[scorpion]

Sorry, I commonly refer to the long axis as the Y (my table was 10 feet long) and the short was the X (6 feet) - unless I've got those swapped...it's been 4 years.

What I found on the y-axis was where most of the slop was. I never did figure out if it had something to do with it being responsible for the weight of the entire x gantry or if it was somehow related to the sheer repetitions. Anyway, in my case I found that the rack and pinion gears wore faster, had more slop more often, and was the source of most of my problems.

[LeeWay]

Do you guys use any lubricant on the racks? That will slow down the wear. I use a thin coat of bearing grease along the racks. Seems to do the job well. Graphite grease might work well. Even dry lube would not hurt. The gears meshing into the rack will cause friction. Friction = wear in steel on steel.

[scorpion]

Do you guys use any lubricant on the racks? That will slow down the wear. I use a thin coat of bearing grease along the racks. Seems to do the job well. Graphite grease might work well. Even dry lube would not hurt. The gears meshing into the rack will cause friction. Friction = wear in steel on steel.

I couldn't have. Any lube would just give plasma dust a reason to stay in the tracks. I'd clean them often with pressurized air and occasionally inspect them for impacted material/dust buildup.

[LeeWay]

I guess design plays a big role in that. Mine on X are on the outside of the rails and teeth down. Gantry is on the back side and teeth facing away from the gantry. My plasma is in an open ended garage and I use a fan to blow the smoke out. That gets rid of a lot of it. Water tables help a lot with that. I have seen guys make vented tables as well where the air is carried outside.

If the racks are prone to catching that dust, then maybe just graphite powder sprinkled on it will work or even some dry lube spray. I have dry graphite spray lube in a can. Pretty good stuff.

[epichutch]

i was able to find a replacement stepper yestarday. it is now one the machine, it did make a change in the right direction, when it was apart i thoroughly cleaned the rack. i di purchase some graphite but opted not to use it for the risk of collecting debris.

it now seems that the y - axis moves smoothly through change in direction. although there is still a small stumble ( almost appears to be at each node ). but due to the age of the machine and the fact that one motor was faulty, i have ordered the motor for the x- axis as well. should be here in a few hours.

long haul, but forward progress!