A Study on Waving Amplitude Suppression of Linear Motion Ball Guide

The previous paper reported the development and experimental results of a linear motion ball guide with an eight-grooved structure (8-grooved LMBG). The 8-grooved LMBG achieved higher motion accuracy by reducing waving amplitude. Consequently, the 8-grooved LMBG has satisfied the market demand for higher accuracy. However, it is difficult for the 8-grooved LMBG to replace ordinary LMBGs used in already-designed machines due to its larger dimensions compared to ISO standard dimensions (ISO dimensions). Therefore, a new 8-grooved LMBG that meets ISO dimensions is needed. In order to meet this demand, a more compact design for the 8-grooved LMBG is required. Thus, the following three design methods have been considered. First, the ball size has been reduced. Second, the ball layout has been staggered to decrease the distance between neighboring rows. Third, the circulating trajectory of balls and cages on the turning part has been designed with two different radii; the conventional one has only one radius. Based on these design methods, a new 8-grooved LMBG that meets ISO dimensions has been developed. This paper reports the detailed design of the new 8-grooved LMBG and experimental results using a prototype.