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#131 Mastering Ball Screws - 1 : Ball Screw's Steel Ball Recirculation System and Characteristics

Category : Linear Motion Components
October 5, 2012

A ball screw attains its nut linear motion by recirculating the steel balls along the screw groove withing the nut. The steel ball recirculation method within the nut differentiates the motion characteristics of the ball screw. The steel ball recirculation methods are explained here.

There are following steel ball recirculation methods.

Steel ball recirculation methodExplanation
（1）End cap methodSteel balls are recirculated by the end caps mounted on each end and ball recirculation tunnels withing the nut's inner wall. Good with high speed operations.
（2）Flop over method (Deflector method)Deflectors are embedded on the nut outer tube to return the balls over the screw shaft land per each lead. Suitable for compact designs.
（3）Return tube methodReturn tubes formed to recirculate the balls are mounted on the outer perimeter of the nut. Easy to assemble design is suitable for mass production, but the physical size tend to be large.
（4）Guide plate methodIt uses guide plates or deflectors instead of the return tubes, and is good for making the design compact.

[Fig.1]Various structures of ball screws

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