Rollon compact rail for laser-etching machine

On May 3, 2019

Fig. 1: For its laser-etching machines, CMS Laser needed a new linear system that could handle high loads and resist contamination.

For over thirty years, Control Micro Systems, also known as CMS Laser, has provided drilling, cutting and welding capabilities for a range of laser-based applications. When one of its customers reported contamination-induced linear bearing failure in its laser-etching machines, CMS Laser needed to find a new linear system that could handle high loads and operate reliably in a contamination-prone environment.

*Fig. 2: The machine’s sliding doors weigh over 200 pounds, so the new bearings would need to support a heavy cantilevered load when the doors are fully extended.*

Here’s how CMS Laser overcame these challenges using the Rollon Compact Rail.

Contamination And Bearing Failure

CMS Laser manufactured three stovetop laser-etching machines for one of its customers, an appliance company, in 2011. The machines are large, measuring 10 feet across, and incorporate heavy sliding doors, which workers need to be able to open wide enough to load the stainless-steel stovetops for etching. Over the years, the machines were subjected to a lot of airborne dust and debris, byproducts of the laser-etching process, that permeated the factory floor. The doors’ small roller bearings soon became jammed with contaminants, causing them to seize up.

At first, CMS Laser approached the bearings’ original manufacturer, but the new, retrofitted products soon failed as well. “The machine operators were incredibly frustrated, and we didn’t want to lose business with our customer,” Art Almquist, Mechanical Engineering Manager at CMS Laser, said. “We needed another solution. We had worked successfully with Rollon on some applications in the past, so I called them up for tech support.”

Machine Requirements
To enable easy loading of large parts, the doors needed to slide enough to create a six-foot-wide access opening. The mechanical moment was substantial, as the pair of Rollon bearing carriages on each slide rail were required to support a cantilevered load when fully extended. “The doors weigh around 90 kg, so the bearings needed to be able to support a substantial load,”Almquist said. Additionally, the bearings would need to resist contamination, which is what had caused the original bearings to fail.

*Fig. 3: The Rollon Compact Rail can handle up to 15,000 ad 100,000 Nn of force in the radial and axial directions, respectively, exceeding the doors’ high- load requirement.*

The Rollon Compact Rail
After trying out a few samples, CMS Laser selected Rollon’s TLC and ULC Compact Rails, both of which can handle up to 15,000 and 100,000 Nm of force in the radial and axial directions, respectively, exceeding the doors’ high-load requirement.The Compact Rails also combat contamination by design. For one, the bearings utilize large rolling elements that can pass over any debris that falls into the rail. With conventional linear guides, the tiny recirculating balls in a raceway have little clearance, so even smaller pieces of debris can interfere with the balls. By contrast, the Compact Rail system is built around rollers that range in diameter from 14 to 50 mm. These bearings can easily roll over different kinds of contaminants, including metal chips, plastic particulates and dust. “Not only that, but the Compact Rail is an attractive product,” Almquist said. “Italians do things in style.”

*Fig. 4: Rollon bearings can easily roll over metal chips, dust and other contaminants, ensuring reliable operation in the machines’ contamination-prone factory.*

Because insufficient lubrication, in addition to contamination, can shorten the life of bearings, CMS Laser engineers opted to add self-lubricating wipers to the sliders. These lower-cost, cleaner alternatives to automated lubrication provide lubrication for 2 million cycles before they need to be refreshed, ensuring round-the-clock, reliable operation on the harsh factory floor. “We received the Compact Rails in a matter of days,” Almquist said. “The holes on the slides were pre-drilled, so our engineers simply bolted them on. They put the systems together for the three machines within two days. And right away, everything worked great.”

Not only did Rollon help preserve CMS Laser’s relationship with its customer, but now the two companies are talking about ordering a fourth laser-etching machine.“Rollon went above and beyond in terms of knowledge, product reliability, ease of installation, cost-effectiveness, timeliness and customer service,” Almquist said. “Never in my 20 years as an engineer have I encountered that.”

For more information
ROLLON INDIA Pvt. Ltd.
1st floor, Regus Gem Business Centre
26/1 Hosur road, Bommanahalli Bangalore 560068, INDIA 
Tel: +91 80 67027066 Fax: +91 80 67027004
E-mail:  [email protected] 
Web: www.rollonindia.in