Best 8mm smooth rod?

Found my printers smooth rod on the carriage is grooved from the linear bearings. What is the best material to use for smooth rods to help reduce wear?

Is just hardened steel good or is something like stainless or chromed better? Also is there a good source in the U.S.? Mcmaster seems to have hardened but not much else.

Thanks!

i don't tend to find the groove is much a problem, i have in the past simple turned the rods

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Hardchromed rods! Yeehaawww!

I ordered them at a special linear-rod and bearing factory here in the Netherlands. I can imagine there are companies like that in the US.

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Ohmarinus
Hardchromed rods! Yeehaawww!

I ordered them at a special linear-rod and bearing factory here in the Netherlands. I can imagine there are companies like that in the US.

Could you tell me the name of this company?

I bought them from www.thn.nl however, I can tell you, it won't be very cheap Quality items!

All rods for the MendelMax 1.5 together, all 8mm rods, cost me 48 euros and delivery cost were 7 euros (inside the Netherlands) so the rods cost me a total of ~55 euros. This includes the cost for cutting the rods (2,50 for each cut, since the rods are ultra-hard). This split up to the rods costing ~33 euros and the cutting cost being 15 euros.

However, if you buy this, you will have high quality, precision rods that are meant for linear movement. You can also buy cheap rods and replace them every year. I was a bit sceptical when I saw the price, but the LM8UU bearings also make less noise on the chromed rods. This in comparison to a lot of noise from the cheaper normal smooth rods I bought at a 3D-printer shop, with the same type of linear bearings. I guess this has to do with the precision of the rod. Where a normal 'cheap' smooth rod may have small irregularities that are hard to see with the bare eye, these linear chromed rods have been made with high optical precision and they are also less prone to bending over lengthy pieces since they are harder.

I think VXB's rods are chromed and reasonably priced. They do not have a tolerance spec, but that's only a problem if you're trying to match them with a bearing that needs that spec. For LMXUU it doesn't matter.

Would you have a link to VXB's rods iquizzle? I'd like to see them

For ordinary chrome-plated rods, you can try misumi or igus.

If you're feeling experimental and adventurous, try igus' polymer bearings with their aluminum rods. There is much lower wear but not too sure how well it works in reality.

I will never buy IGUS unless they come down with the price. I have found good suppliers that care for their products just as much and can offer the same quality without compromises.

However, I do really like the inventions IGUS is making on the linear guidance market.

I ordered some chrome hardened rods from VXB (I have used them many times in the past for other bearings). Funny thing is I could not find them on their website but rather they sell them through Amazon [www.amazon.com]

Oh and they were $16.64for 406mm and the normal hardened ones I was looking at though Mcmaster Carr were $24.xx for 400mm.


Thanks for the info!

Rod came in. Cut and installed. All is good again.

I posted a photo of the groovy rod in case anyone is curious, I know people have seen this before but just thought I would share.

Those rods you bought will probably last you a lifetime Good choice! Bit more expensive than mine I think, however, shipping must've been lower for you/

I got them off Amazon with Amazon prime so 2 day shipping was free.

On a side note, my printer has never been this quiet.

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tmorris9
I got them off Amazon with Amazon prime so 2 day shipping was free.

On a side note, my printer has never been this quiet.

Imagine using A4988 stepper drivers to make it quieter and then adding bronze bushings instead of LM8UU and you'll have a completely silent printer! You will only hear the cooling fans

But actually I can also barely hear the LM8UU bearings, they are also super-quiet, a BIG difference from my other printer that uses the same bearings but cheapo linear rods..

One more thing, I have positioned all bearings in such a fashion that the gravity always pulls on 2 rows of balls. Do you understand? This helps spread the load evenly over the LM8UU linear bearing-balls. I feel like it will minimize wear even more.