[jhowelb]

For several years now I have been running a home built machine that I fabricated with 8020 1-1/2 X 4-1/2 extrusions utilizing Igus bearings.

All is well and good but all things wear and ultimately the Igus bearings were done for. No problem, just get new bearing inserts or failing that just replace the bearings, right?

Well, I called the representative for my area. no answer on the phone so I sent him an email. Still no response.

I even emailed the local "dealer" and had the same result.

No body wants my money!!

I checked the prices again on supported rails and ball bearing and nearly choked.

Amazon was advertising a reasonably priced bearing from 8020 and it looked pretty good in the photos but I had read in several thread on the zone that 8020 bearings could be compared to drawer slides so I was wary of them

I was faced with a choice, use what I was told were substandard bearings or quit my hobby / retirement business. Because my daughter had come to depend on me to provide carvings for her custom sign enterprise I decided to risk the purchase of just bearings for the Z slide.

When they arrived I was impressed with the quality and simplicity of the install. On operating the machine it was instantly apparent the there had been an up grade.

I then reordered the bearing materials to complete the Y_Z carriage depicted here and I am anxious to rebuild my x axis as well.

Who ever told you that 8020 bearings were junk is just plane wrong!!!

[roundrocktom]

I appreciate the update.

Grainger list the bearings (three sided carrier) for $60.
80/20 Linear Bearing, 1.625 In W, 1.875 In L - Mounted Linear Bearings - 2RCJ3|6415 - Grainger Industrial Supply

I had looked at them, but went with the 1/4" x 4" steel plates and CNCRouterParts carriers as they run $33.50 (with six bearings).

Extended Linear Carriage with ABEC 7 Bearings - CRP102-00 | CNCRouterParts

I do like your router mount!

Oh... 8020 sent my business a catalog. The front page points out their philosophy of 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. So it makes sense to IGNORE that non revenue producing 20%. Granger and Fastenal do carry (or can order) 8020 product.

[jhowelb]

Igus was the one who blew me off..............REPEAT BUSINESS!! The best kind.

8020 Inc. followed up my on line exploration of their site with emails and phone calls even tho they deal exclusively thru dealers. (Amazon sells surplus)

I used four of the $13.15 short bearings and one of the $66.30 units. I substituted 1.5 X 4.5 8020 for their 1.5 X 3 for a total of $118.90 plus shipping and tax!

For two axes!

BTW, got real tired really quick of buying skate bearings. Been there, done that!

Correction:
Just noticed that the screen grab for the single bearing is for 1.0 series but 1.5 is only a buck or two more.

[jhowelb]

For the benefit of anyone who might not be able to discern the construction method used here:

Most every thing is held together by 5/16 - 18 button head Allen machine screws. 1/2" was too short and 3/4" was too long so I used a Rong Foo mill/drill (cnc conversion) to cut some back to the mid point.

A square nut is inserted in one t-slot and the head of the screw is inserted into the t-slot of the adjoining piece. One versicle, the other horizontal. An access hole for an Allen wrench is drilled in the appropriate piece.

The router mount was cut from 1.5 X 4.5 8020 and is attached in the same manner. The hole for the router was cut on the mill/drill and the center hole in that piece of 8020 was tapped for a 5/16" bolt to anchor the router in place.

8020 is truly an adult erector set. You are only limited by your faith in the product and your own imagination.

OMG, I sound like a salesman!!!

[jhowelb]

Really disappointed that there isn't any more interest than this.

[dodger889]

Not there is no interest.Just you are happy with what you have. Most of us do not care for a binding (rubbing )type of bearing. Looking at the long term I personally think or believe they can not be long term use. Anything that glides or rubs another surface will wear fairly quickly. There for you will get play.

[PaulRowntree]

There are sliding bushing machines out there that work well with self-lubrication, but dodger's question about the longevity of polymer slides is a good one. Mind you, replacement delrin surfaces may be easy to make yourself. Treat the 8020 sliding surfaces with kid gloves.

Have you measured the backlash or deflection vs force to see how stable the sliders are now? It would be interesting to compare them now with 6, 12 months out and see how they hold up. Please keep the thread updated!
Cheers!

[ger21]

You are only limited by your faith in the product......................

That's just it.... I don't think many of us have much faith in the product in this type of application. Different people have different expectations. While it appears to meet your expectations very well, I don't think it would meet everyones.

[jhowelb]

I have two other machines in my little shop that use frictional surfaces in the form of dove tail ways; a lathe and a mill/drill. (Cast iron wears too.)

Now and then the gibs must be adjusted.

The 8020 bearings have shims to remove accomplishing the same function.

The aluminum deflects more than the "slip" in the bearings.

While cast iron is much more rigid than aluminum, I simply can not build a router from cast iron nor would I want to. Also I have spent most of my machinist career defending cast iron ways jealously against damage and dust. Both need to be lubed. (I use silicone spray on the 8020.)

Incidentally, replacement pads for the bearings are about $2.50 each and require minuets to in stall.

Thanks for the responses, guys, that is the purpose of these posts.....conversation!

[roundrocktom]

The linear slides are very interesting, so I appreciate the information on them.

