I recently learned that you are supposed to do regular maintenance to the Y and Z axis rails with lubricant oil. I have been using Super Lube 92003 Silicone Lubricating Grease with PTFE, along with the stock grease. Could this have damaged my printer and what should I do different in my next maintenance cycle?
As long as you didnt put that on your carbon X rods you are likely to be ok but I’m no expert.
I’d go wipe em clean today, and do:
Z threaded rods = grease
Z smooth rods = oil
Y smooth rods = oil
X carbon rods = IPA
1 Like
For the X and Y rails, you wanted to use a lightweight oil. Grease is going to gum the bearings up. Over time, it might lead to excess wear and degraded print quality. But it might take a while before it actually starts to matter. If you went crazy with the grease, it might cause the bearings to “chatter” and you’ll get visible artefacts from the irregular motion that causes.
I’d maybe “water down” the grease by applying excess oil and running the printhead back and forth manually, slowly, wiping the rods off and reoiling with each pass. Do this a few times, then apply a little oil again and forget about it.
The alternative is to disassemble the printer and flush the bearings with a solvent before reoiling and reinstalling.