Epilog Lube?

[Eric Allen]

Anyone know what the lube is for the bearing rails on the Epilog? I think it looked like lithium, but I hate to rely on looks... Can't find my syringe and I need to lube the rail yesterday, of course....

[Dan Hintz]

I can't guarantee it, but it is most likely lithium... anything else would be out of the ordinary.

[greg lindsey]

I was told by Epilog to use white lithium, apply thin and wipe of access.

[James Terry]

How bout on the old GCC LaserPro units, same? Do they have lithium grease in syringe at auto stores? I am guessing that the spray would be too messy.

[James Terry]

From the GCC manual:

"Do not lubricate the rails and bearings, as grease will attract more dust and dirt to their surfaces. "

[andrew zen]

I was just thinking this very same question. There is something that I started using on my bike for the sprockets and rings - from Dupont. It is a mix of wax and teflon in a spraycan and is dry. Since it shoots into the ring of the chain, I thought it might be good to complement with white lightning as dry lubricant. Since the IKO bearings are rolling balls, they need some traction to roll, teflon by itself will cause them to slide, maybe the wax might be a good option when used with teflon. With the spray tube it is easy to apply. Most of the propelant evaporates. New IKO bearings come shipped in a lightweight oil. Lowes, in their lubrication section, doesn't even stock lithium spray anymore, or I couldn't find it.

[Gary Hair]

From the GCC manual:

"Do not lubricate the rails and bearings, as grease will attract more dust and dirt to their surfaces. "

Your machine must have different bearings than mine. My Explorer ZX came with a tube of lithium grease from NSK, "NSK Grease PS 2". They use NSK rails and blocks in my laser so I'm guessing NSK grease would be suitable. It doesn't seem to be anything more than lithium. Here is a snip from the NSK website:
"
Greases

NSK offers a variety of greases specifically designed to excel in varying environments. The list below describes the different greases and uses.

AS2 grease is formulated for ball screws and linear guides for general use at high loads.
PS2 grease is formulated for ball screws and linear guides for low temperature and high frequency operation.
LR3 grease is formulated for ball screws at high speed, medium load.
LG2 grease is formulated for ball screws and linear guides for clean environments.
NF2 grease is formulated for fretting resistant ball screws and linear guides. "

[Frank Corker]

It's definitely white grease but the guy at Epilog told me that it needs to be used so infrequently that the amount in the syringe would more than likely outlast the machine.

[Eric Allen]

Thanks to all for the replies, for the moment, I found the syringe, but I'm going to be looking to have a plan B too. Hate being in a big rush only to find that the one thing I need to finish is missing. This kind of thing can only happen when you're pressed for time:)

[Peck Sidara]

Epilog uses & recommends NSK PS 2 grease for lubricating the x-axis rail on models equipped. See Gary's note regarding the different grades of NSK grease.

Anything else including white lithium, WD-40, DuPont dry chemical, teflon coated bearing grease, tri-flow, Mobile 1 synthetic 5W-30(yumm) is close but not the recommendation.

Tech support says a tube costs $10 plus shipping using your preferred method which includes UPS overnight/ground or USPS.

HTH,

[Dan Hintz]

Plenty of replacements for NSK's Multemp PS No. 2 grease... Google turns them up (though getting them in a tube size reasonable enough for the average user is a bit difficult... call companies and ask for a sample, if need be). WD-40 would not be one of them ;) It's an automotive bearing grease, and you don't need to support high operating temps on rails.

All that said, $10 is a very reasonable price for a tube... assuming you don't get hacked with a $25 shipping fee ;)

[greg lindsey]

Epilog uses & recommends NSK PS 2 grease for lubricating the x-axis rail on models equipped. See Gary's note regarding the different grades of NSK grease.

Anything else including white lithium, WD-40, DuPont dry chemical, teflon coated bearing grease, tri-flow, Mobile 1 synthetic 5W-30(yumm) is close but not the recommendation.

Tech support says a tube costs $10 plus shipping using your preferred method which includes UPS overnight/ground or USPS.

HTH,
Sorry if I got the info wrong, but white lithium was what EL support told me to use. But , use it only in small amounts and wipe clean afterwards. My ex had made a sratching sound when rastering since i got it, I figured it was just dry, turns out the cover over the arm is slightly dragging and I can live with ut.

[Peck Sidara]

Sorry if I got the info wrong, but white lithium was what EL support told me to use. But , use it only in small amounts and wipe clean afterwards. My ex had made a sratching sound when rastering since i got it, I figured it was just dry, turns out the cover over the arm is slightly dragging and I can live with ut.

Greg, no need to apologize. Just wanted to post the correct information per our service manager. Back in the day (Summit days and possibly during the Legend time frame), we did recommend tri-flow lube and/or white lithium grease. Honestly speaking, these will likely work okay (thus my close, but no cigar note) but since the recommended grease is readily available and relatively cheap (tech support charges for actual shipping cost, not flat rate) customers should use the proper lubrication.

[Bill Cunningham]

The instructions I got from Dan at Epilog was to put a few blobs on the rail (top and bottom) then manually slide the carriage back and forth working the grease into the bearings. Once the grease has migrated into the bearings, use a cloth to wipe any remaining grease off the rail. That way the bearings are lubed correctly, and the rail is free of grease and the crud it attracts..

[Dee Gallo]

Sorry if I got the info wrong, but white lithium was what EL support told me to use. But , use it only in small amounts and wipe clean afterwards. My ex had made a sratching sound when rastering since i got it, I figured it was just dry, turns out the cover over the arm is slightly dragging and I can live with ut.

Greg, when I first got my laser it was damaged in shipping and I had a tech come and replace the broken part plus do a general checkup. He told me to move the cover up about 1/8" so it does not drag before tightening the screws. Said it would work smoother and it seems to work for me.

cheers, dee