Ball slides, as the name suggests, use balls as rolling elements. Each ball will have four point contacts with guide ways. Point contact rolling helps in self cleaning of the rolling path on the guide ways. Hence, the ball slides are maintenance free and are suitable for operation without lubrication. Ball slides exhibit significantly less friction compared to roller slides. Due to this feature, for applications where smooth, low friction movements are more important than load capacity and shock resistance, ball slides make better choice. |