Guidance System In Heavy Duty And Low Noise Types

Four-row ball monorail guidance system comes in full complement version for heavy duty operation and low noise level version for where the primary requirement is not load carrying capacity. Schaeffler has added a ball monorail guidance system to its X-Life series. The INA Kuve four-row guidance system is available in the Kuve B full complement version for heavy duty operation and the Kuve B KT low noise level version for applications in which the primary requirement is not load carrying capacity. The systems have a large lubricant reservoir and are protected against the ingress of contamination. Both versions are identical in dimensions and mounting dimensions with their predecessors. The Kuve B KT is based on the concept of rolling element separation rather than linked chains to separate and guide rolling elements because those mechanisms are prone to suffering from bending and tensile stresses, particularly in the area where the balls change direction as they are guided into the recirculation channel. They are also susceptible to jamming and breakage, especially if contaminant finds its way into the rolling element system. Instead, a plastic spacer accommodates four rolling elements, two each from the rows of balls under tensile and compressive load. Known as quad spacers, these elements prevent contact between the balls under any circumstances, eliminating collision noises and giving smoother guidance of the balls throughout the ball track. This contributes to reducing the overall noise level of the guidance system. Since the quad spacers are individual elements rather than links in a chain, the bending and tensile stresses that can have a critical effect in the return zone are avoided. Under highly dynamic operating conditions or where contaminant has entered the guidance system, this design provides greater resistance to fracture and therefore failure. The ingress of contaminant is in any case combatted by effective sealing arrangements. The low-noise system adopts the contact geometry of the original Kuve design, with four rows of balls in an O arrangement at a contact angle of 45 degrees and running under two point contact. The ball recirculation system has been improved with a reduced number of components and therefore fewer transition points, leading to a further reduction in noise levels. It has also been possible to enlarge by 10% the integral lubricant reservoir, extending the relubrication intervals and reducing maintenance requirements. Where relubrication is required, the carriage has a high degree of flexibility: lubrication nipples can be fitted either in the end face or to the left or right side of the end piece and this work can be carried out by the user. Accessories are fixed directly to the end piece by an existing screw with an internal thread that accommodates the screw-on accessory. When fitting accessories, it is therefore no longer necessary to remove the existing screws from the end piece and replace them with longer screws. Additional parts can therefore be fixed in place more easily. Existing guidance systems can be replaced at any time by the low-noise, reduced mass design. For systems of size 20 and above, the principal dimensions and mounting dimensions of both versions are identical to the original full complement design and both variants can run on the existing TKVD guideway. It is thus possible to select the design that best fulfils the requirements of the application and simply replace the existing carriage. The mass of the low-noise guidance system has been reduced, thus making it suitable for applications where the priority is not for very high load carrying capacity but where high traverse speeds and highly dynamic operation are required with low noise generation. The requirement for very low running noise is increasing in importance particularly in high precision machines such as in medical equipment, broadcasting equipment, food and packaging machinery, science laboratories, handling and transport systems and the electronics industry.