The specifications for our rails

Generally speaking, you have the choice beteween :

• Long runners for the heaviest loads.
• Short runners for the lightest loads or upright uses.

NB : Two runners are usually enough to support the load ; you may always add another one if you wish to ensure a better support of the load (in the case of insufficiently rigid structures).

The circulating ball runner is the mobile part of the system. It has two circular circuits allowing the runner to travel in the rail.

Each rail can be fitted with one or several runners according to the application or the load to be carried.

Steel runners are available in 2 lengths : long runners are better adapted to the biggest loads. Each runner has two drilled threads allowing the fixing of the mobile part.

Runners are adapted to the rail ( general manufacturing tolerances are around 1/10th of millimetre). You shouldn't place a runner in a rail other than the one with which it was delivered.

Linear rails with circulating ball carriers are reliable and robust products which will give you complete satisfaction with even and smooth travel when good mounting and conditions of uses are complied with.

The rules for a good mounting are :

• Everything should be mounted on the major axis.
• The rail has to be mounted on a flat and level surface.
• The load should be distributed uniformly.
• The runner mustn’t undergo a torque.

Be careful : Some mountings are not advisable : mounting on a uneven surface or in an overhanging or corrosive environment or in excessive heat. In case of improper mounting, the runner will move erratically causing wear within the ball tracks and thus reducing the lifespan.

Contact us to select the rail adapted to your particular application.

These products are delivered with transport end stops meant to prevent the runner  from coming out of its guidance rail. These cannot be used as a permanent end stop for full extension.

It is very important to retain the runners with end stops. Indeed, if the runner should come out of its guidance rail, the balls, not being trapped would fall free and get mixed up. It would then be impossible to mount the runner again as we make up for the manufacturing tolerances by using slightly different ball diameters.

Mounting on the major axis : it is the ideal slide mounting because it allows a better distribution of the forces.

Mounting on the minor axis : slides mounted on the minor axis will have a reduced carrying capacity. For a steel unit, the load has to be reduced by approximately 40%.

Refer to our conditions of use.

Linear guidance rails are composed of circulating ball runners which slide in a rail. So, a unit includes a fixed guidance profile with 2 ball bearing tracks and one or several ball runners.

The linear guidance rail is made from a cold drawn steel profile (some small dimension rails are in aluminium).

This manufacturing method causes a strain hardening which gives the material the wear resistance qualities of half-hard steel. The usual length is 3 metres and reaches 5 metres maximum for some rails. Should some applications need very great lengths, the rails can be prepared for an end to end mounting. The rails are fixed with screws.

At the customer's request, the pitch as well as the number of holes can be adapted to the specific conditions of use ( drilling and in length tolerances : JS13).

Be careful: drilling is an option. Without a request from the customer, linear rails will be delivered without drilling. 

Linear slides are available in stock in lengths between 100 mm and 3000 , in steps of 50 mm. Please specify the length you need when you order. Do you have any doubts ? Don’t hesitate to contact us.

The load is the maximum effort a ball runner mounted on the major axis can bear.

The loads shown in the specification charts are given per runner. Although they are calculated with a large safety margin, the applied loads have to be considered according to the method of use or the orientation of mounting chosen for the application. So, an intensive use forces us to reduce the maximum load carried. Likewise, a mounting on the minor axis reduces the maximum safe load.

NB : The loads usually carried by this  type of product usually contains a high element of torque . So, you have to centre the load as much as possible, or use a second runner to cancel out this torque.

The technical chart data corresponds to characteristics that are commonly used.

• Surface treatment
• Fittings for fixing (brackets, studs...)

can be provided as an optional extra.

• Recommended fixing hole pattern of 200 mm between centres along rail length used.
• The loading values given are for ONE carrier per rail.
• Test conducted at ambient room temperature
• Max speed of operation 0.5 m/s.

The materials that we use to produce slides are carbon steels from type XC10 to XC38. They suit most industrial applications.

However in the case of high use rates such as on a car production line, or in case of fast movement (more than 0.5 metres per second) we advise this surface treatment.

This treatment gives the material a surface hardness of about 35 HRC, a hardness equivalent to the ball bearings'. Resistance to wear is thus greatly improved. Obtained under vacuum, it penetrates the material better than salt bath treatments. In this way increased hardness is effective to a depth of almost 3 tenths of a millimeter.

All Chambrelan slides come with a treatment against corrosion. The standard treatment, i.e. bichromated clear zinc plating for steel slides and colourless anodisation for aluminium versions which suits most uses. The average endurance of bichromated zinc plating is 250 hours in salt spray.

Other or extra treatments can be carried out according to the application or the environmental requirements.
Steel

• Black, zinc plating
• Organo-mineral finish on zinc plating (withstands salt spray for 500 hours)
• Chemical nickel plating
• Phosphatation
• Nitruration (35 HRC)

Aluminium

• Hard anodisation
• Colouring

The usual travel of the runner is equal to the rail length minus a runner length and the stop measurement, i.e. approximately 10 mm at each end.