LitePlacer.com forums

The discussion wandered off and mawa didn't get an answer:

> Should I lubricate the two bearings and what lubricant should I use ?

First, check that the hardware has not shifted; in other words, that the hardware alignment is as good as it can be. Look also that you don't have dust buildup inside. If it is still tight, some lubricant should help. I don't know what would be the best. There is some oil in the bearings already, so more should not hurt. Teflon sounds good, but I have no idea if it reacts with oil.

I wrote to Manfred:

mrandt wrote:You may use a bit of lubricant to ease things (sewing machine oil works nicely) but this is not a permanent fix.

I use sewing machine oil on my 3D printer's linear bearings without problems.

However, I just checked Misumi's recommendation for LHFC8, which is:

"Lithium soap based grease (Alvania Grease S2 by Showa Shell Sekiyu)"

Learned another interesting detail: The oil applied in factory is just for corrosion prevention. It is apparently not suitable for lubrication and shall be "degreased" before applying proper greasing to the bearing.

Also, the datasheet reiterates that Misumi linear bearings are not suitable for rotational movement.

Source:
http://uk.misumi-ec.com/pdf/fa/2014/P1_ ... F04_EN.pdf

Arg, crap... So first lubricate the things, that should be mentioned on the package... Thank you for the info.

Pixopax wrote:Arg, crap... So first lubricate the things, that should be mentioned on the package... Thank you for the info.

Yeah, wasn't aware of that myself - only found it when I checked for the recommended grease in Misumi datasheet...

Btw, the JFRA8 which I recommended is lubricant free

Juku,

Would you consider offering some of the upgrades that have been mentioned, this one and others like it, wherein you could do the same thing you are doing with the kits, order in quantity and repackage?

I know your not really in this for the money... still, it might provide a nice little revenue stream.

Danal wrote:Juku,

Would you consider offering some of the upgrades that have been mentioned, this one and others like it, wherein you could do the same thing you are doing with the kits, order in quantity and repackage?

I know your not really in this for the money... still, it might provide a nice little revenue stream.

Yes, I will. The summer vacations on my family and my factory will delay things, but soon (definitely, before end of August) there will be an upgrade kit with better bearings, Z tube and proper SMD nozzles with a holder allowing automatic nozzle change.

...a nice little revenue stream.

Emphasis on the word little. :-/

And the upgrade kit is here: http://liteplacer.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=376
The design is finalized, but it will take some time to purchase the parts and assemble some kits.