Routine Maintenance?

[ahahlberg]

Besides keeping my Carve King rails and v-wheels clean and periodically checking alignment and for any play in the axes, what items require regular maintenance on a Carve King?

I'm about to take the plunge into 3D printing and I know in that world they talk about lubricating rails and v-tracks and leadscrews if present to reduce friction and wear in addition to alignment checks, but in the dusty environment of a CNC milling machine I wouldn't expect that using lubricants on exposed surfaces would make sense since it would attract and retain dust and chips.  Would waxing the the surfaces of the v-grooves or using some dry lubricant make sense?

What do people routinely do to make sure their machine operates successfully besides alignment checks and cleaning?

[Mototech]

I use teflon dry lube. I prefer the dropper bottle over the spray.

DuPont Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant Squeeze Bottle, 4 Oz www.amazon.com/dp/B00030BFEM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_gHMOAbRBAJZSV

[Derek the Admin]

I agree on dry lube. You do want to clean the lead screws off from time to time, make sure the rails are clean, and blow the router out some so too much dust isn't settled in there.

[ahahlberg]

Thanks - ordered the DuPont dry lubricant as per recommendation! And don't worry, I won't try to repair my Teflon cookware with it (actual warning on the product!) And I'll try to keep the operating environment below 480F!

[Derek the Admin]

lol. Yes do please keep it below 480F.

One tip is to never use WD40 on the lead screws. It will eat the Delrin antibacklash nuts.

[Bruce]

Not to be confused, but there is a version of the Dry Lube PTFE Spray by WD40. www.amazon.com/WD-40-Specialist-Dirt-Resistant-Spray/dp/B00AJX7LMS?th=1