Ball Screws Or Lead Screws, Which Is Better?

The choice between ball screws and trapezoidal lead screws depends on specific application requirements. Here is a comparison of the two types of screws.

1. Self-locking property

Self-locking property generally varies inversely with transmission efficiency; the higher the transmission efficiency, the smaller the self-locking property. Therefore, ball screws have almost no self-locking property, while trapezoidal screws have some degree of self-locking property.

2. Transmission speed

Ball screws have rolling friction while trapezoidal screws have sliding friction. During operation, the temperature rise of the former is significantly lower than that of the latter, making it capable of handling high-speed transmission tasks.

3. Service life

The service life of rolling friction is much smaller than that of sliding friction, so under conditions where cleanliness and lubrication are met, the maintenance life of ball screws is much higher than that of trapezoidal screws.

4. Transmission efficiency

Ball screws have high motion efficiency because there are many balls rolling between the screw shaft and the nut of the ball screw assembly. Therefore, if driving an equally large load, using a ball screw allows for smaller drive power, such as lower power tensile testing machines, which can reduce costs and energy consumption.

Ball screws operate through rolling friction with the balls, which is fast and highly accurate. However, they are not suitable for places with heavy loads.

Trapezoidal lead screws have sliding friction, have low efficiency and low accuracy, but they have good rigidity and are used for heavy loads.

The meshing clearance of the ball screw transmission assembly can be adjusted arbitrarily to achieve a relatively ideal mating accuracy, which is particularly important for reducing reversing errors. In contrast, the clearance of ordinary threads is difficult to adjust.

In conclusion, choose the screw shaft according to your needs.

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