Wolfschlugen, Germany – Thomson Industries, Inc. has introduced a ball screw with more than twice the load capacity of a standard ball screw. The redesigned ball screws handle more than double the load capacity or provide 10 times the service life compared to standard ball screws at equivalent performance points – along with Thomson’s characteristic German-engineered precision, high reliability and exemplary stiffness. High-load ball screws are ideal for demanding motion control applications such as injection moulding, pressing and large fabrication equipment.
“By increasing ball size and optimising ball track design, we now offer a ball screw that handles more than twice the capacity of a comparable standard ball screw. And because roller screws have a nut that is close to 50% larger at 150% the price of a comparable high-load ball screw, motion control system designers now have an attractive opportunity to reduce costs while improving performance,” said Markus Brändle, Thomson Product Line Specialist EMEA & Asia for Screws.
Thomson high-load ball screws minimise replacement and maintenance costs significantly for the application. This provides an ideal opportunity to replace roller screws or hydraulic systems in applications with axes that require accurate and safe movement of heavy loads, long and reliable life, and minimum maintenance. These applications include:
- Large fabrication equipment, including mills, water jets, plasma cutters and automatic welders, which must control motion on horizontal and vertical axes.
- Injection moulding and metal fabrication machines, where ball screws can handle high loads in a short stroke with high precision.
- Metal pressing and forming applications, including rivet presses, servo presses, tube bending, metal sheet bending, test rigs and straightening machines.
- A wide variety of other demanding applications, including machine tools, lifting devices, large valves and high-load actuators.
Thomson high-load ball screws are available with up to 15 m screw lengths and with single or double nuts. They come in standard sizes up to 160 mm in diameter with up to 1,440 kN of dynamic load capacity. Preloading options are available upon request, and Thomson will customise the ball screw to meet customer-specific applications. They provide smooth, quiet motion at higher speeds over a longer life. Lead accuracy is up to 12 µm/300 mm.
About Thomson
With more than 70 years of motion control innovation and quality, Thomson is the industry’s premier producer of Linear Ball Bushing® Bearings and Profile Rail Bearings, 60 Case® Shafting, ground and rolled Ball Screws, Linear Actuators, Gearheads, Clutches, Brakes, Linear Systems, and related accessories. Thomson invented the Linear Ball Bushing Bearing in 1945, and has set the standard ever since with an unsurpassed set of mechanical motion control solutions serving global commercial and aerospace & defense markets. Thomson Industries, Inc. has facilities in North America, Europe and Asia with over 2000 distributor locations around the world.
Thomson Industries, Inc., 1500 Mittel Boulevard, Wood Dale, IL 60191-1073; 1-540-633-3549; 1-540-633-0294 (fax); Thomson@thomsonlinear.com; www.thomsonlinear.com.