I wrote a PDF time ago about this small fix that I have implemented on the 1100M in order to overcome the problem when oil start to fall by gravity down the Z line and never reach the Z column or Z ballscrew.
Yes… you can add a second pump if necesary but apliing this fix will solve your oil problems without a second pump or several manual pump strokes that will end dropping oil over the XY carriage.
Tormach recomends 12s activation time for the automatic oiler, does this adress the gravity backing issue on the mills (1100mx in my case). Or should I be worried bout z-axis oiling and implement this mod? Or is the 12s sufficient for oiling the z-axis, ( allthough causing exessive oiling of the x and y-axis.)
Well… you will see some post on social media from people that has the automatic oiler and yet they have problems with Z column dry or almost no oil there. I myself have the automatic oiler and was having this issue, and since i did this mod i dont have to worry anymore. I recommend you check every week looking for oil and do this mod or buy another oiler only for the Z axis.
Regards!
Thanks Karlo! I’ve been over-pumping every morning (very much a “better safe than sorry” thing), and your writeup sounds like an excellent fix for the issue. Just ordered all the needed parts from McMaster - to save anyone else the trouble, here are the part numbers and quantities:
If you need Photos I will help with that.
I have a 1100MX with auto oiler that had similar Z axis oil supply issues. I chased this problem for quite a while before I found a very small leak that was allowing air into the oil line supplying the Z axis. In my case the leak was at the “banjo” fitting on the side of the column. The air leak allowed the oil in the oil supply line to drain down overnight, and the time required to refill the oil supply line and provide lubrication to the Z axis was greater than the recommended oil pump run time.
I added a small pressure gauge to indicate the Z axis oil pressure at the top of the Z axis. See pictures.
Thanks for this
I ordered the parts from McMaster that Cameron specified
it all worked perfectly
