What are the recirculation ways of ball screws?

Ball Screws are available in four different ball-recirculation options including tube,deflector,end-cap and end-deflector ball-recirculation designs.

●Tube-type recirculation ball screw 

The standard and most economical option is tube-type recirculation.The ball is recirculated through the ball return tube.Speeds of up to 100,000 dN can be achieved using this type of ballnut design.Note that the dN rating is an expression of the ball screw's maximum speed capacity - the nominal shaft diameter(in mm)multiplied by the maximum speed in rpm.Tube- type recirculation is versatile and can handle a wide range of diameters and lead combinations.

This tube type ball screw is a standard and economical recirculation type option for ball screws.

The balls are recirculated through a ball return tube

●Deflector-type recirculation ball screw 

Deflector-type ballnuts use a horseshoe shaped tube to bridge adjacent shaft thread grooves. This allows for a compact ballnut design for all ball screw subtypes.Ball screws with this deflector-type ballnut design can help applications reach speeds up to 150,000 dN,but are not suitable for high lead requirements.

Deflector-type ball screws use a horseshoe shaped tube to bridge adjacent ball thread grooves.This geometry allows for a compact ballnut.

●End-cap type recirculation ball screw 

For large leads,end-cap type ballnuts are recommended.In this ballnut design,the end caps are mounted on both ends of the ballnut.The ball is then picked up and recirculated through the hole in the ballnut.This ballnut design allows speeds of up to 100,000 dN,but it is the most expensive option because there are two shaft thread starts and two circuits in the ballnut.Therefore,end-cap recirculation is best suited for large lead ball screws in applications requiring high linear speeds.

Ball screw with an end-cap type ballnut.

This is a ball screw with an end- cap type ball recirculation.The end-caps are placed at the ends of the ballnut and the balls are picked up and recirculated through the holes in the ballnut.

●End-Deflector recirculation ball screw

For the highest speeds,quietest sound and most compact design in the industry,end-deflector type recirculation is the choice.This recirculation method offers speeds up to 180,000 dN and in some cases is 6 dB quieter than other recirculation methods.Compared to tube type recirculation,the ballnut shape and size is 30% smaller.To obtain all of these benefits,the balls are picked up at the end of the ballnut in a tangential direction and recirculated through a hole in the ballnut.This allows for a smooth transition from the ball bearing preloaded state to the recirculation portion of the circuit.

End-deflector recirculation type.

Click to select ALM high quality ball screw for your application:

Precision ground ball screw, rolled ball screw, miniature ball screw made in China- ALM (autolinearmotion.com)