Linear Bearings Catalog Section - Thomson - #10

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22 www.danahermotion.com Universal Self-Alignment The bearing plate of the Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearing is designed with many unique and technologically advanced features. The universal selfalignment feature assures that the Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearing will achieve maximum performance regarding load capacity, travel life, smooth operation and coefficient of friction. The three components that make up universal self-alignment are Rock, Roll and Yaw. Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearings Hardened Precision Ring Double Lip Wiper 0.5° LOAD Figure 3 Rock The bearing plate is designed to rock 0.5° about the hardened precision ground outer ring (Figures 3 & 4). This self-aligning feature allows the Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearing to absorb misalignment caused by inaccuracies in housing bore alignment or 60 Case LinearRace shaft deflection. This rocking capability provides smooth entry and exit of the precision balls into and out of the load zone assuring a constant low coefficient of friction. By compensating for misalignment, each bearing ball in the load carrying area is uniformly loaded providing maximum load capacity. Figure 4 Close-up of hardened precision ring, showing how the bearing plate self-aligns (rocks) about the curved surface of the ring. Roll The second key design feature of the Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearing plate is its ability to Roll. The bearing plate is designed with the radius of its outer surface smaller than the inside radius of the precision outer ring (Figure 5). This allows the bearing plate to compensate for torsional misalignment and evenly distribute the load on each of its two ball tracks. The roll component assures maximum load capacity and travel life. Figure 5 Close-up of double track bearing plates showing how they self-align (roll) to evenly distribute the load on each of their two ball tracks. Yaw The shape formed by the Rock and Roll features allows the Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearing plate to rotate about its center (Figure 6). This allows the Super Smart Ball Bushing Bearing to absorb skew caused by misalignment. The result is a constant low coefficient of friction and maximum bearing performance. Figure 6 Bearing plates rotate about their center to prevent skewing relative to the 60 Case LinearRace shaft.