The recommended lucricant for the lead screws is a hard-to-find-easily grease from OilBX.
Can anyone offer good alternatives?
SuperLube is what I use. There have been other threads on this question.
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I use Singer sewing machine grease myself
Is it a grease or oil Jack? ive only found the oil here in Australia, I have some model steam engine oil too but not sure, Has anyone used anything on the carbon rods ie are they meant to have anything on them to protect them?
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No oil or grease for the carbon rods; they’re “self lubricating”. There’s a video on how to clean the rods.
I’ve used “super lube” Multi-purpose synthetic grease for the lead screws. Seems to do the job, but it’s not like I can immediately tell.
It should be a light duty high temp grease
I will first clean my lead screws using isopropyl and I’m always surprised at how quickly they get dirty but its the brass bushings that leave the black gunk on them
After the lead screws are clean I’ll apply a light amount of grease on all three lead screws then move my bed all the way up and down for a few cycles
Any excessive grease I’ll wipe away as you don’t want to cake it on
I’ll also apply/press some grease on the top of the bearings again wiping away any excessive grease
It helps to keep the inside clean as well so I’ll vacuum out with my small dust buster then wipe the glass and the rods with isopropyl as well
This may seem a bit excessive but a clean machine will always operate better and if you need to do service work or repairs it’s so much nicer when its tidy
That’s just how I roll, to each their own
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I’ve used SuperLube grease for years on Z threaded and Y smooth rods (NOT the X axis carbon fiber!).
This: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-92003-Lubricating-Translucent/dp/B0081JE0OO
It has less tendency to hold dust and particles than Lithium or other thick greases. Be sure to wipe, run the bed or Y fully back and forth then wipe again. You only want a thin layer.
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I would have thought it was the “lubrication” from the carbon rods; carbon dust.
There is some of that, but most is not getting over onto the threaded rods. Brass is used as it’s sacrificial and will wear from the steel threads and is held in the grease. Eventually they must be replaced, but the grease extends their life to years.
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There’s a lot of small particulates that float around in the chamber
Some wear from the brass as @ThanksForAsking stated, some particulates from the filament, also the carbon rods (you are correct), some belt debris and finally just common small debris in the air from outside of the chamber
All added up and things get dirty and stick to almost everything
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I did not know that! Thank you!