Modern Linear products incorporate the benefits of guide roller technology. Guide roller benefits are numerous compared to competing technologies. They are smooth, fast, quiet, and extremely durable. From DNA scanners to CNC tables to robotics to drawer slides, guide roller components excel in a wide variety of industries and applications. The versatility of guide roller components offer unlimited integration possibilities. Modern Linear guide rollers, bushings and tracks are completely interchangeable with industry standard products.
Linear guide rollers are based on the design of radial ball bearings. The load carrying balls travel in a circular path and are retained and separated from one another. Current ball bushing and ball rail linear systems have a recirculation path that requires the balls to make a quick change in direction. Vibration occurs when the balls collide entering and leaving the load zone.
Linear guide rollers are very quiet due to ball separation. The internal ball bearings are separated by a nylon retainer. This feature reduces noise common in recirculating ball systems. Noise is amplified in recirculating guide systems when each ball collides with the next in the ball path.
Modern Linear guide rollers are offered with shields or rubber seals. The seal is superior to wipers common in recirculating ball guides. Debris caught between the wheels and track is wiped away naturally. Ball bushings and ball rails use the shaft or rail as the inner race of the bearing, making them susceptible to contamination failure. 440c stainless steel guide rollers and track are also available for corrosive environments.
Recirculating ball guides are limited by the sharp turn the balls must make as they enter and leave the load zone. Guide rollers are only limited by the rotary speed of the radial bearing. Maximum guide roller speeds are up to 2x faster than ball bushings or ball rails.
Modern Linear guide rollers are simple to design, install and maintain. In operation, the guide system is compliant and forgiving to mis-alignment and machining inaccuracies. These features result in lower initial, installed, and total cost.
Individual components (guide rollers, bushings, and track) offer the widest variety of design flexibility for automated machinery. Components can be integrated into a preexisting machine frame for the most discrete solution. Additionally, part cost will always be lower with components than with pre-assembled linear guides.
Pre-assembled linear guides (Vector Trio/Quad, DT Linear Guide) offer the greatest simplicity of design and low cost installation. No need to align parallel track components or assemble carriages. When total cost is the highest priority, pre-assembled linear guides may be favorable. Whatever you choose, combinations of guide rollers, track and linear guides can be selected for optimum cost and machine performance.
Some applications make the use of lubrication difficult. Environmental conditions such as high or low temperature, washdown or heavy contamination may necessitate the use of: special lubrication types, special methods of lubrication dispensing, or prevent the use of lubrication at all. Some applications make the manual application of lubrication and other routine maintenance activities difficult or impossible.
Linear guide rollers use the basic construction and design of a double row, angular contact, radial bearing. The metal to metal contact between the balls and inner and outer races are lubricated with grease that is captured by either metal shields or nitrile molded seals. The balls are retained and separated by a Nylon 66 molded ball retainer. The rollers are pre-filled with NLGI #2 grease and considered “lubed for life”.
Modern Linear offers options in: lubrication specification, ball retainer material and seals/shields. Options allow the rollers to withstand environmental conditions and extend life when requirements include: High/low temperature, vacuum/cleanroom and washdown.
With v-groove guide rollers running on v-edge track, there is also a metal to metal contact area between the groove and v-edge. In most applications, maintaining the presence of some lubrication is desirable. Exceptions would be applications having very light loads or very low duty cycles. In applications where conditions are not extreme and routine maintenance can be performed, the track should be periodically wiped down with a clean oily rag to add a layer of oil film to the metal surface. This oil will be picked up and redeposited by the rollers as they move back and forth along the track. The oil film with also add a level of corrosion resistance to the track if it is inactive at times. This activity should easily fit into the schedule with other maintenance tasks. As in most lubrication tasks, excess lubrication is not better. It only needs to be in the right place to be effective.
