Saw a shop in Detroit using old VHS tape to clean CNC rails

I was visiting a friend's machine shop in Detroit last month and noticed they had strips of VHS tape wrapped around the linear rails on their older Haas mill. Turns out the tape catches chips and coolant gunk before it can get into the ball screws. The owner said he changes the tape every 40 hours of run time and it's cut his rail replacement down from once a year to once every 3 years. Has anyone else seen something like this or got a similar low cost trick for keeping swarf off the ways?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_webb611d ago

You mentioned he changes the tape every 40 hours. Is there a specific brand or type of VHS tape he found works best, or does any old tape do the job? I'm wondering if the thicker tapes from the 90s hold up better than the thinner ones they made later. Also, does the adhesive leave any sticky residue when he pulls it off?

lisa_jones2111d ago

Oh yeah I've done this on a couple of my older machines. Honestly the key is finding the thicker tape from the 90s, the thin stuff from the 2000s just tears up way too fast. For the adhesive I just hit the rail with a little WD-40 when I peel it off and it wipes clean no problem.