Specifying the right bearing for a given application is necessary to save time and excessive costs. Understanding the tradeoffs of each bearing type is important to accurately size and select the right bearing for your application. This article will provide an overview of the major types of linear bearings and guides, explain how to specify them for specific applications and describe how to trouble-shoot common application problems.

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Whether the design engineer selects a rolled ball screw or a precision ground ball screw, the lubricant should also be carefully considered.  A properly selected lubricant minimizes friction, reduces torque, increases the screw’s efficiency, and extends life.  Lubricants maintain the low friction advantage of ball screw assemblies by minimizing the rolling resistance between balls and grooves and sliding friction between adjacent balls.

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Thomson and Kollmorgen have delivered a complete motion control solution for UK-based Ball Racing Developments Ltd (BRD) BRD-05 Formula One Race Car Simulator. The new motion platform, which consists of Kollmorgen AKM servomotors, Kollmorgen servo drives, Thomson ball screw assemblies and Thomson 500 Series profile rails, is more compact, cost-effective and higher performing than the previous motion control solution implemented by BRD...

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There is a general distinction between the applications for a ball and lead screw. Lead screws are applied in OEM applications where a “just right” solution is required. Lead screws can be easily tailored to provide the required performance for the right applications at the lowest cost. This sometimes requires life cycle testing in the design phase but for an OEM, the extra up front work is well worth the product cost savings.

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Failing to consider common pitfalls when designing with linear bearings will inevitably result in subpar machine performance. In Overcoming Linear Bearing Misconceptions, learn from Thomson Director of Engineering for Rails, Guides and Components, Al Ng, what some of the most common design errors are, and how to avoid them en route to obtaining maximum performance from your machine.

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