homemade ballscrew
I am wondering if anyone here has attempted to make a ballscrew? Also I am used to working with hardened ballscrews, but I know that some ballscrews are made from relatively soft material, and bearings can even be made from plastic for special applications. I have found it difficult to track down specific detail on cutting forces for routers as it has a lot to do with how the router is used. I am very tempted to cut my own to give it a try and see how it will perform over time. I am thinking about doing a regular circular profile instead of a Gothic arch and using a double nut to adjust the backlash. I can look up wear characteristics for 1018 steel to get an estimate as to the expected life of the screw if I knew what the load is. I am just wondering if anyone here has experience that might save some headache. my current plan is to machine a .2 inch lead on a 1018 bar that is 1.250 inch in diameter. I plan on using a .1875 ball in a .250 track. It depends on how well I machine the screw to decide if preload will be with springs or thread offset on the nut. I figure I can measure lead error and using computer compensation for it. I am hoping that my equipment can do a good job on that though. The nut will likely be a few single turn circuits with 3d printed recirc inserts.
Ray,
Life is a choice, death is choice poorly made.