Shapeoko 5 resonance/chatter on diagonal movement

Is anyone experiencing resonance/chatter on diagonal moves? It seems to be fine when it moves parallel to X or Y, and almost none on circles, but diagonal movements sound horrible and produce chatter.

SO5 Test.dxf (7.3 KB)
I created this pattern for testing and even in mid air with no material the diagonal moves produce the grinding sound which would lead to chatter.

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Do have a video of resonance/chatter your are experiencing withe diagonal moves. Residence can be difficult to troubleshoot at times. A video may help forum members diagnose the issue.

Here is a link to the video. The machine runs square, diamond then circle to show the difference. Speed 200 IPM.

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My SO5 4x2 was noisy too. It seemed to quiet down a lot after I generously oiled the ballscrews and linear rails with Vactra 2.

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Would be worth a try but unfortunately not even a small bottle was provided with the machine and the smallest quantity I can buy in Canada is 5 Gallon pail at a ridiculous price

Ask around your local machine shops for way oil. I scored 12 oz for free just by asking.

Way oil is ISO68, which is the same as hydraulic oil, according to all the reading I’ve been doing. You can get a 1L of that at any Canadian Tire. I don’t know if it’s been approved by Carbide3d though.

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-compressor-oil-for-industrial-type-air-compressors-iso-68-946-ml-0280221p.html?loc=plp

I also found Super Lube 52004 which is ISO68. Would need someone from Carbide3D to chime in which would be best replacement for recommended Vactra 2.

My understanding is the ISO68 specification lacks the tackifiers which keep the oil on vertical surfaces.

We have Mobil Vactra No. 2 in:

Please sign up to be notified when it comes back in stock.

Ehh, it all seems like smoke and mirrors. I’d go with the ISO68, and just apply more often.

Vactra Number 1, 2 and 4 Way Oil Lubricants

Mobil Vactra Oil Numbered Series No. 1 No. 2 No. 4
ISO Viscosity Grade 32 68 220
cSt @ 40 C, ASTM D445 32 68 221
Flash Point, ASTM D92, °C 216 228 240
Pour Point, ASTM D97, °C -30 -18 -3
Copper Strip Corrosion, ASTM D 130C, 3 h 1B 1B 1B
Rust Protection, ASTM D 665B Pass Pass Pass
FZG Load Support, ISO 14635, Fail Stage 13 13 13

The Mobil Vactra Oil Numbered Series is carefully formulated from high-quality base stocks and performance balanced with an advanced additive system that provides controlled frictional properties, compatibility with aqueous metal working fluids and corrosion protection of parts and equipment. The unique additive package provides exceptional frictional properties on a wide variety of way materials, including steel on steel and steel on polymer, reducing stick-slip and chatter. This allows smooth, uniform motion at design travel speeds enhancing machine productivity and accuracy helping to prolong tool life and enhance surface finish. The Mobil Vactra Oil Numbered Series has been optimized to provide separability from many aqueous coolants while minimizing the corrosive effects of high pH coolants on lubricated surfaces.

Applications

  • Provides good stick-slip friction characteristics, adhesiveness, foam resistance, rust protection, metal wetting and superior lubricity.

Mobil Vactra® Oil #2
Mobil Vactra Oil No. 2 is recommended for horizontal slideways on small to medium size machine tools. It is also suitable for flood application in large machines

Mobil Vactra® Oil #4
Mobil Vactra Oil No. 4 is the normal recommendation for large machines where way pressures are high or good precision is required. It is also recommended for vertical and inclined slideways where drain-down cohesion can be a problem

https://www.carbideanddiamondtooling.ca/Way.Oil.Lubricant.Vactra.Mobil.Number.2.4.Mobil

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I went to a local machine shop and purchased a small amount from their 5 gallon bucket. they were very generous.

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We do need an alternative (approved by C3D) we can purchase outside of US. To buy a brand new machine just to find out you have to order a maintenance kit for it and pay shipping/entry fees is just not right and the fact that its not even in stock makes my new machine completely useless unless I fork out hundreds of dollars to buy pail of the oil in Canada. How hard would it have been to include small bottle of the oil with the machine, even if we had to pay the extra $15.

On top of all of that I still don’t even know if the oil will resolve the issue I’m having, machine at this price shouldn’t sound and perform like this out of the box.

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I’ll go visit couple of machine shops in the area see if I they use this specific oil and if they’d be willing to sell a bottle.

They should also include the Pro 4 in the description as it also uses linear rails, not to mention the Z carriages.

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There’s a separate Maintenance Kit for the Pro which includes this oil.

It is my opinion that this is not a lubrication issue, as it travels fine left to right and front to back. Sounds to me like some steppers are fighting each other or something is loose and vibrating badly.
When you move the gantry all the way to the front does it touch both sides equally?

Not an expert and I am sure support will diagnose it asap.

Power supply maybe? When more than one axis of motion is commanded, maybe it’s drawing more amps than what is being supplied? Are you using a long extension cord?

One thing to check is the non-stepper end of the ballscrew. I don’t know if this is the case here, but sometimes the ballscrew can hit a frequency/resonance and vibrate in the far end.

Ballscrew design is both an art and science. There is no such thing as a ballscrew that is perfectly straight, and especially over a 48" span. So you have to allow the ballscrew to float a little axially both at the stepper and the opposite end…or allow the ballscrew nut to float slightly axially in the carriage. If you don’t there will be at least one place that it binds. You can’t have a system that is fully captured.

In the design C3D uses there are couplers at the steppers, the far ends float, and there is a rigid nut in the carriages. The ballscrew is slightly constrained in a bracket at the end. On my SO5 if I am doing fast movements at the max of feedrate, the far end of the X ballscrew will sometimes hit a resonance and vibrate in the bracket that semi-constrains it at the far end. This is often referred to as whipping and is just going to happen with a ballscrew that length at certain frequencies. this happens on my SO5 Pro 4x4, but hasn’t shown in the cut.

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I went thru every screw on the machine and everything is nice and tight, when I move the machine to the front yes its equal distance on both sides, I made sure the machine was square.

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