Steinmeyer has a long history of delivering ball screw innovations that enable our customers to design the world’s finest linear motion systems. With our new line of Xi-Plus precision ball screws, we are continuing that tradition for industrial applications that require quiet operation.

Like all Steinmeyer products, the Xi-Plus line is expertly manufactured in Germany. The shafts undergo a proprietary finishing process that removes micron-sized defects on the raceway, creating our quietest and smoothest screws ever. Those defects are responsible for high pitched “whistling” and rough running characteristics. No more noisy ball screws – no more annoying vibrations!

Xi-Plus ball screws offer dynamic delivery of linear motion at high standards of precision and longevity, like all Steinmeyer products. These screws are available in shaft diameters between 16-125 mm and all nut styles.

Contact a Steinmeyer engineer to learn more about Steinmeyer premium ball screws.

We are very pleased to share another Steinmeyer customer spotlight with you. This time, Product Development Manager of Mold-Masters, Martin Kestle, took the time to talk with us about how our ball screws are utilized in the innovative Mold-Masters E-Multi.

First, a little background on Mold-Masters; it is a world leading supplier of hot runner technology and systems. Acquired in 2013 by Milicron LLC, Mold-Masters was established in 1963. The company designs, manufactures, and supports a full range of hot runner products, including hot runner systems, hot halves, gating technologies, temperature controllers and auxiliary injection units.

Through steady technological innovation, Mold-Masters enables its customers to produce higher quality plastic parts faster, more reliably, and with greater cost efficiency. They do this by including only the highest quality components in their machines, such as Steinmeyer ball screws.

As mentioned earlier, the E-Multi, an all-electric auxiliary injection for 2-shot molding, uses Steinmeyer precision ball screws exclusively. Martin Kestle shared how he led the engineering effort behind the E-Multi product line himself, and that he selected Steinmeyer Ultra Thrust ball screws for the primary injection axis. He knew Steinmeyer’s engineering and precision manufacturing would deliver ball screws which exceeded the stringent performance and reliability expectations; it was an easy choice.

“The Steinmeyer ball screws used in our systems have gone above and beyond our expectations. Originally specified for a machine running at 100 mmps, the same screws are able to go up to 500 mmps with no failures.”

-Martin Kestle, Product Development Manger – Mold-Masters.

Contact a Steinmeyer engineer to learn more about Steinmeyer precision ball screws.

Steinmeyer ground ball screws have served the demanding requirements of machine tool applications for years, delivering precision positioning under high loads and high duty cycles. For the first time, we are excited to introduce an extension of this product line that has been engineered for the low duty cycle application of linear actuators.

This line of premium ball screws not only reaches high thrust requirements, but also offers long service life, low maintenance, and unmatched reliability. Designers of linear actuators now have the option of specifying a premium ball screw from Steinmeyer.

The ball screws for actuators line includes a wide range of diameters, leads, and nut configurations. Like all Steinmeyer products, these screws have been meticulously designed and manufactured to deliver world-class performance – specifically engineered for linear actuator applications. We offer the widest size selection in the industry, with diameters up to 160 mm and pitches down to 0.5 mm. The screws features dynamic load capacity of up to 1,400 kN and may be specified up to 100% of DLC. Rolled versions are also available upon request for more economical solutions.

Contact a Steinmeyer engineer to learn more about Steinmeyer premium ball screws.

Founder of Mundt & Associates, Ron Mundt, recently took the time to speak with us about his company’s state-of-the-art laser systems and the key role that our ball screws play.

If you do not know Mundt & Associates, it is a worldwide leader in high-precision laser micro-machining. The company delivers customized systems for aerospace, military, medical, and other highly demanding applications.

Mundt is world renowned for crafting the highest performing laser machine tool systems, so it is paramount that it employs superior quality components. A precision ball screw is critical in delivering the laser positioning accuracy required for intricate cutting and scribing applications.

We are proud to say that Steinmeyer is Mundt’s leading supplier of ball screws. Every screw that we supply to Mundt is precisely engineered to achieve extreme positioning accuracy. We also stock their screws in our U.S. warehouse to support just-in-time manufacturing and short lead-times for delivering machines to Mundt global customers.

We know the amount of pride Mundt takes in delivering innovative laser systems and understand how important it is that they receive the highest quality ball screws.

“We continue to use Steinmeyer ball screws in our systems year after year because we know they are providing us with the highest quality ball screw available. We wouldn’t put anything less into our machines.”

‒ Ron Mundt, President – Mundt & Associates, Inc.

Contact a Steinmeyer engineer to learn more about Steinmeyer precision ball screws.

“Your ball screw is lubed for life, so it’s maintenance free!”

Have you ever heard such a claim from your vendor?  If so, you should be wary.  Like most things that sound too good to be true…

Every ball screw is pre-lubricated at the factory.  The on-going maintenance cycle depends greatly on the application.  For most machine tools, Steinmeyer recommends the first ball screw lube check at 500 hours.  Depending on the results, customers may set future intervals shorter or longer.

Some vendors advertise ball screws with that are “lubed for life” at high loads.  This sounds fantastic: maintenance free operation and high performance!  But if you stop to think about it, high loading naturally decreases the life.  So this combination is possible not because the maintenance interval is so long, but because the life is so short!

This logic reminds me of when Bugatti announced a 1001 horsepower sports car some years ago, with a top speed of 200 MPH.  If you go flat out, you’ll run out of gas in 15 minutes.  But don’t worry, because the tires will melt in 12 minutes!

Other vendors advertise lubrication units mounted inside the nut.  These are usually plastic rings impregnated with oil.  Such an approach may very well extend the early maintenance intervals, but they eventually run out.  At that point, you are forced to send the screw back to replace the lubrication unit, or revert to typical lubrication methods.  Furthermore, you have no choice over the lubricant; you are stuck with whatever is in the plastic.  Given these caveats, you have to ask whether this approach really gives you any net benefits.

Rotating nuts have long presented challenges for lubrication.  Not anymore! Steinmeyer is excited to announce the release of our new patented system for lubricating rotating nuts.

It is a tremendously efficient system that uses centrifugal force to splash lubricant back onto the shaft.  The key is a series of small plastic gears that rotate around a larger plastic gear.

The lubrication port and the large gear are held in place by the lubrication line.
This assembly is stationary while the smaller gears rotate with the nut.  Whatever oil is introduced inside the nut is guided naturally towards the shaft.

This approach has the added benefit of reducing the annoying “whistling” sounds produced by high acceleration of ball screws.  The result is a much quieter work environment.

Contact Steinmeyer engineers to learn more about our solution for this long standing problem.

Not all ball-screw makers spec products the same way.

This stiffness test rig uses a force sensor to measure axial thrust. A bracket clamped onto the drive journal prevents backdriving of the screw. The nut block has exchangeable inserts and hydraulically clamps to the cast-iron base. Three LVDT sensors measure relative motion between a shaft and nut. They attach to the unloaded portion of the screw and their tips touch the nut flange from behind. The arrangement averages all deformations of the nut body but does not include changes in shaft length. Forces in the rig can reach several thousand Newtons, though the shaft elastic displacement is only a few microns.

Read the full article here.