Maintenance-free linear guides in the XY positioner "MaXYposi"

Profile

• What was needed: drylin W linear guides 
• Requirements: Lubricant-free, robust, modular, cost-effective
• Industry: Printed circuit board processing; XY positioner
• Success for the customer: Thanks to the lubrication-free function of the linear rails, the linear robot works reliably even with the dust generated by PCB production. There are also significant cost advantages over recirculating ball bearing guides with steel shafts.

The MaXYposi linear robot was developed for DIY enthusiasts and professionals alike and has a modular, robust and economical design.

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► Sample box linear guide drylin W

Problem

With the MaXYposi XY positioner, Make Magazine created a simple solution that is equally suitable for DIY enthusiasts and professionals.
The MaXYposi is primarily intended to serve as the basis for self-built CNC machines for drilling and fitting printed circuit boards, laser-cutting, plotting, cutting and milling. However, it can also be found in other fields such as laboratories, where it is used in sample handling, for example.
Driven by a pulley-driven toothed belt, it is five to ten times faster than lead screw-driven devices and twice as strong and accurate as linear robots with a single toothed belt.
In order to be as easy to replicate as possible, the development of the universal solution required components that were as modular as possible but also economical and fail-safe.
But the biggest problem with the design was the aggressive dust generated by drilling and milling printed circuit boards, which quickly finds its way to the linear technology of the XY positioner.

Solution

With drylin W rails as linear guides on the X and Y axes, the positioner from Make Magazin can now also be used for producing printed circuit boards without any problems. The key design feature of the linear bearing is its sliding elements, which are made of the special iglidur plastic. On the one hand, these slide without lubrication and are therefore easy to maintain. And secondly, they are not susceptible to the dust produced for this reason. Where no external lubricant is used, by-products such as dust and milled parts can also not readily adhere.
The price of linear plain bearings with aluminium rails also offers significant cost advantages over recirculating ball bearing linear guides with steel shafts.
The drylin W rails are also self-supporting, given the compact dimensions of the machine. The construction is simple and therefore also suitable for young DIY enthusiasts. The aluminium glide bars are easy to machine and lightweight. The mechanics of the machines cost less than 100 euros.