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

Stepper motor driven screw linear actuators have been used for a while in a variety of applications. Integrated motor screw units used to only be available in high volume runs or too costly to consider. Building your own with expensive couplings and support bearings, mounting and aligning the assembly – add up to overwhelming costs.

Lead screws are an excellent linear motion product that converts rotary motion to linear motion very economically and until recently offered only moderate accuracy and repeatability.

Our Helix H10X™ coating is now available. We have debuted a new PTFE coating in order to ensure an even longer life of your lead screw. Below are the top 10 reasons why our H10X™ coating is an improvement:

Coatings are made up of resin, additives, and a liquefying agent that’s either “water-based” or “solvent-based”. Water-based coatings and solvent-based coatings have distinct purposes that depend on your needs. One coating may work better under mild weather conditions.

Regardless of the details of any given application, there are some pretty important design considerations that should be addressed each and every time you are considering lead screws as a means of linear motion. In this post we will explore four critical design elements that must be properly addressed to achieve success.

If you’re an engineer, you already know about how important lubrication is to the long-term performance and reliability of lead screw assemblies. Lubrication repels water, provides corrosion resistance, and lowers the coefficient of friction.

Acme lead screws convert rotary motion into linear motion by turning either the screw or the nut. There are a number of reasons why acme lead screws are quickly becoming the norm for design engineers in linear motion applications involving everything from medical products to electronics.

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.

Acme screws provide distinct advantages for many of today’s linear motion applications, such as the motion control systems incorporated in many lead screw medical devices.

There are so many benefits of using PTFE coated screws to improve and enhance your products and applications. Before we get into some benefits of choosing PTFE coated screws, here's some more information on the product itself: