peter michaux <porkproducts@home.com> wrote

Hi,

I am thinking about installing ball srews on my mill/drill to go along with
a CNC conversion. My current backlashes are:

0.0085" logitudinal feed backlash
0.0220" crossfeed backlash
0.0005" spindle feed backlash

How bad are those?

I was reading the catalogue for ball screws from a
company called Ball Screws & Actuators Co.
(http://www.ballscrews.com/default.html)

They have ball screws that will fit my machine and
several ball nuts from which to choose:
--Standard Ball Nuts (no more than 0.007" backlash,
2.89" long)
--Standard Ball Nuts (no more than 0.002" backlash,
2.89" long)
--Preloaded Ball Nuts (zero backlash, it is 6.08"
long)

I will phone about pricing for these on Monday. I
assume the price increases with decreasing backlash.
The Preloaded Ball Nuts are very long.

Any rough estimates on cost for two ball nuts with
3/4" screws about 38" and 24" long ? $100, $250, $500, $1000,
$2000, $5000, ...?

Of these three types what do you think the minimum
quality I would need?

In your opinion is zero backlash an *absolutely essential* feature? (I
could probably live with 0.002" backlash if the price
was *greatly* reduced.)

How much backlash is there in your ball nuts?

What are some good brand names for which to look?

Who are good suppliers in Canada or the US?

Thanks again,
Peter