[jskene]

I mistakenly unscrewed the X axis ball screw thread on my TMC 1000 mill, and now have to reassembled the ball screws. There are two separate section that fit together.

Does anyone know where I can find some instructions on how to re-thread the ball nuts back on the screw? I have searched the forums here, but have not found anything clear enough.

Thanks

[Thazul]

hi jskene,

Here are a few things that might help
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15675
Also, if you go to www.industrialhobbies.com then go to CNC Product Instructions,
scroll down to the Ballnuts and Ballscrews section, you will find some more helpful How-To's with pictures.

Hope that helps,

Let us know how it goes.

-

Andy

[hoss2006]

quadrant2005 has a good video reloading the balls in his Nook ballscrew.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPOhAjmPADM"]34: Nook Ballnut loading[/ame]

[jskene]

Thank you very much for the links. This looks easier than I thought it would be!

[abfa9358]

jskene,
It is easier than it sounds. I've done it three times with my Nook ball screws. Heres a few tips:
1.Take your time.
2.Dont try and do it with the cat "helping"
3.Clean everything first.
4.Have a pot of grease (sticking balls in to recir. tubes) and a small soft stick (I use a barbeque bamboo stick) to poke the balls in to the nut available when you start.
5.I place everything I need on a tray with edges and place a white cloth on the tray - this help you see the balls and prevents them bouncing if you drop one out of the nut.
6.Depending on the nut you can loose a percentage of the balls and it still be ok - Nook tech support indicated that I could loose 10% of the balls and the nut would still retain its load carrying capacity.
7.If things go really wrong you can always buy a new set of balls from the suppliers on the net - Nook recommend grade 3 or grade 5 balls for their nuts.
Hope this helps.

[jskene]

I reassembled the dual ball nuts last night in about 30 minutes. After cleaning everything I greased the shaft, slid the empty ball nuts on the shaft, then dropped the balls in one by one. I pushed each ball into the nut until they started coming out the other side, then I filled the recirculating tube and screwed it back on.

I had to temporarily loosen the anti-backlash nut a bit to load the second ball nut.

Piece of cake.

Thanks to all who provided advice.