Matched point
September 1st 2006

Abssac's lead screws in righthanded and left-handed thread format have improved the reliability of a food packaging operation.

Originally opposing screws were used to operate a high speed gripper in a machine that hot plastic foilsealed, ready meals.

The food grade environment meant that there could be no lubrication in the system and Abssac says this resulted in premature failure of nuts after 50 000 cycles. It was a concern that lead accuracy matching between lead screws could be a factor.

Using a PTFE impregnated plastic as the antibacklash nut base material and ensuring matched pitch accuracy of the screws in both the right-handed and left-handed screws enabled initial test cycles of up to 56 000 cycles to be completed without any sign of wear to the nuts.

Matching the screws' pitch accuracy is said to reduce stresses within the system.

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