it a standard size? And where do I acquire one?  I decided to try lubricating the rail with light oil but that was not helpful. So, how are others lubricating the bearings on your printers with linear guide rails?

[Petr Ptacek]

I'm assuming you are talking about small linear rails typically used on 3d printers, not big lig linear rails on CNC machines. If that's the case, you have two options:

1. You can lubricate linear rail carriage in place if the carriage has a lubrication port. It is usually a small hole on one side of the carriage and you can often use a syringe instead of a grease gun to squeeze some grease inside the bearing. Grease must be coming out around the rail. It is an indication that the whole space inside the carriage is filled with grease. You move it a little bit to move the grease inside and wipe the excess. If the grease coming out is dirty, you have to repeat the process till the grease coming out is nice and clean.
2. If there is no port or you suspect some serious dirt inside the carriage, you might need to rebuild the carriage. What you want to do is flip the rail upside down and slide the carriage out of the rail carefully. As it starts sliding out, you need to watch for balls to not fall out of the carriage. This could happen if the carriage is bone dry and all grease is gone. When the rail and carriage are disassembled, you have full access to the rail and inside of the carriage. I prefer cleaning them in WD40 in an ultrasonic bath so I do not disturb the balls too much. Let them dry, then you can apply your favorite grease directly inside the carriage cavity. It also traps the balls from falling out. It is definitely more labor intensive but I rebuild many rails this way with success.

Last thing, never use oil on 3d printer linear rails. Always use grease, EP1 or EP2. There is an old saying "oil for bushings, grease for bearings", but it is not 100% accurate. If you have a very fast spinning or moving bearings (good ole skateboards), you might want to use oil to keep friction low, but you have to lubricate often. Like weekly often. For (relatively) slow moving linear motion bearings, grease is always better. Best of luck!

On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 11:10 AM Mark Abrams <mark.he...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a tool changer which I’ve been running for a couple years. I’ve finally got it really well tuned in terms of tool selection, tool offsets , filament configs, feeding mechanism, etc and have been printing a lot lately. Now I’m starting to hear some sounds related to friction in the bearings, especially in the X axis. The e3d docs lead me to a reference doc for lubricating the bearings https://www.hiwin.com/pdf/lubricating_instructions.pdf but honestly I don’t understand how it’s done. It appears I need a grease gun and special adapter. I dont see anything about the size of the adapter. Is it a standard size? And where do I acquire one?  I decided to try lubricating the rail with light oil but that was not helpful. So, how are others lubricating the bearings on your printers with linear guide rails?

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[mark.he...@gmail.com]

Thanks Petr. That’s very useful information. Yes, they are the linear guides on a 3d printer. Very small holes on the sides of the bearings. Maybe only 2-3 mm in diameter.  A syringe makes more sense. I’ll give it a try. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 17, 2023, at 2:44 PM, Petr Ptacek <pjpt...@gmail.com> wrote:



[Dan Flemming]

Use a dog medicine syringe, cheap and works well. 

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[Seth Broweleit]

Could someone provide a link to where they buy ep1 grease? I want to be sure to get the right stuff. Thanks

[markni...@gmail.com]

I don't know if it's ep1, but many people use this https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-21030-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000XBH9HI/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=teflon+grease&qid=1679589031&sr=8-7

I've used it for a long time, I've never heard of anyone who is unhappy with it.

[Patrick C]

This is what I use, as recommended by IKO linear rail manufacturers: Multemp PS no 2. 

https://www.allworldmachinery.com/itemdetail/?itemCode=MULTEMP%20PS%20NO.2%20%28300G%20TUBE%20SINGLE%29

Mobil Mobilux EP2 is popular with 3D printers builders (Voron/Hebert), but I never used it. 

https://www.mobil.com/en/sap/our-products/products/mobilux-ep-2

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[Petr Ptacek]

Solid additives (like PTFE) are not the best choice for linear motion. Particles will be gumming up the bearings, especially when the grease starts drying out.

So as much as I like SuperLube, I would not recommend it to repack the linear carriages.

It is best to stick to white lithium grease mixes. EP1 and EP2 Mobilux are ok, however, they are only famous in the 3d printing community because they are "recommended" and YouTubers relentlessly repeat, how good that stuff is not knowing there other much better choices.

I personally use Krytox greases on my Vorons. They last longer and can handle heat much better when you have a heated chamber. However, they are expensive so probably not worth it for open chamber printers.

I would use whatever quality white lithium grease you have access to.

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[markni...@gmail.com]

Krytox is certainly awesome, if very expensive stuff.

Krytox is what Stratasys recomends for their Dimension serires printers, which have the rails and steppers in the heated build chamber.

Remember  "Krytox grease also contains telomers of PTFE and in fact was designed as a liquid or grease form of PTFE" Quote from Krytox Wiki.

I tend to print where my family and pets also live. Superlube is rated food safe, which is just a plus for me.

Linear rails in 3d printers are stressed well below their rated values.

While in theory possible, I have never heard of an actual case the carrier burning off and leaving teflon particules, which are microscopic.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

I have to agree marknichols. I only use Superlube on all my machines be they linear guides or rods with bearings(i.e., charging the bearing casing properly not just wiping it on the ways). I also only use superlube for all Z axis threads. In over 10 years I've never seen any gunking up. OTOH I used white lithium grease on a bathroom exhaust fan and it did gunk up.