Help I have lost my balls

[fizzy]

Sorry couldn't resist the heading

Does anyone have experience of ball screws? Like an idiot I have been playing around with my recent purchase of a mini mill converted to CNC.
Got Mach 3 working and was setting the soft limits - got carried away and went too far. Didn't realise the balls could drop out of a ballscrew!
Is this normal? And how do you get them back in?
When winding it back in there was a click and the motor spun in the coupling

 

[Mark Davison]

There's loads of videos on YouTube. Be careful. I have one that I obviously managed to rebuild incorrectly and it is now jammed! Only a cheap one luckily.

 

[Robotstar5]

You have to feed them back in one at a time and if it's multi track get the right amount in each track.
Early ASEA robots used ball screws for the 2 main axes and we had a sleeve that fitted over the end of the thread allowing you to run the ballnut off without losing the bearings. When we ran the mechanical maintenance course and had someone messing about we would give them an undersize sleeve, cue lots of ball bearings bouncing on the floor then tell them there should be 46 bearings in each track and leave them to it.

 

[Misterg]

Yes, normal. Just to add to the fun, there are sometimes two different ball diameters that need to be fitted alternately! (Spacer balls and load balls - not sure if this will apply to yours though)

 

[Mark Davison]

There will be groves that you shouldn't put balls in, as well as ones you should. Get that wrong and you end up jamming it like I did. And I thought I'd got it right!

 

[fizzy]

Sounds like good fun - NOT! I thought modern technology would have been better than this

 

[Robotstar5]

Sounds like good fun - NOT! I thought modern technology would have been better than this

Modern, it was invented in 1898

 

[m_c]

Yes, normal. Just to add to the fun, there are sometimes two different ball diameters that need to be fitted alternately! (Spacer balls and load balls - not sure if this will apply to yours though)

I was just going to mention this.
You'll need to get a micrometer out and measure your balls

 

[fizzy]

Modern, it was invented in 1898

Lol I know that but you would think after over 100 years of development they would find a way of keeping the balls in place

 

[fizzy]

Well my brother and I are now expert ball screw rebuilders
Having got it wrong several times. Tiny 1.48mm balls didn't help either. 58thou
Runs beautifully now. And the chap I had the little mill from didn't skimp either. These are top quality ones.
Best way to do it was insert the screw first. There is a nylon threaded washer at the end which locates it. Then feed in the balls into the correct tracks. 3 tracks in total.
Another new skill learnt.
But the best advice of all. Stick to the limits and don't wind out too far

 

[bricol]

With some linear slides that use recirculating balls, you can get them refurbished . . . "re-balled". To reduce play, you get them re-balled with bigger balls . . .

At least some Americans (for it was on a machine destined for the USA) share the same school-boy humour that caused me to find that hilarious as I was trying to arrange it with the very helpful supplier (HiWin slides from WMH Transmissions).

 

[fizzy]

With some linear slides that use recirculating balls, you can get them refurbished . . . "re-balled". To reduce play, you get them re-balled with bigger balls . . .

At least some Americans (for it was on a machine destined for the USA) share the same school-boy humour that caused me to find that hilarious as I was trying to arrange it with the very helpful supplier (HiWin slides from WMH Transmissions).

Yes one bloke on Youtube was boasting he has over 10,000 balls
I see you can also get brass or bronze balls - I assume to stop the screws wearing out.
Bigger ones will be much easier to do. The ones we were using were smaller than many pin heads