I was wondering how critical it was for the linear ways and ballscrews to be protected from dust and debris. I've got some NSK LU 15 rails that I'm going to use with rolled ballscrews and I'm not sure how protected I want them from dust and chips. I have an idea to use flat bellows to cover the X and Y axis but the Z is going to be the pain to protect. I'm thinking that on my Z axis I'm just going to use the rails open on the backside and use an acme screw and one of those Kerk motion antibacklash nuts. Tell me what your thoughts are, I would appreciate the feedback.

I'll try and post some pics of the working design later this week.

Carl