I was cleaning and checking hardware tightness this morning and was wondering what to lube on X and Y rails. I noticed the 3 does not have rail bearings.
The Delrin V wheels on the aluminum rails should be self-lubricating, with no maintenance needed beyond keeping them clean.
See:
The v-wheels become dirty as well as the rails. The sawdust gets compacted on the wheels and rails. I have a stiff nylon brush and as you move the gantry you can apply the brush to all the 12 v-wheels and clean them. I use a white 3m finishing pad to clean the v on the rails.
On an SO3 power off and push your gantry all the way front to back slowly a few times. If you find any rough spots fix the reason it is rough. Then push the router back and forth a few times and fix as necessary. If you push the gantry/router too fast the stepper motors create electromotive force and it feels like your belts are slipping. If that happens just slow down.
For maintenance of the v-wheels lift up on both ends of your gantry and you should not feel any movement. Do the same for the Z axis and again you should not feel any movement. If they do move up and down adjust your bottom v-wheels. To do this insert a metric allen key and slightly loosen the bolt. Then with a wrench turn the eccentric until the v-wheel feels snug. Do not over tighten them and squash them. Then holding the wrench in place tighten up the bolt. If you dont hold the eccentric in place tightening the bolt will further tighten your eccentric due to torque.
If you remove a v-wheel there is a small washer between the frame and the v-wheel. Be sure to capture that washer and put it back on when reinstalling the v-wheel. This washer is necessary to keep the v-wheel from binding on the frame. It can be a little bit tricky to get the bolt, washer and eccentric and v-wheel all back on because of the tight space but it can be done if your are patient.
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Thank you so much for the great detail.
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