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3D Printed Ball Nut for the Insane

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spuddevans:
+ 2  :thumbup: :thumbup:

PekkaNF:
There are few methods and variation on ball circulation.

http://www.linearmotiontips.com/three-ball-nut-recirculation-methods/
http://www.barnesballscrew.com/how-a-ball-screw-works/

I don't think this will be highly succesfull on other than demostration and a learnig curve - but that is prett much.

Pekka

nrml:
I can't wait to see your printed prototype. That would be a very cool toy to have on your desk :thumbup:. If you fill the raceway with something like PTFE grease before packing the balls, wouldn't it to a limited extent fill the print corrugations and make them act like oil grooves on a slide-way? With the fine resolutions you achieve on your prints I would be very surprised if this printed ball screw doesn't work.

Joules:
Thanks Pekka, the tangential ball return got my attention, it would make for a much simpler nut with inserts at each end for the raceway pickups.

nrml, pretty sure if I printed a section of ball screw it would all work, but matching the precision of the metal would be a tall order.  No doubt the plastic raceway would deform to accommodate.

https://simplybearings.co.uk

hanermo:
Excellent work .. and is the kind of thing 3d printers will some day be good for.

Fwiw..
It is usually an ogive arch, and has three points of contact.
Goal is to have a arch a little bit smaller than the ball, so the ball is in compression with zero play.

We made some nuts, for a customer demo, who manufactures lower-accuracy (motive) ballscrews industrially.
Used an ST30Y, with live tools, and back-broached the path for the balls from HS to TS end.
Using custom ground carbide tool tips (12€ each).

Worked perfectly well.
Errors were way under 0.01 mm on customer go-no go gages.
Took about 5-8 minutes per nut, using about  0.02 mm cuts, in a softer material similar to phospor bronze, I think.

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