Rack and pinion technology makes a comeback

Micromech's Alpha gearhead solution combines a rack and pinion with its planetary, allowing feed rates of 60m/min with acceleration rates of 5m/s/s.

Rack and pinion technology is making a comeback as more and more machine builders are turning to high-precision rack and pinion systems for precision motion with extremely high levels of rigidity.

Now available from Micromech is the Alpha gearhead solution combining a rack and pinion with its planetary, allowing feed rates of 60m/min with acceleration rates of 5m/s/s.

In fact Alpha is one of the few global companies to offer quality level 5 rack and pinion systems that have a repeatability of less than 2 microns and a cumulative pitch error less than 2/3 of a ballscrew.

In addition to exceptional accuracy, these rack and pinion systems remain extremely rigid due to electronic pre-load.

The gearheads have a weight and space-saving mounting method through a compact gear reducer design with an integrated pinion.

All mounting surfaces are ground to tight tolerances, resulting in flexible mounting options.

The designers have optimised smooth and low noise level due to the pre-assembled gear pinion units with high concentricity.

Maintenance is minimised by a wear-resistant surface treatment and individually de-burred gear teeth.

The compact design with its low-mass moments of inertia results in maximum possible feed dynamics with short acceleration times.

The engineers have maximised precision for lifting axes through the positive connection of pinion and a ultra-high linear accuracy because of minimum total pitch error (12um/ 500mm).

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