[mbwittig]

Hi guys,

I was wondering what the most popular/best bang-for-the-buck ballscrew brand is for a DIY CNC router?

Thanks,
Mike

[wcarrothers1]

Others will probably say something else but I'd say the 5/8" ball screws from Mcmaster are probably the low buck option. Yes they will wip at higher speeds/longer lengths I suppose but others are lots more expencive.

If your lengths are short I don't see why (other then somone who wants extreem accuracy or something) would neccessaraly need anything else.

Used them on both my 4x8 (Y and Z) and my round pole conversion.

b.

[Cartierusm]

Depends on how much accuracy you want. Ground Ball Screws will cost a fortune, but rolled ball screws will not and are pretty damn accurate. I use roton.com. THey are cheap and work great. I use 2 ball nuts on each axis and a spring in between to set the backlash to 0 (zero). That way if they wear in the future I can adjust them to eliminate the backlash.

[Al_The_Man]

I bought a quantity of HiWin from a guy on ebay that appeared to be importing them by the crate full from Korea.
I was surprised at the quality and how low backlash they had, they appeared to be ground, much better than the Nook rolled I had purchased.
The down side is they were hardened all the way through, I had to get the ends turned down by a friend who had ceramic inserts.
They were also cheaper than the Nook.
Al.

[Cartierusm]

From what I know most ball screws are case hardened to (R50?) I think. Basically if you have insert style tooling for a lathe you probably have old bits that are done. You just need a few of these to go through the case which is like paper thin and then you can cut it normally. That's what I did on mine which are Roton.

[LeeWay]

The first ones I turned on a 7/12 minilathe with some brazed carbide tools. Went through 5 or 6 for all three shafts. Got smart toward the end and used the chipped ones to plow through the hard part, then swung a good one in for finishing up. It worked pretty well. I had to make a support for the end out of the spindle. Easy enough. 2x4 with a hole clamped to a bench.

I have to do this again for my lathe project. I now have a die grinder that I plan on using to get through the case. It may still cost as much in tooling, but will be much easier on the little lathe.

I bought the Thompson screws and nuts from McMaster. Getting ready to double nut X and Y on my router. I am noticing a little more backlash on the X after nearly 3 years of use. It is pushing around about an 80 pound gantry though, so that is pretty good. I will actually install two new nuts on it and reload new balls in the old one for the lathe.

I lucked out on Ebay and got some very nice preloaded ground ballscrews that were perfect for my mill project. No backlash to speak of on those.

I would say to watch Ebay, look at Nook and the ones at Mcmaster and determine the tools you have and what duty they need to do on your machine. Different screws can be used with good results on different machines.

[Cartierusm]

Leeway has the right idea but you have to be very careful machining the ends of the ball screws as your trying to build an accurate machine so you can't skimp on anything. This means you have to absolutely support the end as it turns in a lathe or it's going to bend or distrot instantly. Then you have to machine the end so it presses onto a bearing, not super tight, but it's there's even a little play you went through all that for nothing.

[farley]

Z sub assemblies with ball screws
anyone know who makes good z axes sub assemblies? Thanks Farley

[asammons]

Roton has very competitive pricing, even slightly cheaper than Mcmaster when considering Roton's 5/8" 5 TPI setup. Keep in mind, however, that Roton's lead accuracy is 0.010" per linear foot. If that is not acceptable, you will be better off purchasing at Mcmaster.

[NC Cams]

RE thru vs case harse,

SOme guys make screws out of case carburized 8620 and other such stock. Others like HIWING and NSK make thries out of 52100 bearing steel - thru hard.

Depending on the process that was set up when they went into busiiness will determine which is "better" for the particular company.

8620 it essentially "cheaper" but if you buy 52100 in such massive quantites like some outfits do, volume buys will make 52100 "cheaper" especially if all your H/T is set up to do that steel.

TO make a blanket statement about lame cutting tools as being the cause of cutting difficulties, simply failes to take the realiteis of the manufacturing process into consideration.

[asammons]

Roton is very economical. Also, Rockford ball screws have pretty good reputation - both are comparable in price.

[draughted]

there is a chinese supplier on ebay (linearbearings2008) they do special orders. they'll put you through to a company that can end machine for a few measly dollars.

i got 360mm 500mm and 760mm for under $300