An Overview of Linear Motion Products and their Primary Differences

April 26, 2022

Tons of products are being utilised by industries in conducting their operations. One of these products is linear motion products.

Linear motion products are products that can move and transport items from one place to another. By maximising compatible bearings, they can easily move the item in a single direction along a straight line. Before, bearings used for linear motion products have a rolling element such as a ball or a roller. But today, linear motion products can already work with plain bearings, which are plastic or ceramic bushes integrated with PTFE or oil-impregnated plastic.

A wide array of linear motion products can be maximised today. Here are some of the most common linear motion products that you can utilise nowadays.

Linear Bearings with Balls

Linear bearings with balls can provide the lowest friction out of other types of bearings for linear motion products. Two products that use these bearings are recirculating ball bushings and ball guides.

• Recirculating Ball Bushings: Recirculating ball bushings are normally utilised alongside hardened and ground shafts. The balls of these bushings have a very minimal point contact area, enabling them to achieve low rolling friction. They must, however, exert a high force on the shafts.

• Ball Guides: Ball guides, also known as motion guidance systems and linear guideways, maximise recirculating balls that operate on profile rails. The rails have ball grooves with a gothic arch shape, ensuring that their load capacity will be maximised.

Roller Bearings

Roller bearings utilise a higher basic load rating as opposed to sized ball bearings. They, however, can be less lenient with lateral forces. Track bearings, roller guides, and cross roller slides are all part of the roller bearings classification.

• Track Bearings: Track bearings are bearings that move with their outer diameter alongside a given track. They often utilise rollers as their primary rolling element. However, they can also maximise balls as their rolling element, especially when the radial load capacity is needed.

• Roller Guides: Roller guides can be similar to ball guides. But the former can provide a better load capacity, making them useful for applications that require high precision.

• Cross Roller Slides: Cross roller slides can provide very high load capacities and high accuracy. Though, they can be vulnerable to contamination due to their general design.

Plain Bearings or Bushes

Plain bearings or bushes have seen drastic improvements over the past two decades due to the development of quality materials. These bearings can provide minimise friction. Their coefficient of friction, nonetheless, is significantly higher than rolling element bearings. Two materials that can be used to manufacture plain bearings are plastic and ceramic.

• Plastic Linear Bearings: Plastic linear bearings are a cheap bearing option that can provide reduced friction compared to other materials. Since they do not utilise rolling elements, these bearings have a lower chance of being contaminated with dirt, dust, and debris.

• Ceramic Linear Bearings: Ceramic linear bearings boast similar qualities to plastic linear bearings. They do, however, offer a quiet and smoother motion that can be useful for some applications.

To know more about these linear motion products, you can call us at Global Bearing Imports.

Reference:

https://euro-bearings.com/blog/a-quick-guide-to-choosing-the-best-linear-motion-product

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