Machine builders strive to achieve the right balance of functionality, performance, price, durability, energy consumption
and other attributes that will enable their products to excel against the competition. In the past, OEMs designed
their machines around readily available standard components or had to add the cost and development time needed to
obtain custom components designed especially for the application.

The growing breadth of standard offerings via the methodical evolution of electromechanical linear actuators, linear
motion bearings, clutches and brakes, and linear slides now enable machine builders the benefit of a precisely matched
“custom” solution while using cost-effective “standard” motion components.

Linear Slides and Stages
James Marek, business unit manager
What linear slides and stages are the most
innovative in the marketplace? Why?
Linear slides that meet the technical
and commercial demands of customer
needs are the most innovative
in the marketplace. The demands that
I constantly hear are enhancements to
performance, the ability to perform in
adverse environments and a quick “selection-to-delivery”
cycle. Enhancements
in performance include increased footprint-to-load
capacity ratio and longer
system lengths, along with improvement
in positioning accuracies and
repeatability. Linear slides are being
deployed in adverse environments, and
customers expect them to survive with little or no maintenance. Particularly
challenging are environments where
there are airborne contaminants that
have a tendency to migrate into the
linear guide system and ball screw.
There are some novel sealing strategies
that protect the internal components
of the system. Engineering resources
within organizations are leaner than
ever. Web-based tools that allow them
to do their job more efficiently are also
in demand. There are tools that support
not only the sizing of all components
within the system but also output smart
part numbers and CAD models.

How has linear slide and stage technology
advanced in the past f ive years?
There are a number of relatively new
technologies that address the challenges associated with deploying a linear system
in an application. These technologies
address the mounting orientation,
loading conditions, move profile and
environmental conditions associated
with customer applications. Extrusion
technologies and post-processing of the
extrusion have enabled systems of over
12 meters in length to be developed
from a single piece of extrusion. In the
case of a ball screw-driven system with
long lengths, the system is often limited
by the critical speed of the screw. A
solution to this problem was to design
screw supports that are dynamically
transferred within the system at predefined
locations. This has enabled 12
meter-long systems to rotate at input
speeds of 3,000 rpm without hitting the
critical speed of the screw. A number
of unique sealing strategies have been
developed to minimize particles and
fluids from penetrating the interior
components of a system. These seals
allow linear systems to perform in paper
and pulp, woodworking and painting
applications.