High-Load Ball Screws

Thomson Industries Inc. has introduced a ball screw with more than twice the load capacity of a standard ball screw. The redesigned ball screws handle more than double the load capacity or provide 10 times the service life compared to standard ball screws at equivalent performance points – along with Thomson’s characteristic German-engineered precision, high reliability and exemplary stiffness. High-load ball screws are suitable for demanding motion control applications such as injection molding, pressing and large fabrication equipment.

“By increasing ball size and optimizing ball track design, we now offer a ball screw that handles more than twice the capacity of a comparable standard ball screw. And because roller screws have a nut that is close to 50 percent larger at 150 percent the price of a comparable high-load ball screw, motion control system designers now have an attractive opportunity to reduce costs while improving performance,” said Thomson Product Line Specialist EMEA & Asia for Screws Markus Brändle.

Thomson high-load ball screws minimize replacement and maintenance costs significantly for the application. This provides an opportunity to replace roller screws or hydraulic systems in applications with axes that require accurate and safe movement of heavy loads, long and reliable life, and minimum maintenance. These applications include:

• Large fabrication equipment, including mills, water jets, plasma cutters and automatic welders, which must control motion on horizontal and vertical axes.
• Injection molding and metal fabrication machines, where ball screws can handle high loads in a short stroke with high precision.
• Metal pressing and forming applications, including rivet presses, servo presses, tube bending, metal sheet bending, test rigs and straightening machines. 
• A variety of other demanding applications, including machine tools, lifting devices, large valves and high-load actuators.

Thomson high-load ball screws are available with up to 15 m screw lengths and with single or double nuts. They come in standard sizes up to 160 mm in diameter with up to 1,440 kN of dynamic load capacity. Preloading options are available upon request, and Thomson will customize the ball screw to meet customer-specific applications. They provide smooth, quiet motion at higher speeds over a longer life. Lead accuracy is up to 12 µm/300 mm.