Re: Lithium Grease

Hi to all of you here,
I follow this list pretty often but I think it may be the first time
I post a message here.
I live in Italy and I made a few machines, one is visible on my
pages at http://www.korumdesign.com/cnc_mill_inde.html

I recently experienced almost the same problem as described on these
posts.
Fo several reasons I still didn't cover my guideways and my
ballscrew units (even if I already have the proper bellows).
Well, after milling a big amount of Expanded Polystyrene I found my
Y axis being loudy, bouncy and losing steps.

I easily found the grease on/in the carts (I'm using prismatic ball-
recirculating guideways) enclosed a big amount of EPS dust as well
of Polyurethane dust (from medium density machinable slabs - kind of
Ureol).
The grey dust from low density slabs (180/200 Kg/m3) seems to be
particularly problematic to the guides.

I had to use air and diesel gasoline to dissolve and remove the
grease from the carts, then I almost completely disassembled the
axis, realigned it but I feel it still needs some cleaning and I
found the other two axis need the same treatment as well (even if
they're definetively less compromised than the Y was).

Could you, please, explain me what Charcoal lighting fuel is ?

About the MDF, from my personal experience, I can confirm it
produces a very dangerous dust.
Well, the dust itself (being so thin) represents a serious hazard
for the lungs.
Then the chemical components of the glue/resins contained in the MDF
also represent a serious treath to your health.

Several years ago I used MDF for a prototype and to obtain the
desidered roundness of the edges I had to machine the panels
producing a lot of thin and light dust.
Despite I was wearing a good breathing mask, the dust suspended in
the air affected my breathing ways and I suddenly became allergic to
the MDF and to most of wood dusts.
My allergy was so strong that I coundln't even get close to the door
of a wood-workshop. And it lasted for years.
Now I'm free, but for more than six months I couldn't breath with my
nose, sometimes waking up breathless in the middle of the night.

Not a nice experience.

Take care and keep safe using those materials, a good venting and
vacuuming system are not a luxury ad-on but a must.

Paolo