NM-145 Lubrication System

[steveb946]

Since several folks are working out problems with the lubrication system in the NM-145, it is time have a separate thread, IMHO.

Here is a picture of the back side of the column after the Control box is hinged out of the way. Note the black circled area. This is the oil distribution manifold, with multiple outlets to feed the hoses to the dovetail slides and to the ballscrews.

The brass fittings on the outlets are flow restricters which help equalize the oil flow to the various destinations.

[steveb946]

Since several folks are working out problems with the lubrication system in the NM-145, it is time have a separate thread, IMHO.


Here is a picture of the back side of the column after the Control box is hinged out of the way. Note the black circled area. This is the oil distribution manifold, with multiple outlets to feed the hoses to the dovetail slides and to the ballscrews.

The brass fittings on the outlets are flow restricters which help equalize the oil flow to the various destinations.

Continuing the oiling system review:

(There is also an excellent writeup by Zincboy on this forum also).

To verify the oiling system, remove the way covers, and carefully clean the exposed ballscrews of any dirty residue. Clean the exposed dovetail ways and add oil to all surfaces. It is also a good idea to take off (at least) the X-table and clean and oil the dovetails and the tapered gib. Make SURE that the gib is re-inserted with the shinier side toward the column, and the narrower tapered end placed toward the right end of the X-table. It is possible to re-install the gib with the wrong side facing the column, and then the machine is subject to jamming of the x-table, wedging it immobile!

Operate the one shot luber a few times and see where the oil appears.

[ZincBoy]

I thought I would add some details about the parts I used to upgrade the oil system. I added four more oil lines to the saddle that deliver oil to each sliding point individually.

All of the parts were ordered from Trico (Lube Management Solutions | Oil Analysis Services | Trico Corporation) as the prices were much better than my local distributor.

All of the fittings are M8 thread so you will need to order from that lineup.

From Trico:
1x JS-08M 8-way manifold
9x FM-3000M Nut, M8x1.0 - for the meter valves
2x DSM-3M #3 Meter Unit Metric M8-1.0 x M8-1.0
2x DSM-0M #0 Meter Unit "
1x DSM-1M #1 Meter Unit "
4x DSM-2M #2 Meter Unit "
20x FS-1002 Sleeve for Nylon tubing 5/32nds
20x FS-1000 Sleeve for Hard tube 5/32nds
36x FM-1001M Compression bushing, M8 x 1.0 x 8mm Hex
Note: I ordered extras of the sleeves and bushings as I needed some for another project. I did not keep track of how many are actually needed. You could also re-use the meter units that came with the mill but I am not sure if they are matched in terms of flow rate.


From Fluidline (local distributor)
20' 4mm nylon tubing
1' 4mm soft copper tubing
3x M8x1.0 plugs


I added the 8 port meter unit in line with the existing 6 port unit. See the attached picture.

The meter units screw into the manifold, note the direction arrow, they don't work backwards The sleeves go over the tubing and then the FM-3000M nut is used to compress it onto the top of the meter unit.

The FM-1001M bushings are used to attach the tubes to M8 tapped holes in the mill.

The meter unit numbers indicate relative flow. #2 is double the flow of #1 and so on. I used #3 for the X axis ways, #2 for Y and Z axis ways, #1 for the X ball screw, and #0 for the Y and Z ball screw. It seems to work well with everything getting the right amount of lube. Priming the system is a challenge as you get a ton of oil oozing out the X ways by time you have oil to the ball nuts

[t300]

Great post zincboy. Have you changed anything with your oil setup since this post, or would you still do it again the same way? I'm about to go through my oil system and your info is a great help

[ZincBoy]

I have not changed anything with the oiling system. It is still working fine and all of the ways seem to get oil.

The only thing I would change is to replace the hand pump with either a better quality one or preferably and automated one. I don't like to leave long jobs running without giving it a shot of oil once in a while. The other issue with the pump is that the Vactra #2 seems to "crawl" out of it and I needed to put a catch tray under it to get the drips