It will be interesting to see how long the skate ball bearings last on my machine.

My Milling Machine has a way lube pump to keep the ways lubricated. It wasn't until I was reading one of the "Bedside Readers" until I learned that some way lubricant has wax in it. It explains why my little "one shot" lubrication doesn't seem to work (I use an oil can, and put a little oil on each surface on every morning I use the mill).

[jhowelb]

Tom,

The first iteration of my machine was built with cold roll steel and the same bearing assy you are using. I soon tired of replacing broken bearings.

Dust (especially MDF dust) would build up in lumps on the steel and eventually bind and break the races of the bearings. That was the reason I went to Igus bearings.

Igus was satisfactory but after several years of heavy use the little plastic inserts just wore out and then replacement bearings either the insert or the whole bearing seemed to be a big issue.

I can't deal with people who wont return a call.

8020 has a number of advantages that I will list here after a bit more run time. (BTW, I have material coming to complete the third axis as well!

[jhowelb]

100 year old barn lumber, worm holes and all, with the customers real to life cattle brand burned onto them. The finish will be tong oil and customer will blacken the letters with a "running iron"!

The signs will go one on each side onto his trailer mounted BBQ rig.

This project was cut with the 8020 bearings installed on two axes.

[jhowelb]

All three axes using the 8020 bearings, action is much tighter than before. Any slack in the bearings is imperceptible but movement is free and easy.

I am delighted!

Dryer vent provides economical dust collection.

[roundrocktom]

Love the signs!

I'm very interested in how the slides hold up over time.

I need to hook up a vacuum. I was cutting some MDF (wore my 3M mask) and the 1500' shop is nicely coated in MDF dust. Cough.

Do you have a shoe that you attach, or run it like shown in photo? I was thinking of a aluminum shoe base, and epoxy in some supper magnetic. Allows quick change of shoes with different skirts, easy access to change router bits.

Today's fun was a simple repeating pattern for a hold down table using "T" bolts. Had an odd error using VCarvePro that produced a very odd pattern between my holes (nothing else on that layer). Thankfully I caught the 25 hour run time estimate, and looked at a very odd tool path! Oh fun!

My son stopped by, said neat "OK if I design a GPS mount for the bike... sure kid". He spent 10 minutes on the design, cut it in 20! (he has used AutoCAD for six years in High school/college and commented VCarvePro is super easy to learn... sigh.)

[jhowelb]

The slides wear ability over time isn't that important because they can very easily be shimmed (shims included) to fit like new in seconds. Furthermore, the pads are cheap ($2.50) to simply replace...also in seconds!

Dust collection is a must. MDF dust is deadly. (Contains formaldehyde) Take it from one who has a terminal case of COPD, take care of those lungs FIRST!!!

My DC is a harbor freight 2.5 H.P. - pretty good. The dust shoe is the best purchase I've ever made. A KentCNC shoe from https://www.kentcnc.net/nc/.
You can see it in action here. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8ehFKTjZN4"]Dust Shoe Demo - YouTube[/ame]

Vetric is fantastic, I own Aspire and can't imagine functioning without it. The wild tool paths are, I think, a malfunction with the P.C. Grimlins, you know! They are hiding every where these days!

Thanks for the reply, Tom! Hang in there and good luck to you!
jb

[jhowelb]

A carving fresh off the table..........no bearing slop visible to me!

[jhowelb]

Another fresh off the cnc and ready for the inverted router table.
The machine is behaving better than it ever has, wish I had tried these bearing much sooner!

[roundrocktom]

Nice sign work!

Did you paint a piece of popular brown, cut the lettering, then back fill the lettering with white paint?

The wood looks absolutely white, hence why I thought it was popular or perhaps pine? Much more familiar with metal than wood!

Tom

[LeeWay]

The machine looks good. Those slides definitely serve a purpose. I could see using them in a small 3D printer or engraver easily, however your application works too. I would use caution however for the silicone lube. That stuff migrates bad and it can get onto the wood surface and make finishing difficult. It likes to fish eye badly.
On my table saw, I use Johnson's past wax. That really does slick up the surface and won't leave a difficult spot on the wood. It cures out quickly and then buffs up.
It also cleans the previous surfaces as it is being applied. Good stuff.

I have been running my router now a couple days a week for about 7 years. Never needed to replace any skate bearings. They are pretty stout. Amazingly so, because I paid about 50 cents each for them.
I cut plastic though, rather than wood. I don't get any saw dust build up like you mentioned. I do have them under fairly heavy preload and can see if there were patches where it built up and increased the load, it might be bad.

Anyway, looks good with the new slides. Your work is impressive as well.
Any photo's of the full machine?

[jhowelb]

Nice sign work!

Did you paint a piece of popular brown, cut the lettering, then back fill the lettering with white paint?

The wood looks absolutely white, hence why I thought it was popular or perhaps pine? Much more familiar with metal than wood!

Tom

The piece is pine, no idea why it looks so white cause all I did was paint and then carve. Plenty of contrast so no need to risk a mishap with paint. Next step is to cut an ogive around the edge with the inverted router table.