Slideway Oils

[dragon_sa]

Hi...I have just received my cnc machine and it has an oil reservoir on the gantry for oiling the ball screws and everything else during operation..what lubricant can i use in this?
can I use air compressor oil or sewing machine or do i have to get something like shell tonna or mobil vactra 2?

I am located in Adelaide SA and finding it hard to get something for it at the moment also a bit unsure as to what is most suitable.

Any help or advice appreciated.

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[rodw]

I would just use hydraulic oil. Thats all I've ever used on my manual machines. In fact I've always purchased it from Hare and Forbes who sell it for Slideway oil for all of their machines.

But you could try looking in the manual for an oil grade and see if you can find it. (But hydraulic oil you can get anywhere)

[he1957]

I'm using the 3-In-One Multi-Purpose oil from Bunnings (it's way cheaper than buying same from other places) and it does a good job. I found the oil distribution system (brass distribution blocks with thumb wheel adjustments) was not tuned very well from the factory as delivered and does not include the ball nut/shaft so I do this manually.

What machine did you get? Pictures please :-)


Cheers ,

HarryE.
===

[rodw]

But thats about 5x dearer than Hydraulic oil from Hare and Forbes (ISO 46 grade)

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/O002

[Superman]

vactra 2 would be perfect... you want something that lubs as well as a bit sticky ( won't run off surfaces)
hydraulic oil has wrong additives... so is not ideal.. but it'll do a passable job
...so any slideway oil about iso32 viscosity... up to iso46 depending on how severe your machining is.... iso68 would be good for vertical face being a little thicker ( stickier ), or a manual machine.

some of the higher end machines actually grease the leadscrew & nut. The lubrication is normally entrapped within the bearing block wipers or nut so that is retained where it is actually needed. It also minimises tramp oil in your coolant tank.
You do not want globs of oil/grease where swarf would stick and create issues.

[InMesh]

I use a 75/80 manual trans oil with lithium based grease mixed to make a light weight grease ,and use a small grease/oil gun those little spring loaded pumpers .Why ask the negative Nancies it's cheap ,you can make it any constancy you want and it wont put a strain on your linear rails ball screws ect .but for machine oil yes hydraulic in lathe mill and so on ,high stress corrosion inhibitors high temp all the goodies youl ever need .

[dragon_sa]

Thanks for the replies...I put sewing machine oil in and probably over pumped it a bit as I encountered quite a few leaks here and there which have now calmed down...but I think it maybe a little too thin and I will need to change this....I have a little bit of grinding on part of the x axis at the moment sounds like creaking...think i need too look at some grease to put into there.
I also find the sewing machine oil washes the grease of a bit and makes the rails a little grindy.
Attached is a pic of the machine and a quick cut out i did with a 3mm end mill

I am keen to use the vactra but it only comes in 20L drum here.

[ericks]

Nice machine....good to see someone else from Adelaide here!

[dragon_sa]

Great another Adelaidian ....Im pretty new to the cnc world so would be good to have some local knowledge where to get things here.

[he1957]

dragon_sa,

Thanks for the photo. What brand is the machine? What controls does it have/use? Just curious; to compare others equipment...

I agree, sewing machine oil is too thin, that's why I've used the 3-in-1 - sticks to the rails well but as others point out it's more expensive.

What will you be making? (Choose not to answer if you like :-)

I'm In Tasmania so it's also good to know there are a few more Aussies here :-)


Cheers,

[dragon_sa]

dragon_sa,

Thanks for the photo. What brand is the machine? What controls does it have/use? Just curious; to compare others equipment...

I agree, sewing machine oil is too thin, that's why I've used the 3-in-1 - sticks to the rails well but as others point out it's more expensive.

What will you be making? (Choose not to answer if you like :-)

I'm In Tasmania so it's also good to know there are a few more Aussies here :-)


Cheers,

The brand is Acctek...hand made in china.
I wouldnt say it is fantastic quality in manufacturing and QA.. but from my tests it will certainly do the job with some tweaking and modifying.

3kw 24000rpm water cooled spindle
Taiwan Delta servo motors and drivers
Taiwan TBI ball screw transmission
Taiwan Hiwin 20mm linear square rails
twin 2.2kw motor vacuum table
1200x2400x200 working area
ethernet based Mach3 Control system

MDF and acrylic products and templating...some cabinet work aswell.

[nick952]

Hiwin lubrication guide is here:- https://www.hiwin.com/pdf/lubricating_instructions.pdf

In this guide (on page 27), they suggest Mobilgear 630.

Mobil specs here:- http://www.ulei-mobil.ro/pdf/MobilIn...ries%20pds.pdf

As you can see Mobilgear 630 is equivalent to an ISO 220 Slideway oil.and this is what I use on my CNC machine.

On a side note, for my manual machines I use the 220 on the vertical slideways and ALL the leadscrews, then a 68 on the horizontal slideways, IF they have manual individual lube points, but for those fitted with a centralised manual or automatic oiling system, then these are filled with 220.

Nick.

[dragon_sa]

Thanks for the useful info Nick, I have the manual centralized oiling system in mine, thinking of changing it to automatic oiling system already...only had the machine just over a week now

[dragon_sa]

Hiwin lubrication guide is here:- https://www.hiwin.com/pdf/lubricating_instructions.pdf

In this guide (on page 27), they suggest Mobilgear 630.

Mobil specs here:- http://www.ulei-mobil.ro/pdf/MobilIn...ries%20pds.pdf

As you can see Mobilgear 630 is equivalent to an ISO 220 Slideway oil.and this is what I use on my CNC machine.

On a side note, for my manual machines I use the 220 on the vertical slideways and ALL the leadscrews, then a 68 on the horizontal slideways, IF they have manual individual lube points, but for those fitted with a centralised manual or automatic oiling system, then these are filled with 220.

Nick.

I got given some mobil vacuoline 537 from work, I looked it up and it appears to be iso 320...would that still be ok for the central oiling system?

[jatt]

Just been using ISO46 in gearboxes of my manual stuff. Recon 32 would leak out too easily.


As mentioned already sewing machine oil can be a bit thin, especially around here in summer. But that's what I have here in quantity to feed 8 sewing machines, so I just make do with it.


Sure there's better stuff out there, but don't think its doing my gear any harm.

[RCaffin]

Heresy ... most any oil would work.
I normally use SAE30-40 as I have a 4 L bottle of it. If you want more 'sticky', you could use Chain&Bar oil (chainsaw stuff).
Speciality oils are all much more expensive.

Chers
Roger

[2048tm]

I've been getting terrific results from the 3-in-1 multi-purpose oil I bought from Bunnings, and it's a steal compared to similar products elsewhere. I had to perform this by hand since the factory-supplied oil distribution system (brass blocks with thumb wheels for adjustments) was not well-tuned and did not come with the ball nut and shaft.

phrazle