PURCHASING FROM THE BEST LINEAR GUIDES MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

In the recent years, owing to the enlarging industrial and research needs of moving components, many linear guide and bearing manufacturers have been established in the country. Igus is one of the best linear guides manufacturers in India. It manufactures bearings, linear guides, robotic components, cable carriers, bar stocks, and more. This article is a presentation from Igus, and it gives you valuable information on how to purchase the right linear guides for an application.
Square and round linear guides

When an application requires guided linear motion, linear guides and bearings are used. These pre-engineered linear guides and bearings are available in two basic shapes viz., round and square. Often designers are confused with which shape to use. Earlier the square or profile rails used to be more expensive than the round ones because of theextensive grinding that the former need. But the recent economies and advances in manufacturing has made it possible for square rails to compete with its counterpart in a wide range of applications.
Criteria for choosing the right shape of linear guides
For choosing the right shape of linear guidesfor any application, you need to define system objectives, and take factors likeoverall expenses, stiffness, load capacity, accuracy, size and smoothness into account. You can begin the selection process by taking into consideration the primary characteristics of each type of guide.
Basic attributes of each guide type
Square are flat on the bottom and top, and have a concave shape at the sides with ball-conforming races for the bearings to roll. Applications like machine tools which demand high load capacity, accuracy and stiffness use this type of linear guide.
Round guidesrun more smoothly than the square guides. The point contact of convex surfaces between rail and balls makes scuffing negligible. Their design also allows them to operate smoothly when mounted to less-than-perfect surfaces, where their counterparts are sensitive. Further, the installation of round-rails is relatively inexpensive and easy.
Design considerations
Typically, the design parameters of linear-guides include accuracy,acceleration,load capacity, rigidity, speed, and smoothness of travel. Other parameters areinstallation requirements, environment, and size, as well as item and installation expenses. Usually applications need one or two parameters. By taking those into consideration, you can narrow down the available options.
Application considerations
Often applications can use either square or round linear guides, but it is not the case always. For example, when the space is limited, you would need to go for the compact square bearings than their round counterparts.
Square linear guides offer higher rigidity than their round counterparts. But owing to their rigidity, they demand mounting over dimensionally precise surfaces for their proper functioning. So, if the base is a sheet-metal, mounting a square rail may not work owing to the inadequately rigid structure. And, when applications demand high precision, round rails may not be the right choice.
Design flexibility is another important consideration. For instance, the components of a linear-guide may need to be modified to fit a specific operation. And, a round-rail system can be easily modified than a square one.
Another important quality consideration of a linear guide is durability. For, their failures can lead to down times, which can decline production. So, a manufacturers often make a robust design that takes into account real-life conditions and safety.
Igus, the best linear guides manufacturers in India, manufactures many high quality linear guide products to perfectly suit specific applications. Custom requests are also taken up.