SX3 Z Axis Gib

[dafowfidy]

My Z Axis gib won’t seem to adjust properly, I am getting way too much slop. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions on a fix?

[Crevice Reamer]

Maybe this will be helpful:

From Richard at Syil America:

If you are looking at the X3 head on, move to the dovetail on the right side of the machine. On the very top of the head you should see a big fat flat headed screw (about 3/4" diameter). There should be a matching one on the bottom of the head. Unscrew the bottom screw about 3 1/2 turns. WARNING: AT THIS POINT, DO NOT MOVE THE Z AXIS OF YOUR X3 OR YOUR GIBB MAY FALL OUT OR BECOME VERY LOOSE. THIS WOULD NOT BE A GOOD THING!!! Now, screw the top screw in as far as you can (Finger Tight, NOT Gorilla tight). On the Gibb, there is a little step it the top of the flat screw rests upon. Beneath the flat head of the screw, there is about 1/8" space then another flat part that is attached to this strange looking screw. It looks like a washer permanently mounted to the shaft of the screw. NOTE: YOU MAY NEED A FLASHLIGHT AT THIS STAGE TO LIGHT UNDER THE HEAD OF THE SCREW. Now, unscrew the screw until the top of the washer comes to nearly the same level as the step in the gibb. At this point, loosen it 1/16th of a turn more, then tighten the lower screw. Your gibb should now be in adjustment. If you see any black residue on your dovetail, that indicates premature wearing of your gibb due to lack of lubrication. You should apply 2 drops of oil on the ways on each side of the machine as the first step to every new day of work on your X3. That includes X,Y and Z axis. The gibbs should be adjusted every 3-4 weeks on average use.

CR.

[thackman]

I've been fighting the same problem for months. Using just one finger I can deflect the head on my mill by 0.015". I'm able to run the top adjustment screw all the way in until it bottoms out and the Z-Axis is just starting to ind up. At that point the gib is sticking out the bottom of the head slightly and the lower screw will barely hold it in.

I was thinking the gib was the issue so SyilAmerica shipped me a replacement Z-Gib. The replacement was .31" longer and 0.025" thinner than the one that was originaly in the machine. It stuck out of the bottom of the head more than an inch and would almost drop through. They checked several of the gibs in machines that they had and it appears that they are custom fit for each machine. We were going to try swapping out the entire column and carriage but UPS beat it up pretty badly during shipping. At this point I'm out of ideas so I'm going to go ahead with the column swap anyway.

If anyone else has any ideas I'd be glad to hear them. I'm wondering what my options are in a few years when the gibs need to be replaced. From what I've heard Syil is phasing out the SX3 models.

[iGG1e]

I had the same problem with excess head wobble due to the amount of travel in the gibb strip. Although not what I'd call a good solution, I did manage to get some form of proper contact by machining the end stop notch so it would drop lower and using a spacer under the top screw to allow me to tighten it down without the screw bottoming out.

I'd say it's somewhere in the region of 12-15MM lower than intended. Next time I take it out I'm going to measure it so I can hopefully make a better one than supplied.