Improvement of Vibration Damping of Linear Roller Guides Using Grease Lubrication Film

Abstract

This paper describes a linear roller guide system designed for improving the vibration damping by using grease lubrication film. This linear roller guide has a very narrow gap between the carriage and top surface of the guide rail, as compared to conventional types for gaining moderate amount of friction force of the thin film of grease that provides the feed drive system with higher damping. In this study, the friction characteristics of the linear roller guide were measured and mathematically modeled in order to investigate the friction characteristics of the thin film of lubricants and the influence of friction on the dynamic behavior of the feed drive system. In the measurement of friction force, two kinds of grease with different consistencies and viscosities of base oil are filled into the narrow gap. Step responses in microscopic displacement region were measured and simulated in order to evaluate of vibration damping of the feed direction. As the results, it was confirmed in both experiment and simulation results that the grease flow characteristic affects the nonlinear friction characteristics and the step response of the feed drive system.