Ball screws are special screw drives with balls inserted between the screw and nut. This design converts rotary motion into longitudinal motion, or vice-versa. Compared to conventional screw drives, on which parts move directly against each other - thus converting some 50 to 90 percent of input energy into heat - ball screws generate less friction and exhibit lower stick-slip behavior, which results in better positioning accuracy. The resultant benefits, such as lower wear and a longer service life, generally make up for the slightly higher production costs. Bang on time for EMO Hannover 2017, roller and ball bearing manufacturer NSK is launching a brand new range of DIN-standard ball screws (DIN 69051).
However, the new ball screws have not been developed solely for the specific requirements of machine tools. In fact, their dn value of 160,000 makes them ideal for high-speed machining, too. The initial range in this series covers shaft diameters of 32 to 63 millimeters and leads from 10 to 30 millimeters. Besides this global premiere, NSK is also unveiling the new S-HTF series of ball screws that feature double the service life and 1.3 times greater dynamic load capacity.
