Hey guys, we’re looking for various types of grease to use on our robot. Does greasing really make a difference? What types of grease do we need to use for the products mentioned above? I heard lithium grease works great, but what should I use for motors and axles? Thin lubes like sewing machine oil and bearing lube, or thicker motor oil lubes. Thanks! -1064S
I almost always avoid grease. It can be a big hassle, and if you have grease getting on the fields it is grounds for disqualification I believe.
I do use silicone grease or white lithium grease on the plastic slide trucks where they rub on the metal track. Seems to help quite a bit. It is best to avoid petroleum based lubricants on any plastic. Some will chemically melt the plastic.
We never grease/regrease motor gears and have never had a problem in 4 years. Not saying grease couldn’t be beneficial, but we haven’t used it. Makes changing gears a messy process. One thought though, I suppose grease in the motor may help reduce heat buildup…reducing chance of tripping PTC’s?
Oil/grease will help a ton with linear slides, but I don’t think it’s necessary for axles as it just makes a bit of a mess. As always, make sure your bearing blocks line up with each other and the motor, the axle should never need to force to be pushed through or into the motor.
Most teams use white lithium grease. Last year we used a light machine oil on the slides and it worked very well. Just remember it needs to be non-aerosol.
Thanks guys. We’ll only use white lithium grease on our linear slides. Also can we use petroleum? Should we? Just curious.
Depends what you mean by petroleum. Do you mean petroleum grease, or just petroleum based oils/greases in general? There is no exact answer to this though. Some petroleum oils will degrade certain plastics, while others will not. It is much safer to just avoid them.
The only lube we would use would be on metal, not plastic. Are there any downsides to doing this?
Petroleum based lubes are just fine for metal to metal.
Alright. Thanks again!
I would just make sure they aren’t too “sticky” as they will be a magnet for dirt and also that it doesn’t stain too badly if you get it on tables, clothing, field, etc.