Lubrication intervals for linear guides.

Posted by Emelie Neckman, 2024-08-23

Lubrication intervals are crucial for ensuring that there's always enough high-quality lubricant in your linear bearings to minimize wear.

If a bearing isn’t pre-lubricated upon delivery, it must be done immediately at installation. Otherwise, you risk early-stage wear right from the start. That leads to metal shavings, which then act like abrasive dust inside the bearing—shortening its lifespan drastically. Some brands arrive pre-lubricated, others only have corrosion protection oil (which doesn’t count as lubrication!).

There are usually standard recommended lubrication intervals. But some factors might mean you need to lube more often:

• Heavy loads
• High temperatures
• Dirty environments
• Damaged seals that leak lubricant (or just generally poor seals)

When lubricating a linear guide block, it’s best to do it in steps and move the block slightly between each step. This helps the grease get in between the balls. For example, split the total grease amount into 3 stages.

The actual interval length varies between manufacturers, so always check. And don’t forget to use a lubricant that’s compatible with the grease already in the system!

Here’s a video on the topic featuring Carry Lindholm from Bosch Rexroth.