RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] revive old ball screw stage

on 2016-07-02 17:28:41 UTC

Agreed!!!

WD-40 is evil stuff. It is a penetrant and nothing else. It almost always makes any job (except getting a rusty part apart) a lot worse.

Christopher Erickson
Consulting Engineer
Summit Kinetics
Waikoloa, HI 96738
www.summitkinetics.com

From: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2016 7:30 AM
To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] revive old ball screw stage

WD40 is most definitely __not__ the stuff to be using on a ball screw - it is not a lubricant, it is a solvent and water displacer. When it dries, it will leave behind a varnish coating.

http://lifehacker.com/5891936/when-should-i-not-use-wd-40

Try Kroil from Kano Labs or use a 50/50 mix of Automatic Transmission Fluid and Acetone. I have been using the ATF/Acetone mix for many years and swear by it - great for cleaning guns too - google Ed's Red.

http://www.kanolabs.com/

https://app.aws.org/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=32013

http://handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9

Dave

From: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2016 19:07
To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO
Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] revive old ball screw stage

I have a XY stage with 4" travel purchased from ebay about 10 years ago and shelved since then. It was probably old then, it has the round stepper motors but no manufacturer information or date. No matter, I plan to put new steppers on it and put it into service under my surface grinder.

It has 5 tpi ball screws and roller bearings guides, ball bearing thrust bearings.

Here's the problem: the screws are very stiff. I've been spraying WD40 on them and turning them back and forth with an electric drill, but this seems to only made them slightly looser.

The stiffness seems constant throughout the travel. There is no noticeable backlash.

Taking the whole thing apart can be done, but then I'd just have a pile of unaligned parts which would be a pita to reassemble properly.

Any ideas?

This will be put under control of Mach3 and my Xylotex box when it's runs well enough.

Elliot

Discussion Thread

Elliot Burke 2016-07-01 19:07:29 UTC revive old ball screw stage Randall Wink 2016-07-01 19:24:41 UTC RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] revive old ball screw stage Dave Halliday 2016-07-02 10:29:28 UTC RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] revive old ball screw stage Christopher Erickson 2016-07-02 17:28:41 UTC RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] revive old ball screw stage 2016-07-09 13:00:41 UTC Re: revive old ball screw stage