Linear Bearings

[kwms1956]

A couple of comments on this topic. First, I am employed by Automation Overstock (www.automation-overstock.com) and Automation 4 Less (www.automation4less.com). The fact that a person would try to make a purchase from our website and not feel like there is a secure connection for entering personal details or CC information is a concern for me. I have just tested our Overstock site personally, and indeed it shows me a lock and indicates a secure, encrypted connection to the server. If there is any question, please feel free to contact me through the website and I'll handle your order via phone. We are a brick and mortar company that's been in business for over 10 years. Feel free to check out what others have said about us in the Vendor Forum of CNC Zone.

Now more directly to your question about longer rails/butting rails. The advice given by Gerry earlier in this string is on-target...stagger joints in parallel rails. It would also be worth noting that the smaller the rail size (say 15 mm) the trickier it can be to get a smooth transition of the bearing block going across the break. Conversely, the larger the rail size (say 45 mm) the easier it is to deal with this issue. In general, we advise people NOT to piece together rail sections if they don't have to. In our stocks, we have full-stick rails that range from 2000mm in the 15mm sizes out to 4000mm in wider rail widths. It may cost a few $$ more, but it saves a lot of aggravation to simply purchase the rail length needed (whether from us or someone else) from the get-go.

We have a downloadable technical catalog for the AG and LG Hiwin products on our website at this location: http://www.automation-overstock.com/...arguideway.pdf It's 79 pages and 1.37 MB. Page 14 has information that Hiwin publishes about dealing with butt joints. With Hiwin rail, there is the recommendation that the "marked" reference side of rail pieces all face the same direction. Heck, if you want to know just about anything about traditional type linear bearings & rail, this PDF is a good primer.

As for the quality of Hiwin products, I can state that we've sold them since we went into business, and we believe them to be an excellent combination of quality and value. There are thousands of OEMs out there who have included Hiwin linear bearings and rails in their machines. What we have on our Automation Overstock site is the previous generation product lines (AG medium duty and LG heavy duty) that feature a TWO-ROW bearing design. Hiwin has now gone to a four-row bearing design...as have many other mfrs. That being said, we sold the AG and LG for years on www.automation4less.com with virtually no problems, and our decision to buy out what remained of Hiwin's USA stocks of the AG & LG was predicated largely by almost daily inquiries we were getting from folks who wanted them.