Protection

[DDM]

I was wondering how critical it was for the linear ways and ballscrews to be protected from dust and debris. I've got some NSK LU 15 rails that I'm going to use with rolled ballscrews and I'm not sure how protected I want them from dust and chips. I have an idea to use flat bellows to cover the X and Y axis but the Z is going to be the pain to protect. I'm thinking that on my Z axis I'm just going to use the rails open on the backside and use an acme screw and one of those Kerk motion antibacklash nuts. Tell me what your thoughts are, I would appreciate the feedback.

I'll try and post some pics of the working design later this week.

Carl

[Jayson]

Hi Carl,

I don't have any commercially available rails on my machine so this may not apply but anyway; I would do all that is practically possible to keep the crud away from the rails. When I am using my machine I am constantly wiping down the rails or using compressed air to blow away any debris. It needs surprisingly little to jam things up, especially when it is aluminium that is being machined I also try to keep the junk off the screws and out of the nuts as it is my opinion that this may act as an abrasive and wear things out sooner. I may be wrong but this is my opinion.
I think that many commercial rail systems have a wiper that clears away debris from the rails but it would be better if you stopped it from getting there in the first place.
I hope this helps and also hope it is correct!

Jayson.

[DDM]

Thanks for the reply Jayson, I'll have to see what I can come up with for my Z axis, I'd really like to keep things semi isolated from the outside world, plus I really don't want to be replacing those rails and trucks.

Carl