Linear Motion Systems 5

[gdea]

Does anyone here have any experience with pre-made linear ways and rollers, or the Utilitrak system by Bishop Wisecarver Co.? I am trying to find an alternative to fabricating and precision grinding miniature dovetail ways.
Anyone having had experience in this area that would respond to this would be a big help, as the brochures leave a lot of questions unanswered.
Thanking you,
gdea

Blessed is he who accepts his broken sword from Fate the Conqueror with a manly and a humble heart.

 

[handleman]

Much better, but still not really any real question here. What are the questions that the brochures leave unanswered? Have you tried contacting the company directly? What is your application? (etc)

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[unclesyd]

You need to take a look at the systems from Pacific Bearings. We didn't use much of the Utilitrak type but used a lot of other linear guide systems.

http://www.pacific-bearing.com/default.aspx

 

[gdea]

My intent is to replace in-house fabricated dovetail ways, with pre-made rail and roller or ball systems. Hopefully, the precision and reliability under continuous duty will be improved.
My questions to anyone experienced in this area woould be "are you satisfied with the precision and reliability". "Which particular product have you had experience with", etc.
None of the distributors in this area have any of these products in stock for visual inspection and the data included in the manufacturers brochures are all there is to see.
Thanks for the lead on Pacific Bearing. I will call their sales dept to speak first hand with one of their reps, I believe their GST will fill my needs. Thanks to all for your response,
gdea

Blessed is he who accepts his broken sword from Fate the Conqueror with a manly and a humble heart.

 

[MadMango]

I've had experience with Rollon in the past, with good results.

http://www.rollon.com

Our biggest trouble was training our assembly people on the proper adjustment procedures of the rollers, the product itself was great.

Its hard to suggest anything to you, since you haven't given any information on your application. Our use was vertically mounted linear rails, for moving a 200lb sliding carriage in a commuter train application.

 

[MintJulep]

I have used Bishop Wisecarver in the past, as well as THK, Thompson, and numerous others - there is no shortage of linear slide manufacturers.

To answer your question, yes, I was satisfied with the precision and reliability.

However, you don't know what my requirements were, or what standards I might of held the supplier to regarding satisfaction do you?

High-quality linear slides are available from many sources. You can get whatever precision and reliability you are willing to pay for. Define your requirements and work with an application engineer to help select the appropriate system.

 

[handleman]

This depends incredibly much on your application. If I've used them reliably as a drawer slide on a toolbox I may give a good report. You may be intending to replace a dovetail way on a machining center. You take my good report and waste gobs of time and money because you gave no detail regarding the application. The kinds of details you need to consider include:

Loads
Contamination
Moment (in all directions requiring rigidity)
Required mounting accuracy
Required linear precision
Rigidity of the mounted system
Maximum "slop" allowed
Vibration
Impact loading


You can't just say "has anyone used these?" and expect any information that is actually relevant to your situation.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[SincoTC]

When you ask the question "are you satisfied with the precision and reliability", it really depends what your expectations and end use requirements are, especially with regard to rigidity in pitch roll and yaw between the moving carriage and the mounting rail. This goes hand in hand with the damping characteristics if you are building a machine tool.

For a simple, fairly accurate positioning system with a wide range of travel (including turns) for production line automation and low force "Pick and Place" devices you will be pleased with the grooved cam follower type vee wheel on special section rail. Fairly short sraight systems are OK with plain or ball bushings on ground shafting, but you must mount the shafts very accurately if you use a pair to eliminate rotation. Most Telescopic systems I've encountered are little better than kitchen drawer runners.

For ultimate machine tool type rigidity and accuracy, then the best (and most expensive option) is recirculating ball and roller carriages (preferably caged type) on precision ground rails, although they won't have the ultimate damping effect of a prismatic dovetal slide they give smooth movement that is free from "stick-slip". With all types of guide, pay careful attention to the aspect ratio between the guiding element mounting points and the force vectors you expect to encounter to minimise deflection.

Hope this helps.


Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

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