Durable ball rail can be mounted on uneven surfaces

Dean Palmer reports on a new ball rail system for handling and positioning tasks that offers high load capacity and can be mounted directly onto uneven surfaces and sheet metal At the company's first Global Technology Summit held in Germany last month, drives and controls firm Bosch Rexroth unveiled its new range of ball rail systems which are due to be launched globally next month. Markus Hofstaetter, director ball rail systems at the company, said that development of the new 'eLine' ball rail system focused on two main factors: economy and durability. He added that the system was "ideal for simple handling and assembly tasks, peripheral machine equipment or for transport solutions that require ball rail systems with special properties." eLine has an aluminum base and the balls and ball tracks are manufactured from hardened anti-friction bearing steel, offering end users a low weight, high corrosion resistance, compact design, as well as providing identical load capacity in all four main directions of loading. Also, the guide rails and runner blocks are made from wrought aluminium alloy, which enables much greater parallelism and vertical offsets of the mounting surfaces. This reduces the effort required in preparing the mounting base and installing the systems. In some cases, explained Hofstaetter, the system can even be mounted on non-machined surfaces and sheet metal. Mounting and assembly are also quick and easy. Users simply turn a clamping element through 90 degrees so that they rest in the end pieces. The ball rail systems are available in sizes 15, 20 and 25, with one-piece rail lengths up to 2,000 mm and with two runner block designs. The product series mainly targets accuracy class 'N'. For simpler applications, a new accuracy class 'E' is being introduced shortly. Target markets are light machinery, assembly technology, packaging, handling, machine door guides, cutting machine tools and non-machinery applications such as furniture, patio door and window guides, fitness equipment and storage equipment.