Linear Guide Cleaning and Lubrication

Linear Block

Although there are thin wires which guard ball bearings from falling out, slightly uneven forces at each side of the block squeeze out ball bearings very easily.

Be very careful if you try to remove a linear block from a linear rail. Do this on a large flat surface or above a plate which catches ball bearings.

Plastic Cap Adjustment

As shown in the picture, there are 2 small screws holding the green plastic caps in each side of the linear block. Sometimes the linear block doesn't slide smoothly because the plastic caps are pushed and shifted a little bit during shipping. Just loosen these screws, slide the block on the rail for the plastic caps to find their neutral positions, and re-tighten the screws. Note the tightness of screws also affect smoothness so don't push them too hard.

Clean & Lubricate Linear Guides

Linear rails and blocks come as installed pairs and have been cleaned. Those tiny ball bearings are also selected and paired. If not necessary, don’t remove a linear block from its rail.

When cleaning the rail please pay more attention on the grooves of the rail. Wipe the grooves with a cotton swab or even your fingernail wrapped with a tissue. Sometimes tiny particles were left inside the bearing races of linear block and need to be flushed out by WD40 spray.

Cleaning

• Light oil or WD-40

Lubricating

• Sewing machine oil

• Automobile-use lubricants

• Lubricants for metal-to-metal contact

Do not use

• Silicone based lubricants

• PTFE dry lube

• Lubricants with solid particles

For maintenance, in HIWIN spec lithium soap based grease is used, but light liquid-type oil could be better because for hobby usage the linear blocks don't run everyday and grease-type lubricant might dry out and harden after months. So choose lubricant according to your scenario.

Some tips for maintenance:

• After a period of operation the oil will become dirty due to dust in the air are mixed into the oil.

• Flooding the grooves of the rail as shown in the pic in previous page and then gently wipe them with tissues.

• Flood ball bearings from the underside of the block.

• Slowly move the linear block, let the dirt inside to be pushed out.

• Always keep rails, linear blocks, pulleys lubricated, also for anti-rust reason.

Some possible reasons that cause linear block failure:

• During installation the plastic dummy rail and linear rail are not parallel, so the first few ball bearings or a certain contact surface are damaged by the cutting edge of the rail.

• Improper lubricants or dried-out rails accelerate the wearing of ball bearings.