When to use cross roller guides？

When applications require linear guides with high load capacity,high stiffness and good travel accuracy,the range of applicable products is usually narrowed down to two designs:recirculating linear guides and crossed roller guides.

ALM high load capacity,high stiffness cross roller guides

Recirculating linear guides use balls to support the load,while cross-roller guides use rollers.The rollers travel in a V-shaped groove between two parallel guides and are arranged in a crisscross pattern - each roller rotating at a 90-degree angle relative to the one next to it.Hence the term "cross" roller guides.The rollers are held in place by metal or resin cages,similar to the caged balls or "ball chains" now found in recirculating linear guides.

Each roller rotates 90 degrees relative to the next,and metal or plastic cages hold the rollers in place.

While both recirculating guides and crossed roller guides offer high load capacity and rigidity, crossed roller guides typically outperform recirculating linear guides in both areas.This is due to the linear contact of the rollers with the raceway,rather than the point contact experienced by the balls.The increased roller contact area also gives the crossed roller design a higher stiffness and therefore less deflection under load compared to a recirculating linear guide.However, crossed roller guides are less tolerant of imprecise mounting surfaces.This is one reason why crossed roller guides are ideally suited for linear stages-because the stages feature precise mounting surfaces and extremely flat and accurate travel.

It should be noted that recirculating linear guides are also available with rollers instead of balls for higher load capacity and stiffness.However,recirculating roller guides are usually only available in larger sizes for heavy machining and pressing equipment.

Another advantage of crossed roller guides is that they have a very smooth motion.This is because the crossed roller design is non-recirculating,which means that as the balls(or rollers)enter and leave the load area,they are not subject to the pulsations experienced by recirculating bearings.

The lack of shock from the recirculating element greatly reduces noise generation,making crossed roller guides significantly quieter than recirculating bearings.However,the non-recirculating design of crossed roller guides means that their travel is limited,typically to 1 meter.And the length of the crossed roller guide assembly must be twice the maximum travel because the two guides move in opposite directions to each other.

In crossed roller guides,the housing(1)contains rolling elements(3)that move a limited distance along the base(2).

Unlike recirculating guides,crossed roller guides may have very similar static and dynamic coefficients of friction,thus minimizing the effects of stiction.This makes crossed roller slides ideal for applications that require small movements,such as cameras and microscopes.

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www.autolinearmotion.com/cross-roller-guides.html