<p>FDM printed chain links are inherently rough. This roughness results in friction, which directly results in squeaking, creaking, and other noise as well as uneven movement as it snags.</p>
<p>An injection-molded cable chain is best, and you need to have the right bending radius for the cables you use.</p>
<p>If you need to use printed parts, including some non-printed smooth bushings in between the printed parts is the most effective way to have smooth movement.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-14T22:47:16.847Z
2021-10-14T22:47:16.847Z
Trish
<p>I recently upgraded my Ender 3 V2 to use a Micro Swiss Direct Drive and extruder.  with the layout change, comes a lot of cable management changes, <em>especially</em> to prevent the cables from getting pinched between the stepper motor and the frame at the very limits of x or z</p>
<p>I've started with some various cable chain things, like:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4932649" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4932649</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4568608" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4568608</a></li>
</ul>
<p>and adapted them to work for me.  They're all printed in PLA, and they are a little &quot;creaky&quot; sometimes, or otherwise &quot;stick&quot; and don't freely rotate/hinge as much as I'd like.</p>
<p>Is there some kind of lubrication I can/should use? I tried some graphite powder spray and really all it seems to have done is make a mess and stain the links of the chain black :D</p>
<p>The closest thing I think I can find with some info is this Reddit thread:
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/7d4rhi/good_lubricants_for_enclosed_pla_gearbox/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/7d4rhi/good_lubricants_for_enclosed_pla_gearbox/</a></p>
<p>but it's from ~4 years ago.  A fair amount of the things I'm finding are contradictory, as the internet always is :D</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-14T03:05:06.073Z
The first thing that came to mind was white lithium grease, but I don't know if that would react in any way to the PLA. Maybe someone with greater experience could chime in on this.
agarza
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-15T08:59:14.350Z
I use that middle one you linked to. Did you clean up the surfaces with a sharp knife or piece of fine sandpaper and check for free movement before final assembly? If so, perhaps it depends on the particular PLA used.
Andrew Morton
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-14T04:01:44.657Z
if knife and file just expose more rough, make printed surfaces smoother by ironing.
Abel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-14T07:45:07.093Z
Lubrication of PLA printed parts is answered [here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/14491/). With respect to the lubrication it can be considered a duplicate.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-12T01:40:38.747Z
@0scar: That answer does not address PLA specifically, for which nearly any lubricant should be fine. It's about "plastics" in general and aimed at ABS/ASA and similar materials not compatible with petrol derived oils.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
<mechanics>
Cable Chain lubrication?
John Gardner
# Cable Chain lubrication?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-10-13)

I recently upgraded my Ender 3 V2 to use a Micro Swiss Direct Drive and extruder. with the layout change, comes a lot of cable management changes, *especially* to prevent the cables from getting pinched between the stepper motor and the frame at the very limits of x or z

I've started with some various cable chain things, like:

* <https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4932649>
* <https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060>
* <https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4568608>

and adapted them to work for me. They're all printed in PLA, and they are a little "creaky" sometimes, or otherwise "stick" and don't freely rotate/hinge as much as I'd like.

Is there some kind of lubrication I can/should use? I tried some graphite powder spray and really all it seems to have done is make a mess and stain the links of the chain black :D

The closest thing I think I can find with some info is this Reddit thread:
<https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/7d4rhi/good_lubricants_for_enclosed_pla_gearbox/>

but it's from ~4 years ago. A fair amount of the things I'm finding are contradictory, as the internet always is :D

**Tags:** mechanics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The first thing that came to mind was white lithium grease, but I don't know if that would react in any way to the PLA. Maybe someone with greater experience could chime in on this.  
> **username_2**: I use that middle one you linked to. Did you clean up the surfaces with a sharp knife or piece of fine sandpaper and check for free movement before final assembly? If so, perhaps it depends on the particular PLA used.  
> **username_3**: if knife and file just expose more rough, make printed surfaces smoother by ironing.  
> **username_4**: Lubrication of PLA printed parts is answered [here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/14491/). With respect to the lubrication it can be considered a duplicate.  
> **username_5**: @username_4: That answer does not address PLA specifically, for which nearly any lubricant should be fine. It's about "plastics" in general and aimed at ABS/ASA and similar materials not compatible with petrol derived oils.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2021-10-14. Score: 1

FDM printed chain links are inherently rough. This roughness results in friction, which directly results in squeaking, creaking, and other noise as well as uneven movement as it snags.

An injection-molded cable chain is best, and you need to have the right bending radius for the cables you use.

If you need to use printed parts, including some non-printed smooth bushings in between the printed parts is the most effective way to have smooth movement.


---

