Notes on linear guide selection and faults
Short technical notes written from questions customers actually ask: preload, rail length, noise, mounting. No product announcements, no listicles — the numbers and the decision behind them.
ZA vs ZB preload: what it actually changes on the machine
Preload is not a quality grade. It is the internal clearance between balls and raceway, and picking the wrong one shows up as heat, drag or chatter.
2026-11-06
Rail length calculation: P, E and where the joints land
How to convert a required stroke into a rail length you can actually order, including hole pitch, end distance and joint position for long rails.
2026-11-06
Linear guide noise: five causes and what each one tells you
A noisy block is not always a worn block. Ball recirculation, preload, lubrication, alignment and mounting torque each sound different.
2026-11-06
How to read a linear guide datasheet
Twelve columns of numbers, and only four of them decide whether the size is right. A guide to what C, C0, MR, MP, MY and the dimension columns actually mean.
2026-11-06
Lubrication interval: count the kilometres, not the months
A block that travels 20 km a month and one that moves twice a week look identical on a maintenance calendar. Only distance predicts wear.
2026-11-06
Two rails, one gantry: the alignment errors that show up at the ends
A gantry that binds at one end of the stroke is not a guide problem. Parallelism, height difference and rail joint position each produce a different symptom.
2026-11-06
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