Precision rail guides, profile rail guides or linear ball bearings? Even for designers it can be difficult to select the best solution. Ewellix’s online Linear Guide Calculator (LGC) is a simple, single calculation programme for all types of linear guides.
Designed by application engineers at Ewellix, the Linear Guide Calculator helps designers select the right linear guide for each application requirement and features adjustable filters such as ‘lifetime’ and ‘static safety’, all in a clear and simple interface for maximum usability.
According to one of its developers, Udo Berg, the real strength of the LGC is the sequence of input steps, “Because you don’t have to commit to a product group right from the start, the designer can see all the different options available for the project. The filter criteria we have built in paves the way to the right linear product for the corresponding application.”
The user starts with a general description of the guiding task needed, with the movement divided into load phases – constant load and identical direction of movement. A simple mouse click is all it takes to enter forces and their lever-arm and to assign them to the previously defined load phases. In this selection menu there is also the option of defining the force as either ‘moving with’ or ‘stationary’.
The calculation results for all suitable linear guides are then listed in a table. This selection list can be filtered by guide type, configuration, kinematics, required lifetime, and static safety. Both the input and the results of calculation can be documented in a PDF report.