Ordinary guide rails, some say they are called hard rails, which means that the guide rails and the lathe are integrated castings, and then the guide rails are processed on that basis, that is, the shape of the guide rails is cast on the bed, and then The guide rails are processed through quenching and grinding. There are also cases where the bed and the guide rails are not necessarily integrated. For example, the inlaid steel guide rails are nailed to the bed after processing.
The ones used in CNC are generally called linear guides, usually referred to as rolling guides, which are the kind used in linear modules that are often used in the machine tool industry. We usually call these components "linear guides" , such as THK in Japan, AMT and HIWIN in Taiwan, specialize in producing this. The linear guide itself is divided into two parts: the slide rail and the slider. There are internal circulating balls or rollers in the slide block, and the length of the slide rail can be customized. It is a modular component, a standardized and serialized individual product produced by a specialized manufacturer. It can be installed on a machine tool and can be disassembled and replaced after wear.
According to some seniors I found (respondent: shjiangning - Magician Level 4), hard rail and linear rail are the names of Taiwan's machine tool industry. They are not standard names and cannot be found in the machinery manual. arrive.
When converting ordinary machine tools to CNC, whether the guide rails should be replaced depends on whether the original guide rails can meet the accuracy requirements. Generally speaking, I feel that the original lathe bed is not designed to install a flat surface for linear guide rails at all, and the transformation to install all linear guide rails is more troublesome. Under normal circumstances, the transformation only involves retaining the original structure and only installing the grating ruler and corresponding digital display system.
Which is better, hard rail or linear rail? (The following is quoted from other forums)
It depends on what you do. Hard rails have good rigidity and fast wire gauge. Generally speaking, hard rails are better and more expensive
Machining centers often use linear rolling guides because they have fast movement speed, small rolling resistance, no creeping phenomenon, and convenient lubrication. After long-term use, the loss of accuracy is small. Steel-lined (sometimes plastic-coated) guide rails are often used under heavy loads. In particular, lubrication is very important to it. But after the guide rails are worn, it is very troublesome to adjust.
★It depends on your needs! Nowadays, linear rails are used more often, but the width of the linear rails is different. Different designs of machine tools have different configurations! But high-end machines still use hard rails more often!
★Linear rolling guides are often used in machining centers because they have fast movement speed, small rolling resistance, no creeping phenomenon, and convenient lubrication. After long-term use, the loss of accuracy is small. Steel-lined (sometimes plastic-coated) guide rails are often used under heavy loads. In particular, lubrication is very important to it. Guide... This situation cannot be so certain anymore! High-end imported machines still use hard rails. And most of the machining centers of domestic regular brands use hard rails. The wear of good hard rails is not great, and the movement speed is not slow!
★High-end imported machines mostly use hard rails. And most of the machining centers of domestic regular brands use hard rails. The wear of good hard rails is not great, and the movement speed is not slow! Most of our machines use IKO linear rails. I don’t understand why hard rails are better than linear rails. One of our machines uses hard rails. Isn’t it just that extra lubrication devices are added to the two sides? There are ones specially equipped with hard rails. Manufacturer? Please enlighten me! ! !
Hard rail is better in rigidity, while linear rail is better in speed.
★ Generally speaking, hard rails are better, but the life of linear rails is not as long as hard rails
★Hard rails are mainly used for heavy cutting and molding; linear rails are mainly used for light cutting. , in terms of products. For the most popular domestic assembly machines on the market, the price of linear rails is slightly higher than that of hard rails.
★The weight of cutting is also relative. Heavy cutting is matched with low speed, light Cutting is coupled with high speed, which is adapted to the hard rail or linear rail of the machine tool to achieve the same processing requirements. Different paths lead to the same goal!