Lead Screws Reduce Positioning Sub-Assembly Size

Machines that perform advanced product testing have become an essential element in product quality testing for a range of industries. From automotive to HVAC manufacturers, products and parts have to be tested in order to meet increasingly strict specifications. In fact, for many suppliers to the automotive industry, product testing is an integral part of production.

As a result of this trend toward advanced product testing, CAR Engineering, a multi-disciplinary engineering and machine shop in Victor, NY, has experienced a considerable boost in requests for non-destructive pre-tested products from manufacturers across the board, including military, aerospace, medical, and automotive industries.

Recently, CAR was tasked with designing a positioning mechanism for a manufacturer of remote visual inspection equipment. Used for detecting subtle irregularities within castings and complex assemblies, an optical borescope can ensure the structural integrity of a complex aircraft engine, or diagnose a simple cause of an automobile squeak or rattle.

It was crucial that CAR develop a cutting-edge product with modern design. Not only was CAR striving for a unique design that would offer improved performance and efficiency, their customer also sought to "miniaturize" the overall size of the end product.

CAR partnered with Kerk Motion Products, a manufacturer of non-ball lead screws. The engineering backbone of the borescope consists of Kerk mini lead screws, which are made of 303 stainless steel. The new borescope uses four lead screws simultaneously, resulting in both a clockwise and counterclockwise direction within the sub-assembly, thus loosening one or two of the "positioning leads" and tightening the balance.

The screws are constructed with a proprietary Kerkite® composite material, which was important since the borescope required an especially high load capacity and a smooth motion.

Results

The borescope lens is now capable of providing 25% more articulation, and CAR was able to reduce the size of the motion control sub-assembly by about 50%, resulting in a much smaller overall design. The final product is currently in its last build and is expected to be in full production, with about 2,000 units annually, by April 2006.

More Information

Visit CAR Engineering at www.careng.com. For more information on Kerk Motion Products' mini lead screws, visit hup://info.ims.ca/5292-334.

Copyright Associated Business Publications Oct 2005
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