A Study of Ball Rolling Noise Radiation from a Ball Screw

Abstract

Aiming to clarify the mechanism of vibration and noise radiation induced by ball rolling in a ball screw two simple models of the ball screw are established and theorecally and experimentally examined. Equations on the behaviour of rolling ball between crossing two straight grooves and contact forces acting them are formulated and solved. Experiments with an apparatus with straight groove plates reveal that proposed model can predict rolling behavior and contact forces with an adequate accuracy, considering crossed axis angle, groove velocity, preload and surface roughness of groove tracks. Then, a circular plates model consisting of multiple balls and relatively rotating two thick circular plates with circular track groove is proposed and analyzed to predict vibration and noise radiation of the rotating plate due to moving excitation given with surface roughness of groove and ball contact stiffness. Since the frequency characteristics of the estimated vibration and noise agree well with those measured with another experimental apparatus, the mechanism of ball rolling induced noise is thus clarified.