[jjackson]

Hi,

I have an older wood cnc router I am trying to improve the performance for.

I need some one inch ID linear ball bearings, some open some closed.

Anyone found a reasonably priced supplier in canada?

Thanks

John

[cyclestart]

XZeroautomotion in Toronto is (or at least was) clearing out 25mm supported rail. Excellent possibility he has blocks and NSK bearings in stock, you won't find better prices.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpo...postcount=1168

Look up cnczone member gio666 for contact info

If you literally need 1" size he might not be much help, his stock is likely to be metric

[jjackson]

That would be great except my router uses inch (25.4 mm) and not 25 mm.

Too bad!

John

[cyclestart]

That would be great except my router uses inch (25.4 mm) and not 25 mm.

Too bad!

John

LOL, I was editing to add that thought while you were posting. Bearings in inch sizes tend to cost a premium, must be economy of scale type of thing.

[jjackson]

And to be 110% certain I re-checked and they are 25.4 mm not 25.

I know that 25mm or some other metric size would be more economical, and if I was building from scratch I would use a different size. The router was built around 1990 I believe. Built mostly from 1 X 3 inch aluminum stock it is very solid, but all that mass makes for lots of friction on the current bushing style bearings.

If there is an economical upgrade that would be cool, but at some point it becomes cheaper to put the router on Kijiji and start over.

John

[kevin swan]

try Applied .com looks like they have outlets near you . I have used them here for years

[sockules]

Hey, were you still looking for linear bearings? I have 20(ish) Thompson 1" ID linear ball bearings. I have 1" shafting from NB as well; honestly just never got around to using it. Bought it, then figured I'd try and use supported rail instead. Let me know!

[jjackson]

I did buy some 1" ball bearings, but after installing them the problem was worse so I went back to bushings. I think my problem is that the ball screw and the rails are not perfectly parallel so when I get near the end of travel there is binding. At this point instead of spending much more to fix the problem I might upgrade to a larger machine.

Where are you located?

Thanks.

[sockules]

Yeah, if you're binding you're probably not parallel. Have a similar problem with an old Dore Westbury mill I converted to CNC, lost about half an inch on the Z axis because the leadscrew seems to be on a bit of an angle, or bent. I'm in the Brampton area, centre of the earth... Did you make the machine yourself?

[jjackson]

I bought the machine from a high school, it was made around 1989. Appears to have been machined by CNC out of solid aluminum - no extrusions.

I will be going by Brampton in a few weeks on my way from Ottawa to Ann Arbor for the CNC Workshop by Digital Machinist.

I am also suspicious of the recirculating ball nut (right term?) on the ball screw. Makes a lot of noise when running. Know a good place to get them?

Attaching a shot of the gantry showing the bushings.

[sockules]

Do you keep the ballscrew and guides greased? Honestly, I usually look for stuff on e-bay, haha. Most recirculating ball bearings allow for some degree of angular variance, I don't imagine those bushings will. That's weird that the binding would be worse with the recirculating bearings. Have you tried disconnecting the plate that attaches the nut to the ballscrew and try moving the gantry lightly with your finger and feel for binding? You're probably right about the ballscrew being bent or misaligned. Have you considered swapping it out for a timing belt system?

[jjackson]

I keep a bit of dry spray lube on them, but no grease as this is a wood router that cuts mostly MDF - lots of "wood flour". Carriage moves freely with just bearings. I would not consider a timing belt on this machine - if I went to those lengths I would build a bigger one. 17 X19 inches working envelope is not huge for a wood router!