What grease do you use?

The printer prints fine for a while.  Then it makes a funny sound, perhaps the motor is doing it, perhaps something else.  Whatever it is, it causes the print head to go off track.  For example, it'll shift both X and Y by 10 mm or so.. and then it will continue printing.  But now it's lost its position, so it print incorrectly.

The reason I think it's the grease is because I can fairly easily replicate it.  I had to replace the entire rod assembly, as mine was broken. The replacement wasn't lubricated.  I attempted to move the motor manually (via pronterface) before lubricating it, and it made exactly the same sound.  Putting oil, or grease, on the metal rods, makes the print head move properly.  When not lubricated, it will move, say, 5 mm, instead of the 10 requested.  But applying grease makes it work ok.  For a while.  Then it happens again.

I've ordered the non-spray grease, and will try that. But it looks like most of it gets pushed out of the way, towards the edges, as the head moves around.  Does yours do the same thing?

I guess it could be something else, but whatever it is, adding grease to the rods makes it go away.  Do you think overly tight rubber belt would do this?  I wasn't sure how tight to make it when I replaced it.  It does print ok otherwise.

Dan

I had to put on an assembly with new belts, so, yes, I did have to re-tighten.  They seem about the same.  Is there a good way to calibrate their tension?

Thank you for your help.
Dan

I get crazy squeaking if I don't watch the lube on the rails, the Y axis seems to be the worst by far and I have even noticed some discoloration (stress whitening) of the ABS plastic near the bushings...guess I better start printing several of those "free design" printers before it becomes to late and I have to start replacing parts on this machine at who knows what cost.

I recently had a clog on another printer and solved it by sharpening the point of a paper clip until it would just fit through the nozzle. I twisted the other end into a nice handle and was able to free the blockage immediately (after an hour of stuffing around unsuccessfully before that).

I've printed a whole bunch of stuff now and the only times I've had missing steps were due to operator error:
-Tangled filament stopping y axis from moving.
-Failure to remove previous part, nozzle smashed into it.
-Hit wrong button in software when manually moving the print head.

I don't expect a perfect solution, i figure there will be bugs to work out..
if its only software though, how scary can it be ?

some good notes here too ..
http://reprap.org/wiki/Lubrication

yup. seems that's what comes on the printers from the factory. in a few weeks i'll probably clean it all off and replace with white lithium or some PTFE grease, but seems to be working great for now

to add to the WD-40 thing. its amazing how many people don't realize that WD-40 isn't even a lubricant at all. its a penatrant and a rust inhibitor primarily. you NEVER want to use it on any fine tolerance machine parts because it varnishes into a film that interferes with clearance. heard horror stories of rednecks using it to lube their guns etc.

I just tried some last night on my idler pulleys since they are hard to get to and it seemed to be okay. Lithium grease is still the way to go IMO. I think that the silicone lubricant will be too light.

Someone who owned a farm once told me," nothin' ever broke 'cuz it had too much greez' "

I've been reading up on lubrication and I just want to point out that one major point is to not use anything petroleum based. I bring it up because, for the most part, everyone, everywhere simply says "Use Lithium Grease." Maybe I got some bad info but my research shows MOST LITHIUM GREASE CONTAINS PETROLEUM! I didn't know that until I had already lubed my printer l;ast night and spent my whole day at work worried about weather I just ruined my printer. I see on my MSDS Sheet that it has all kinds of petroliem in it. My printer seems A OK but I'm waiting for disaster to strike at any moment.

I'm fairly new to a lot of this so I may be mistaken but my MSDS doesn't lie. I'm glad I have a whole set of parts printed. I just hope I don't have to use them because I simply used "Lithium Grease" as recommended not knowing there are lots of different types of it and very few are suitable for use on your solidoodle.  I just figured the way it was always mentioned that, Lithium was the alternative to petroleum. That, and I've seen brands that with warnings that specified it did contain petroleum which, led me to believe that it was not a common ingredient in Lithium Grease.

Maybe some one could clarify this for me? Is it true that most lithium grease contains petroleum? If so why are people using it when petroleum eats plastic?  I just think people (Like the SD website for example) should be a little more specific when mentioning these sort of things. Like specifying "White Lithium Grease" or "Petroleum Free" or whatever instead of simply saying, "use lithium grease."   I feel like I may have gotten lucky this time so I just want to help out any other newbies like me before they go ahead and think "It's lithium grease, that's all that matters." Be very sure to buy a brand that does not contain Petroleum.

Thanks Ward. I did know not to over lube so i'm good there. i got a little on my z axsis mod and it hasnt harmed it at all so I'm pretty sure I just hit the panic button. The little white blocks are teflon.