Urgent Linear Slide Help

VEX V5 General Discussion General Forum
1

Hey guys,
We are having an issue with the slides on our linear lift binding at specific spots. We have had this issue before and we have determined each time that we just needed to “adjust” them to get them to slide freely.

We are using 4 linear slides on our lift.

I’m wondering how you guys get your slides to move freely.

We have tried cleaning them, we have tried repositioning them, but we are running out of ideas. They only seem to stay where they should for so long.

We are using the new slides

Any ideas would be very appreciated, but please make them quick, we have a tourney in 2 days.

Imgur

^^^^
This design is a little outdated, but it is still the general concept.

Thanks!

2

You can use lubrication. The rules say “any non-aerosol based lubricant used in extreme moderation” is legal. This thread may be helpful:

https://vexforum.com/t/greasing-advice-linear-slides-and-internal-motor-gears/20174/1&highlight=grease

Good luck!

3

We have our lift taken apart at the moment, and that is on our list of changes. We have lubed them more than one time before, but not in the last few weeks, so we will definitely try this again.

Thanks for the advice

4

Anyone else with tips? We’re in the process of trying to fix it, so i want to get some quick ideas if you have any

5

I agree that lubrication will help, but make sure that it doesn’t have any dirt in it that would cause it to add friction.

Also, if at all possible, try out those little green plastic slider pieces that come with the new sliders. They have a lot less friction.

Also make sure your sliders are precisely straight. Any misalignment can cause them to bind.

Good luck at your tournament!

6

Thanks very much for the advice. We just got it back together (after a really long 3 hr process) and it is running beatifully. When we removed the slides, we litterally could not force the lift down because it was binding so bad.

After spending a TON of time realigning everything, the lift falls on its own and does not bind at all. We didn’t even grease the slides yet, so that will help even more.

Thanks for the advice, and we should now be ready for Saturday (our last tourney to qualify this season, time to beat out 60 other teams)

THX!

7

what tournament

8

So its the new slider pieces with self tapping wholes wiggling around thats your problem? I dont know if theres room anywhere for this, but if you want to bypass the wholes, cant you put a motor screw through the delrin slider and then use a rack gear as the nut on the other side? Also perhaps its the 3:1 ratio on the lift? that might not be strong enough. maybe its not the sliders at all. I dont know.

But I’ll be praying for you guys. :slight_smile:

9

http://robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-robotics-competition/upper-midwest-vex-regional-1.html

10

The wiggling sliders was part of the problem, but it ended up actually being a problem with the support of our slides. The front of our chassis was, for lack of better word, caving in. This caused the slides to bind, but it was fixed after a few adjustments to the chassis and spacing.

In our situation, I don’t think the motor screws would work.

The ratio on the lift is not the problem, it actually lifts very fast without having to run any trim to keep the lift up.

Thanks for the good wishes!

11

Prayer and good wishes are not the same thing. But Im glad to hear that your lift is working now :slight_smile: Hope your team performs well Saturday!