How Often to Grease the Extruder Gears?

I'm just wondering how often to grease the extruder gears? Obviously we don't want them to run dry but I don't want to add grease when not needed. If we can see traces of grease on the teeth surfaces is it still OK?

If you put too much on then it just squeezes out the sides, which obviously then just sits there doing nothing. I typically apply a little more grease every time I switch colours/material, either directly from the tube or by wiping the excess off the sides and back onto the teeth.

Thank you, I understand what you mean about too much. I put a bit too much on the first time and some squeezed out onto the sides also. The manual said they will wear out quickly without lubrication and that's something I want to avoid.

as long as the teeth look greasy, it should be ok.
print some spare gears to be safe :-)

Quote
muelli
as long as the teeth look greasy, it should be ok.
print some spare gears to be safe :-)

Thanks - they do look greasy. I can see the grease on the teeth surface.

Yes, that is on my list of first important things to go. I have questions: 1) Must the gears be ABS or could they be PLA? 2) To make them dimensionally accurate must I use Skeinforge? (Despite my initially feeling of despair when running it I am actually beginning to like Skeinforge .) 3) If I must use Skeinforge do I simply slice using the ABS profile that Chris has setup?

From my experience the gears don't get too hot so your safe using PLA. I printed my spares in PLA as it gives better dimensional accuracy over ABS. But the Wades Extruder body and X-Carriage are right up against the hotend and would need to be printed in ABS. Skeinforge is quite a beast to wrap your mind around, but its the best out there imo for getting accurate prints. But it does need a serious facial overhaul to make it a little less scary looking.

Also, I too worried a lot about the lubrication requirements so I liberally coated the gears in silicon grease (couldn't get my hands on Lithium grease). They have been turning for a month now with no signs of wear and I haven't had to top up on grease either, but to be on the safe side I have 2 sets of spares on standby in case the worse happens!

Hope this helps and happy printing!

FWIW I use this grease from the local bike shop:


I'm convinced I put way too much on because every time I need to go anywhere near the extruder assembly I get it everywhere, but it's cheap and I'm better safe than sorry I suppose...