Basic Requirements For Guide Rail Design

1.Guidance accuracy
Guidance accuracy refers to the accuracy of the movement trajectory of the moving component when it moves along the guide surface of the guide rail. The main factors that affect the guide accuracy are the geometric accuracy of the guide rail bearing surface, the structure type of the guide rail, the contact accuracy of the guide rail pair, surface roughness, the stiffness of the guide rail and supports, the oil film thickness and oil film stiffness of the guide rail pair, as well as the guide rail and support. Thermal deformation of parts, etc.
The geometric accuracy of linear motion guide rails generally includes: straightness in the vertical plane and horizontal plane; parallelism between the two guide rail surfaces. The geometric accuracy of the guide rail can be expressed as the error over the entire length of the guide rail or the error per unit length.

2. Accuracy retention
   Accuracy retention is the ability to maintain the original geometric accuracy of the guide rail during operation. The accuracy maintenance of the guide rail mainly depends on the wear resistance and dimensional stability of the guide rail. Wear resistance is related to factors such as material matching, stress, machining accuracy, lubrication method and performance of protective devices of the guide rail pair. In addition, the residual stress in the guide rail and its supports will also affect the accuracy maintenance of the guide rail.
3. Motion sensitivity and positioning accuracy
   Motion sensitivity refers to the minimum stroke that a moving component can achieve; positioning accuracy refers to the ability of a moving component to stop at a designated position as required. Movement sensitivity and positioning accuracy are related to factors such as guide rail type, friction characteristics, movement speed, transmission stiffness, and quality of moving components.
4. Movement stability
   The smoothness of the guide rail movement refers to the performance of the guide rail that does not appear to crawl when moving at low speeds or with small amounts of movement. Smoothness is related to factors such as the structure of the guide rail, the matching of guide rail materials, the lubrication condition, the properties of the lubricant, and the stiffness of the transmission system of the guide rail movement.
5. Vibration resistance and stability
   Vibration resistance refers to the ability of the guide rail pair to withstand forced vibration and impact, while stability refers to the performance of not causing self-excited vibration under given operating conditions.
6. Stiffness
   The ability of the guide rail to resist force deformation. Deformation will affect the relative position and guidance accuracy between components, which is particularly important for precision machinery and instruments. Guide rail deformation includes guide rail body deformation and guide rail pair contact deformation, both of which should be considered.
7. Structural craftsmanship
   Structural craftsmanship refers to the ease of processing the guide rail pair (including the components where the guide rail pair is located). On the premise of meeting the design requirements, manufacturing and maintenance should be as convenient and low-cost as possible.