Lubrication

[jimdigs]

What type of lubrication do we use for the flashforge creator pro? I just started printing today and the thing sounds like it is singing a song when printing. Thanks

[MindFuLL]

This is a much more complicated question than you might think. I don’t know what your specific manufacture recommends but two main schools of thought are oil vs grease. I use both but for different things(this is the complicated part that I’m not sure you want to go into). What I will say is that for grease I recommend standard Super Lube(I use the high heat version for my machine with a high temp build chamber). For oil, I would say any good gun oil like Hops or Break Free. Oil drips and must be reapplied more often. Grease stays where you put it but collects a lot of dust/debris and must be regularly REMOVED and THEN reapplied if it’s exposed to dust/debris. There are a lot of factors/considerations involved(at least for me) in deciding what lubricant goes where. For example, if a part is already greased from the factory then adding oil will dilute and wash away the factory grease (this could be bad thing or a good thing).
For more info: Lubrication - RepRap

-Jesse

[aero3D]

I use oil such as sewing machine oil or Balistol (gun oil) for the gantry rods and smooth Z rods and Super Lube Synthetic Grease for the leadscrew. To quieten her down a bit more you could try adjusting (reducing) the voltage to the X and Y steppers. You can do this in the Advanced section of Flashprint or use g code commands. From memory, the CP2016 is set to 120 as standard (I think this is a percentage figure) and I have gone as low as 90 and makes quite a difference to the noise with zero noticeable impact on print quality.

[3DCUBE]

It is not a grease issue, the machine sounds like that when printing thats the sound of stepper motor doing they job,…when you need it use silicon grease, you could buy it at Harbor Freight and just put a ligh amount of it

[Jackson_Moody]

Well, first of all it probably isn’t a lubrication issue. Almost all 3D Printers make really annoying noises when they are printing, and sometimes it does sound like a song. This is natural, and if you would like to get rid of this issue, you can just put a damper on the stepper motor itself. However, if you really insist on lubricating your printer, I use a Lithium based grease.

I hope this helps!

Jackson

[iTech3DP]

Completely agree here, Balistol for the linear bearings and grease for the screw. I use a dielectric grease with a very low drop out and it works the best for me.

[vibe2040]

Would you be able to post a video on how you do this?

I’ve had my flashforge running for a little while now and am keen to keep it in top condition.

Many thanks in advance.

Ian

[wirlybird]

I use exclusively SuperLube oil with PTFE. This is recommended by some of the manufacturers. The thing with some oils and grease is they can start to actually get “sticky” over time. Google your question, there are some good articles on the subject.

[PrinterAccount]

Sewing Machine/Light machine oil is your safest bet