CNC Machine Tools & Metal Processing

Precision Support, Stable Control, and Accuracy | Jiesheng Transmission Bearing Housing Assemblies: Building a Solid Foundation for CNC Machine Tool Transmission Systems

As the high-end equipment manufacturing industry continues to upgrade, CNC machine tools are constantly evolving toward higher speeds, greater precision, heavier loads, and longer service lives. As the core component of the feed system, the performance of ball screws has long been a focal point of industry-wide attention. However, what many equipment manufacturers tend to overlook is that the bearing housing assemblies at both ends of the ball screw serve as the "rigid foundation" of the entire transmission system-insufficient support rigidity, assembly accuracy deviations, and improper bearing configuration can directly lead to rapid deterioration of machine tool accuracy, abnormal operating noises, and premature bearing failure, ultimately significantly shortening the equipment's overhaul cycle.

As the "mother machines of industry," the machining accuracy, operational stability, and load-bearing capacity of CNC machine tools have always been the core competitive advantages of equipment manufacturers. In a machine tool's feed drive system, the ball screw serves as the core component for linear motion. While the bearing housing assemblies-acting as the support hubs at both ends of the ball screw-are often regarded as "minor components," they directly determine the rigidity, vibration damping capability, and precision retention lifespan of the entire drive system. They are, in fact, the hidden cornerstone of high-precision operation in CNC machine tools.

In the X, Y, and Z-axis feed systems of CNC machine tools, ball screws must simultaneously withstand axial cutting forces, radial loads, and alternating stresses caused by high-speed forward and reverse rotation. Particularly under complex operating conditions such as heavy cutting, high-speed starts and stops, and multi-axis interpolation, the support structures at both ends of the ball screw bear the full brunt of axial impact forces and radial vibration forces. The bearing housing assemblies are installed at both ends of the ball screw, securing the screw shaft between the machine tool bed and the worktable. They play a pivotal role in fixing the axial position of the screw, bearing bidirectional loads, and suppressing operational vibration; their performance directly impacts the machine tool's final machining results.

Statistics on actual production failures show that more than 40 percent of precision issues in lead screw drives stem not from the lead screw itself, but from improper design and selection of the support ends: insufficient rigidity of the support housing leading to tool deflection during cutting; improper bearing preload causing overheating at high speeds; coaxiality deviations resulting in uneven wear on the lead screw; and missing seals allowing dust to enter the bearings… These issues not only degrade machining quality but also significantly increase the equipment's long-term maintenance costs. For CNC machine tools, a high-quality bearing housing assembly delivers four core benefits:

Ensuring transmission rigidity and withstanding bidirectional cutting loads. Support housings featuring a paired angular contact ball bearing configuration can simultaneously withstand both forward and reverse axial loads. Under conditions such as heavy cutting, high-force milling, and intermittent cutting, they effectively limit axial play in the lead screw, preventing issues such as tool deflection, dimensional deviations, and workpiece step misalignment caused by insufficient support rigidity. The high-rigidity housing also disperses cutting impact forces, reduces single-point loads on the bearings, and extends the service life of core components.

Suppresses Operational Vibration and Improves Machined Surface Quality The high-rigidity support structure and precise bearing preload design significantly reduce radial wobble and axial vibration during high-speed lead screw operation. Particularly in processes such as high-finish machining, precision milling, and precision grinding, this effectively minimizes vibration marks and tool marks on machined surfaces, significantly improving the workpiece's surface finish and dimensional consistency. In applications with high surface quality requirements-such as mold machining and the precision machining of automotive components-the performance improvements achieved with high-quality support mounts are particularly noticeable.

Ensuring long-term accuracy and extending equipment service life: A well-designed support structure optimizes the force distribution during lead screw operation, reduces the wear rate of bearings and lead screw raceways, and delays the onset of accuracy degradation. Machine tools with standard support structures often experience noticeable accuracy degradation within 1–2 years, requiring recalibration of the lead screw clearance; in contrast, drive systems equipped with high-rigidity, high-precision support housings can extend the accuracy stability period to 3–5 years. This allows CNC machine tools to maintain consistent machining accuracy during long-term continuous production, significantly reducing users' equipment operation and maintenance costs.

Integrated Pre-Assembly Design Reduces Overall Machine Assembly Costs Pre-assembled bearing housing assemblies undergo bearing selection, assembly, preload adjustment, and precision testing before leaving the factory. Machine tool manufacturers can install and use them immediately upon receipt, eliminating the need to select bearings, calculate preload, or adjust clearance themselves. This not only saves assembly labor hours but also avoids the risk of precision errors caused by insufficient experience in manual adjustment. For machine tool manufacturers engaged in mass production, this significantly shortens the overall machine assembly cycle and improves the consistency of precision in shipped products.

