DIY ballscrew wiper seals
I have always been disappointed with the typical wiper seals that come with a ballscrew. For larger chips they do OK but not so much for fine wood/plastic chips. I thought I would share my DIY solution
Pictures: https://imgur.com/gallery/ZMEn6EQ
Materials:
-1/8" diameter felt cord (mcmaster)
-1 1/4" thick walled heat shrink tubing with heat activated adhesive (mcmaster)
Instructions:
1. wrap the felt cord around the ballscrew so that it lays in the ball channels
2. tape the ends of the felt cord helix so that they dont unwind
3. slip the heat shrink over the felt helix and shrink it with a heat gun. The adhesive on the inner wall of the heat shrink will adhere to the felt cord.
4. rotate the assembly off the end of the screw
5. cut off the bad ends where the tape was
6. cut the remaining piece into sections - I used approx 5/8" long for my seals
7. carefully thread the finished seal onto the screw. make sure to oil the felt as well.
In my case I am using a standard 1610 rolled ballscrew from china. However this method should work for almost any ballscrew. If you are using a 1610 or 1605 ballnut, you can remove the stock seal and install the DIY one instead. The outer diameter of the heat shrink is the same as the factory seal.
The felt seals do a fantastic job of keeping fine particles out. I tested this with fine MDF dust and it completely wiped it clean. The seals do increase the rotating friction, however I suspect this will go down after a burn in period.
hopefully this will be useful to someone, if anyone has suggestions I am all ears!
Re: DIY ballscrew wiper seals
I think this is a really great idea but i would save anyone the labor of shrinking the heatshrink and then trying to thread it off and cut it and put it back on.
rather i would put between the felt cord and the heatshrink.. whatever it is that you intend to use to mechanically fasten it to the ballscrew nut. i would not worry to much about the cord unwinding, though you could sew it to itself at the end of the coil. far as i know the adhesive on headshrink is the same stuff used in hot glue sticks so you can always add more.
a small amount of superglue could hold the felt together while wrapped around the screw, before you shrink the heatshrink.
Re: DIY ballscrew wiper seals
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eldon_Joh
I think this is a really great idea but i would save anyone the labor of shrinking the heatshrink and then trying to thread it off and cut it and put it back on.
rather i would put between the felt cord and the heatshrink.. whatever it is that you intend to use to mechanically fasten it to the ballscrew nut. i would not worry to much about the cord unwinding, though you could sew it to itself at the end of the coil. far as i know the adhesive on headshrink is the same stuff used in hot glue sticks so you can always add more.
a small amount of superglue could hold the felt together while wrapped around the screw, before you shrink the heatshrink.
This would be the most logical way to do it if you are integrating the seal into a flange or mounting device. In my case I was able to remove both factory seals and make use of the counterbore they were installed in. My 1610 ballscrew has a 22.5 mm counterbore which just so happens to be a snug fit for the heat shrink/felt assembly. This allows 5 mm of the seal to reside inside the ball nut, which means the seal uses less space overall on the ballscrew. I think it's a little over 1/4" on either side of the ball nut. The set screws that held the seal in place also hold the heat shrink.
