Lube ACME screw on Z-axis upgrade?

The directions don’t mention it but should the ACME screw on the Z-Axis Upgrade be lubed? The Z-Axis ACME screw on the standard Z-Axis came with a small pouch of lube and the Upgrade screw is very noisy. That might be normal or the nature of the beast but just wondered if anyone has lubed there Upgrade.

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wouldn’t use anything else>>

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Super. I have some lube but not a dry one like this. I’ll pick a can up next time I get to town. Thank you again. This is the second time today that you came to my rescue!!! :grinning: :upside_down_face:

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I actually asked this question when I spoke to Inventables last. The said it’s not necessary but does no harm to lube the lead screw. Just keep an eye on dust build up if you do.

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Thanks James. I “think” by using the dry lube like Ken uses that might not be a problem, however, I will keep that in mind.

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The reason:
The Nut Block used on the X-Carve is made out of Delrin, a self-lubricating acetal product.

On other CNC’s that use a Brass Anti-Backlash Nut like the 3018 machines, I would recommend using the ptfe dry lube, but because of the self-lubricating properties inherent to Delrin, it isn’t required with that specific Nut Block setup that Inventables provides on the X-Carve.

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I recently purchased an X-Carve with the upgraded z-axis and noticed the z-axis was very noisy as well.
It turned out to be broken bearing in z-axis top plate, just below the coupler between the stepper motor and the acme screw.
Looks like the bearings have a flange on the outside race and that flange had broken off and was rubbing between the top plate and coupler.
Aside from the noise, an accumulation of aluminum shavings on the top of the z-carriage is what tipped me off.

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Thanks Jody, I’ll check that in the morning. Just seems way to noisy to me.

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