Something to consider when troubleshooting your printer:
Layers skipping?
Noisy resonance in printing along axes?
Having to turn up the drivers in search of why one direction is weak?
There seems to be a lot of effector bucking?
YOU PRINTER NEEDS LUBRICATION, MAN!
I was pulling my hair out trying to determine why larger prints were failing, then prints where layers changed, then why the motors seemed to be getting hot.
Greased up the linear bearings and Extruder bearings and everything’s now quiet and back to normal.
What type of lube are you recommending? Sounds like maybe a lithium or silicone grease. I’ve done dry graphite with Sells Mendel style bearings but don’t know how well it worked.
I tried white lithium but it was a mess and switched to Superlube, which was recommended by someone else and that was much better.
+1 for Super Lube. It’s supposed to be safe for most plastic and rubber, which some other oils and greases can degrade.
@Clint_O_Connor I found a couple different Super Lube products, an oil and a gel. Which one do you recommend?
BTW: You’d be surprised what you find when you Google “super lube”.
@Clint_O_Connor Perfect! Added to my Amazon cart. Thanks.
Grease is fine for your Z screws, but for your linear bearings you want a lower-viscosity lubricant like light machine oil. If you’re using un-chromed steel rods, they need to be kept oiled anyway to prevent rust.
+whosa whatsis Good point, I have sleeve bearings but oil would be better for linear bearings.
@Whosa_whatsis Good to know. I’ve been using light machine oil on my un-chromed rods, so, doing it right by sheer luck.
Also, I’m pretty sure sintered bronze bushings are incompatible with lubricants other than oil.
@Whosa_whatsis Is even oil okay? I don’t have these bearings, but I thought they were “self-lubricating”.
@Carlton_Dodd Sintered bronze bushings are oil-impregnated (sintering leaves them porous, and oil is used to fill those pores), so oil is compatible. Plastic self-lubricating bushings use different lubricants that may not be compatible with oil.
@Whosa_whatsis AH! Gotcha. Thanks.
I just use Igus plastic bearings and I never have to worry. but I use pneumatic tool oil on my threaded rod Z