Ball Screws

[jessslp05]

Curious :
-as to what brand and kind (ground or rolled) ball screws people are using.
-accuracy and repeatablity of system
-Price and application of ball screw
-overall opinion of satisfaction of ball screw on scale of 1-10

Thanks for your opinions

[mrcodewiz]

I'm using Rotons (rolled transportation grade) - I don't recall what I paid now,I think it was around 200 for 3 nuts and enough screw to do a Sieg X2. I had them put larger balls in the nuts for a better fit. I am very happy with them so far. I have < .001 backlash on the X and Y and maybe .002 on the Z but that isn't due to the screw as much as it is the belt drive.

[mackeym]

NSK C3 zero backlash 15" travel 5mm lead ($150 new from ebay)....havn't tested them yet

[jessslp05]

thanks for your input, I am trying to get the best quality for my money and don't know where to start.

[LeeWay]

I was able to get two nice ground NSK ball screws with preloaded zero backlash nuts on Ebay for less than $200. this also include a cast iron slide with the same type screw. I was the only bidder and somehow just got very lucky. They fit my application perfectly and are at the heart of my accuracy on my mill.

Ebay is a good place to keep an eye out. Look at some of the build logs for mills and routers. See what guys have used and what type results they get. There is also an auction part of this site that may hold some promise for you.
Good luck with it and don't pay too much on Ebay. I just got very lucky. I have seen guys pay 3 times what something might be worth on Ebay.

[mackeym]

There is a limited number of ballscrew items on ebay. What i did was constantly check every ballscrew related item until i found what i wanted for a good price.


I stay away from the used ones...you don't know what they've been through. My very first ebay ballscrew buy was a used C3 zerobacklash 2mm lead ballscrew...and i wasn't impressed with the condition (even though it looked good in the picture). I sold it back for about what i paid for it (or a small loss).

[KTP]

I almost think the best bet on ebay is to buy a new or slightly used linear module and rip the ballscrew, motor mount, etc. out of it if the slide itself will not work for your application. I have seen bare ballscrews with no end bearings or motors or mounts go for more than complete linear slides. Maybe it is because people don't like to ruin a perfectly good item, but...