Originally Posted by
awerby
Ball screws (and ball nuts) are more delicate; there's more to go wrong with them. So as far as overall durability is concerned, I'd say acme screws score higher. There's more to consider than wear from abrasion, which varies depending on how well you protect your screws and what you're machining. And the precision of ball screws varies quite a bit. Only the best of them are suitable for running machine tools; the rest are better suited for opening skylights, etc. An acme screw will generally perform better than a ball screw of the same price; you have to spend a lot more to get a ball screw of equivalent precision.