(1) The ball screws must be thoroughly cleaned with white oil and oil to prevent corrosion. Trichloroethylene is an acceptable degreaser and ensures that the ball tracks are free from dirt and damage (paraffin is not qualified). Great care must be taken to ensure that the ball tracks are not struck by sharp parts or tools and that metal debris does not enter the ball nuts.
(2) Select the appropriate grade of ball screws for the application. Install using the appropriate mounting procedures. That is, precision-ground ball screws for CNC machines require precise alignment and precision bearing arrangement, while rolled ball screws for less precise applications, such as packaging machinery, require less precise support bearing arrangement. It is especially important to eliminate misalignment between the center of the bearing box and the center of the ball nut, which can result in unbalanced loads. Unbalanced loads include radial loads and torque loads. These can cause malfunctions and shorten service life.
