A ball screw spline is a combination of two components — a ball screw and a rotary ball spline. By combining a driving element (the ball screw) and a guiding element (the rotary ball spline), a ball screw spline can provide both linear and rotary motion, as well as spiral motion, in a highly rigid, […]
Linear drives (all)
How to pick the right drive screw
Choosing the correct drive screw type is critical to getting the best actuator performance, accuracy, and repeatability Chris Maupin Program Manager and Engineer Hunt Valve Actuator Division Screw drivetrains are the most common types of electromechanical linear actuators. A screw drivetrain acts as a linear force generation system, converting a rotary torque input from a […]
How to protect ball screws in harsh environments
Harsh environments can wreak havoc on motion system components — especially rolling element systems such as linear guides and ball screws. And while protective devices such as rail covers, wipers, and scrapers are widely available for linear guides, protecting ball screws in harsh environments is a bit more tricky. But despite being more difficult to […]
What are fixed and floating bearings in the context of linear motion?
There are two instances when the terms “fixed bearing” and “floating bearing” are used in linear motion: to describe the support bearings used on ball and lead screws, and to describe linear guides mounted in parallel. And while the meanings of the terms are the same in both situations, their applications are different in each […]
LinX M-Series electric actuators from ANCA Motion offer direct replacement of pneumatic cylinders
Pneumatics (and compressed air) are indispensable in many industrial applications. They’re cost-effective and easy-to-understand technologies that are rugged enough to run in even very challenging environments. The problem is that some facilities can spend up to 30% of their electricity bill on generating compressed air. Because pneumatic actuators for linear motion (which have been an […]
THK adds high-speed SDA-V/SDAN-V caged ball screws to linear motion offerings
THK’s new Type SDA-V/SDAN-V caged ball screw is engineered to enable the development of high-speed machine designs. Featuring newly developed circulation components, the Type SDA-V/SDAN-V picks up balls in the tangential direction and achieves a maximum rotational speed of 5,000 rpm — for a maximum DN value of 160,000. Torque remains stable even during long […]
How to specify pulleys for synchronous belt drives
When designing a belt drive system, the first step is to choose the most suitable belt for the application. But the pulleys also play an important role in the performance of the belt — especially in synchronous belt drive systems, where proper meshing of the belt teeth with the pulley grooves can affect everything from […]
How to account for shock and vibration loads in ball screw drives
Calculations of ball screw service life and permissible static load take into account loads and forces that are predictable and quantifiable — thrust loads due to acceleration, process forces, and forces generated when holding a load in place, for example. But some applications are also susceptible to loads caused by shock and vibration — loads […]
Tolomatic expands hydraulic-class electric actuator force range to 50,000 lbf
Tolomatic’s expanded extreme-force electric actuator family now includes the RSX128 actuator, rated up to 50,000 pounds of force (222.4 kN). Ideal for replacing hydraulic cylinders and designed for 100 percent duty cycle, the RSX actuator features Tolomatic’s precision-ground planetary roller screws for long, consistent operating life in challenging environments. Applications include assembly, metal fabrication (pressing, […]
Linear guides, power transmission, actuators see unexpected applications
Our 2020 survey of the industry indicates an unabated trend towards more automation of previously static or manually tended systems. Key to these new offerings is installation simplicity for OEMs and end users of linear components for linear axes … as well as positioning stages and Cartesian robots. In fact, Cartesian robots (also called linear […]
