Printer Rust

Hello RepRap Community,

I am new to the 3d printing community. I purchased a RepRap Prusa Mendel Iteration 2 Kit and started assembling the frame all the way up to the rods that hold the heating bed. Recently I moved out of the place was living at and had to move the partially assembled printer to a new location (the garage of my new place). Sadly after getting situated at this place, I brought my printer upstairs to work on it again and find that there is rust on the pieces that I put together. I did some research and found you can use vinegar to remove rust but it is on some of the bearings as well as the rods that hold the bed. I am thinking I can possibly save the rods but the bearings will have to be replaced. My question is "Has anybody experienced this before and what did you do to solve it?" Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,
Jimmy

Where you have carbon steel, you have rust, almost invariably. WD40 or anything similar is the usual remedy and prevention method.

Another alternative to prevent rust is Johnson's Paste Wax.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2015 06:26PM by Michaelj.

Too late for prevention. Anyway, any machine and especialy CNCs must live in a dry and ventilated place. If you must move again to the garage, buid a sealed wood cabinet (wood regulates moisture) and put some silicate gels bags inside. Beware your filaments are not corrupt by moisture too.

I won't try to unrust the bearings. It's wear parts. Just replace them with the better quality you can get. It's no big deal. For other parts, try a chemical corrosion remover, (not converter, beware !), then rinse with still water. You can polish the rails if they're bumpy, with a metal compound polish. Then cleanup, and protect any steel part properly : DW40 or any dry lubricant will do the job. Some wax may help too, but not for the rails because it can clogg the sliding parts, sooner or later.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2015 04:42AM by Zavashier.

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Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

For smooth rods, if they are hard-chromed, they will not rust easily, unless it's a really bad job, but usually they don't rust.

Keep your parts lubed and greased where they need to be, that will already help a lot, furthermore, threaded rods are usually galvanized or stainless steel, this will also help against rust.

The linear bearings should not rust fast either, as they have lubricant inside of them.

I have three machines now, and no rust on any of them, not even on the three-year old one that has been sitting dormant in a moist environment, for 1,5 years now.

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

Awesome thanks everybody for your input! Are there any sites you would recommend for replacement parts?

I source all of my linear rods from flatbed scanners. HP scanners seem to always have 400mm x 8mm linear rods.

Use gun oil it will stop rust in its tracks and lube the printer well along with that. I use it on my CTC printer and it kills all noise. Don't use WD40 as that actually breaks down metals and causes corrosion on more sensitive parts. The gun oil I use is for cleaning hand guns and lubing the lug/slide up on the pistol. don't buy the gun grease it has to be the oil.

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iamdarkyoshi
I source all of my linear rods from flatbed scanners. HP scanners seem to always have 400mm x 8mm linear rods.

Just buy new rods man they are much cheaper to buy than to pull out of other machines.

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Ohmarinus
The linear bearings should not rust fast either, as they have lubricant inside of them.

My linear bearings developed a very light layer of rust outside of the housing. It doesn't affect the performance of the bearing, but it is a little unsightly. Lightly sanding them with a fine grit sandpaper, emery cloth, or even just a abrasive kitchen sponge should remove the rust and then you can use a clear lacquer or similar paint/spray to prevent further rust on the outside.