Helix Linear Technologies Blog | Articles, how-tos and information on the latest linear motion topics.

Given the range of motion control devices, systems, and assemblies that are available on the market—plus advances in the development of innovative MCSs and the greater demands for today’s precision guidance and positioning applications.

The screw thread of a lead screw or Acme screw—the helical, shape used to convert rotational motion to linear motion or force—is an important factor in engineering and configuring a mechanical actuator that will perform optimally for a specific linear motion application.

Achieving precise guidance and positioning through linear motion control has become a common requirement in today’s manufacturing environments. Virtually all manufacturing processes utilize some type of linear motion control, for which linear slides offer a simple, flexible, and cost-effective solution.

With a 3D printer, product developers can quickly and cost effectively create actual physical parts of product designs directly from product design data. Just as a desktop printer produces type on a 2D page, a 3D printer builds a physical object in 3D space, layer by layer.

The use of syringe pumps for medical treatment and chemical/biomedical research has substantially increased in recent years. The most common application for these small infusion pumps is to gradually administer intravenous medications to patients, including pain-killing analgesics, nausea-suppressing anti-emetics, and other drugs.

While lead screws provide cost, performance, and dependability advantages for many of today’s linear actuation requirements, some motion control applications present challenges that require the use of plastic acme nuts, which are engineered to provide internal lubrication, to make lead screws operate more smoothly, quietly, and reliably.

Lead and acme screws are used for a variety of linear motion control applications, ranging from syringe pumps to pan-and-tilt systems for security cameras. However, one of the more interesting applications of these screws involves their use for driving the fin actuation that guides a missile to its target.

Lead screws have increasingly become the linear motion control solution of choice for mechanical design. The use of lead screws for providing actuation in machine designs and other types of mechanical design is growing because of advances in lead screw design, screw and nut materials, and manufacturing technologies.

Configuring an acme screw assembly that will not only perform but endure the demands of a linear motion application, requires a thorough understanding of the load requirements. Evaluating your loading conditions extends beyond the load that you want to move and the distance that you want to move it - it includes the effects of your application on the screw assembly itself.

A staple for controlling linear motion for more than a century, the acme screw (a lead screw with a trapezoidal thread form angle of 29º) continues to be the best option for driving many of today’s motion control applications where efficiency is critical.