Every day to keep the guide rail clean is to ensure the normal operation of machinery and equipment, extend the service life of the key links, the importance of which can be analyzed in depth from the following aspects:
First, to avoid impurities wear guide rail surface
guide rail as a guiding component of mechanical movement, its surface accuracy directly affects the smoothness of movement. If dust, metal shavings, oil and other impurities attached to the guide rail, it will form "abrasive particles":
When the equipment is running, these impurities will be friction with the slider or moving parts of the guide rail surface, as sandpaper sanding, and gradually cause the guide rail surface scratches, grooves, or roughness increase. For example, machine tool guide if the accumulation of iron filings, high-speed operation may lead to the guide surface of the fine scratches, long-term accumulation will make the movement accuracy decreased, the size of the processed parts increased error.
Especially for precision equipment (such as photolithography, precision machine tools), the guideway surface accuracy is usually at the micron level, even if the tiny impurities may damage its geometry, resulting in the movement of the trajectory deviation from the design requirements.
Second, to prevent lubrication failure and component jamming
The lubrication system of the guide rail needs a clean environment to work effectively:
The accumulation of impurities will block the lubricant groove or oil holes on the guide rail, so that the lubricant can not be uniformly distributed, resulting in local dry friction. For example, the lubricant mixed with dust will form a sticky sludge, not only lose lubrication, but also increase the resistance to movement, so that the equipment running "stuck" or abnormal noise.
For rolling guide (such as linear guide), ball or roller in the impurity environment, may be uneven force lead to local wear and tear, and even trigger ball crushing, resulting in sudden equipment shutdown.
Third, to avoid the risk of corrosion and rust
guide rail is mostly made of metal (such as steel, aluminum alloy), when exposed to the air:
Acid in the dust (such as sulfide in industrial environments) or moisture in contact with the metal, it will accelerate oxidation corrosion. For example, in a humid environment, if there is dust accumulation on the surface of the guide, moisture retention is easy to form electrochemical corrosion, resulting in rust on the surface of the guide, affecting the smoothness of movement.
If the oil is attached for a long time, it may have a chemical reaction with the metal, or adsorption of corrosive gases in the air, further aggravating the aging of the guide.
Fourth, to ensure equipment precision and operational stability
The cleanliness of the guideway is directly related to the precision of the movement of the equipment:
CNC machine tools, for example, if the guideway is not clean, the resistance changes in the movement of the slider will lead to unstable feed, machining out of the parts of the contour error increases, surface roughness deterioration.
For automated production lines, guide impurities may lead to inaccurate positioning of the workpiece, affecting the assembly accuracy, and even trigger equipment failure (such as mechanical arm movement trajectory offset leading to collision).
Five. Reduce maintenance costs and downtime losses
Regular cleaning of the guideway is the most cost-effective way of maintenance:
If the guideway is not cleaned for a long time, the guideway may need to be replaced after serious wear and tear of the entire guideway assembly, which is costly. For example, a set of precision linear guide replacement costs may account for more than 30% of the cost of equipment maintenance, while the cost of daily cleaning can be almost ignored.
Equipment due to guideway failure downtime, production line stagnation will bring direct production losses. For example, automobile manufacturing workshop guide failure may lead to the entire production line shutdown, the hourly loss of up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Six, the necessary measures to adapt to special working conditions
Different application scenarios have more stringent requirements for the guide rail cleaning:
Dust-free workshop (such as semiconductor manufacturing): airborne particles of fine dust particles if attached to the guide rail, it may contaminate the product (such as the chip surface), resulting in a decline in the yield rate, so it is necessary to wipe the guide rail every day with a special dust-free cloth and cleaner.
Humid or dusty environment (e.g. mining machinery): Dust mixed with water vapor is easy to form dirt, which needs to be cleaned more frequently and strengthen the sealing protection, otherwise the guideway may fail in a short period of time.
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