What are the common types of guide rails used in CNC machine tools?

There are two types of guide rails that are frequently encountered.

Line rail and Hard rail.

Line rail, also known as linear guide rail. Consisting of a fixed component for guidance and a moving component, the fixed component is installed on the machine tool, while the moving component is installed on the workbench or other moving components. Line tracks are generally used in mechanical structures with high requirements for straightness, parallelism, etc. THK, Nanjing SHUNTAI, HIWIN and other manufacturers all have related products.

Hard rails are directly machined onto fixed components such as the bed and columns of a machine tool (the rails and fixed components are integrated), and connected to a workbench or other moving parts through a slide seat. To ensure accuracy, it is also necessary to Scrape and grind on the guide rail.

Features:

The line rail belongs to the rolling friction moving speed block, with high positioning accuracy. However, the load-bearing capacity is insufficient (resulting in the development of ball and roller guides).

Hard rails have high sliding friction bearing capacity but slow movement speed.