Jiesheng Transmission has established a strong presence in the manufacturing of precision linear motion components. Drawing on over a decade of experience in the machining of transmission parts, the company has developed a comprehensive series of lead screw support bearing housings tailored to the high rigidity, high precision, and long service life requirements of CNC machine tools. The product line covers all specifications for both fixed and support sides and is perfectly compatible with the full range of ball screws, including SFU, DFU, and SFE models. Jiesheng Transmission serves as a reliable supplier to numerous machine tool manufacturers and automation equipment companies.

Thanks to their stable performance, flexible adaptability, and extensive model range, Jiesheng Transmission Bearing Housing Assemblies can be widely applied in the feed drive systems of various CNC machine tools. They provide tailored support solutions based on the operational characteristics of different machine tools, ensuring precise and reliable support for equipment with diverse machining requirements.

CNC Lathes / Turning Centers: Adapted to the operating conditions of the X-axis and Z-axis-including high-frequency forward and reverse rotation and intermittent cutting-the high-rigidity support structure effectively resists cutting impact forces, ensuring dimensional accuracy and surface finish during turning operations; the floating support end compensates for thermal expansion of the lead screw, meeting the high-speed operation requirements of long-stroke Z-axes and preventing dimensional drift caused by thermal deformation.

Vertical / Horizontal Machining Centers provide bidirectional axial support for the X, Y, and Z-axis feed systems, maintaining stable positioning accuracy and repeatability under complex conditions such as high-speed tool changes, heavy-duty milling, and multi-axis interpolation; the paired bearing structure can withstand multi-directional cutting loads, making it suitable for a variety of machining scenarios, including mold machining, housing component machining, and batch production of parts.

Precision Grinding Machines / Coordinate Grinding Machines: High-precision support bases strictly control end-face runout and radial wobble; when used in conjunction with grinding-grade ball screws, they meet the micron-level precision requirements of grinding operations. The low-vibration design ensures smooth grinding wheel feed and prevents grinding ripples, making them an ideal choice for high-precision equipment such as precision grinding machines and optical grinding machines.

Gantry Machines / Engraving and Milling Machines: Effectively reduces lead screw sag during long-stroke operations and suppresses whipping vibrations during high-speed operation, ensuring consistent precision throughout the machining of large-sized workpieces; the high-rigidity body can withstand switching between different load conditions, such as engraving, milling, and heavy-duty cutting, making it suitable for long-stroke equipment such as woodworking machinery, stone processing machinery, and gantry machining centers.

Sliding-head lathes / Longitudinal lathes: The compact, miniaturized support base fits the confined installation space of sliding-head lathes, while the high-precision bearing configuration ensures precise control of minute feed rates, meeting the micro-machining requirements for precision hardware parts and medical device components.

EDM Machines / Wire Cutting Equipment: Low-vibration, high-precision support characteristics ensure precise positioning of the electrode wire relative to the worktable. These units meet the high-precision feed requirements of EDM equipment-including slow-wire, medium-wire, and die-sinking EDM machines-maintaining stable machining accuracy during the processing of complex cavities.

As a manufacturer of transmission components at the source, Jiesheng Transmission not only provides bearing housing assemblies but also offers one-stop, complete sets comprising ball screws, bearing housings, precision lock nuts, linear guides, and support brackets. All core components are manufactured in-house and undergo unified quality control, ensuring superior dimensional compatibility. Customers no longer need to coordinate with multiple suppliers for selection and dimensional verification, significantly reducing communication costs and the risk of cross-brand compatibility issues.

In terms of quality control, every bearing housing assembly undergoes full-process traceability-from spectral analysis of incoming raw materials, precision machining, and bearing assembly to final precision verification. Inspection records are retained for key processes to ensure that the products delivered to customers are stable and reliable. Additionally, based on customers' machine tool design requirements, we provide technical support-including support selection, parameter matching, and operating condition verification-to help customers choose the most suitable support solution and assist machine tool manufacturers in building more competitive transmission systems.

In terms of delivery and service, we maintain a stock of standard models for immediate shipment, supporting rapid delivery of small batches and sample testing; bulk orders can be scheduled according to demand to ensure stable delivery cycles. All products come with comprehensive after-sales warranty services. In the event of any product quality issues, our professional technical team will respond immediately to provide solutions, ensuring worry-free procurement and use for our customers.

From core transmission components to supporting assemblies, Jiesheng Transmission has always centered its operations on precision manufacturing, focusing on the transmission needs of high-end equipment sectors such as CNC machine tools, and continuously refining product precision and reliability. In the future, we will continue to iterate on our product technology to provide global equipment manufacturing customers with more stable and cost-effective comprehensive linear transmission solutions, thereby contributing to the upgrading of China's high-end equipment manufacturing industry.