[Goemon]

I made the mistake of trying to remove an NSK LS25 block from the rail and as soon as it got the end all the ball bearings fell out and rained on my carpet. Now I can't put them back in.... I haven't had this issue before as I guess all my other bearing blocks are the caged type.

Does anyone know how to put the balls back into a non-caged block and get it back on the rail without knocking them out again? I have tried everything I can think of...

The NSK manual says "if a ball falls out then put it back in". The problem with that is that the rail knocks most of the balls out of their grooves when I try to slide it back on....

[Eldon_Joh]

take the plastic recirculation plate off of one end. wash the bearings and put them back in. use some grease to hold the remaining 12 bearings in the end plate, while you screw it back on.

[ger21]

When you buy new blocks, they come with a rail shaped plastic insert to hold the balls in. Normally, to remove the block, you slide it off the rail onto the plastic spacer. I've made these spacer blocks from wood to match the rail so I could remove blocks without losing the balls.

[Goemon]

When you buy new blocks, they come with a rail shaped plastic insert to hold the balls in. Normally, to remove the block, you slide it off the rail onto the plastic spacer. I've made these spacer blocks from wood to match the rail so I could remove blocks without losing the balls.

As this was my first experience with non-caged bearing blocks, I didn't know about using transfer rails for this design so my balls already fell out (so to speak). It's useful advice for the future though (if I ever figure out how to get them back in).

I had originally planned to replace the LS25 rails on this actuator with my 4-way 25mm Misumi rails but I can't figure out how to remove them.... In addition to the usual mounting screws, they have some kind of mounting pins holding the rails against the datum plane and I can't see how to remove them. There appears to be no screws holding them in place or any way to easily reach them...

So, I need to either fix the bearing block, find a way to remove and replace the rails or buy a new LS25 block. Unlike other models, there are no good deals for LS25 block anywhere. The only ones on eBay are $100 per block - which is a lot for rails like these....

[Jim Dawson]

Best I can suggest is some heavy grease to hold them in place while stuffing them back in. Good luck

[Goemon]

take the plastic recirculation plate off of one end. wash the bearings and put them back in. use some grease to hold the remaining 12 bearings in the end plate, while you screw it back on.

I already tried that but the end plates were already full of bearings. The gap between the bearings that are in the block currently are spaced too far apart and I can't push them in any further without moving the block and pushing the rest of the balls out the end...

I don't know how to make it so the last 12 can fit in the holes under the plastic end plate.

How would you get the balls in if your starting point was a completely empty block? All the balls fell out and I can't fit any more in when I get down the last 12 balls....

[Goemon]

Best I can suggest is some heavy grease to hold them in place while stuffing them back in. Good luck

That worked for stopping the balls falling out the end but it's not enough to prevent the rail pushing the balls out of the grooves when I try to slide the block back on....

I feel like I am missing a special tool needed to force the balls back in with the right amount of space between each.

looks like this is going to end up as a $100 mistake.... one I won't be making again any time soon....

I have one last idea to try. I am going to soak the balls in auto oil to see if the extra lube makes it possible to force them back in. I am not super hopeful that it will work though...

[Eldon_Joh]

you will need to move the bearing block relative to the rail back and forth, while pushing the balls into the rail, and into the recirculation hole.

your rails are preloaded they will not just drop into place.

[Goemon]

you will need to move the bearing block relative to the rail back and forth, while pushing the balls into the rail, and into the recirculation hole.

your rails are preloaded they will not just drop into place.

Soaking the bearings in auto oil / lube worked. I got all but one ball in on my first try....

It still required a little back and forth to make the balls circulate round as I added them one by one (as you said) but I could only get that method to work once the balls were coated in the oil.

I also rubbed each ball on a magnut before putting it in the grooves to help it stick better.

Anyway.... it seems to move smoothly although the pre-load feels a little lighter than the other blocks. I put that down the the extra lube on the balls and the fact that it has one less than the rest (for now).