before I order my machine, I would like to know the quality of the chrome rails since I am by the sea … how strong are they? are they going to flex or rust in the future. are they steel? what gage?
One other user has had issues with rust - Any Onefinity users in South Africa
I specifically put temperature/humidity control in my shop though (Mid-Atlantic high humidity environment) because I have issues with tools rusting if not maintained.
As for material - all antidotal - the rails seem think versus what you can source from high end suppliers; I haven’t been able to find sources for these rails specifically - with that said, they are stout, and I’ve “tried” to make them flex, and no perceivable deformation. Motors are bog standard 178oz Nema23, nothing special, but nothing notably faulty either. Ball screws, no clue on brand, replacements are advertised on the OF site. I haven’t had the bearings apart to inspect yet.
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Basically any machine tools are subject to rust, and it is advisable to keep steel surfaces coated with oil. I simply use a spray oil & wipe the rails. I keep my shop heated to well above the dew point temp. Before I turned my heater on for the winter months, I went out into my shop to find my mill table wet with dew. Had I not caught it quick, it certainly would have rusted. FYI, the area of rust on the bearings that the user from South Africa showed is not a critical area of the bearing, but it could definitely benefit from some oil before it gets any worse.
The rails are VERY strong, and no, they’re not going to flex. The rails are 35mm O.D. x 23mm I.D., so 6mm wall thickness. It would take magnitudes more force than a router cutting wood or soft metal is capable of applying to the rails to cause any measurable flex.
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awesome, thank you. would you know if the tubes are replaceable ?
Sure. Let’s be clear though, they’re not ‘tubes’ in the traditional sense of thin-wall tubing. These are hardened steel hollow (but thick wall) precision ground linear rails. But yes, easily replaced for whatever reason you’d need to.
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