Using Ceramic Balls to Reduce Noise in a Rolling Guide.

Abstract

The new method of reducing the noise of the rolling guide was studied. In the experiments, the overall sound pressure levels of rolling guides with steel balls or Si3N4 balls were measured, and the frequency analyses of the sound were carried out. Moreover, based on the assumption that the main cause of the occurrence of the noise may be the collision between the ball and the bearing block, the overall sound pressure levels of the rolling guides were analyzed combining the Hertzian theory and the results of previous studies on the collision sound. From the results of experiments and analyses, the conclusions were obtained as follows: (1) The overall sound pressure level of the standard rolling guide with steel balls can be reduced by about 4.5 dB by using Si3N4 balls having the same diameter. (2) The overall sound pressure levels of rolling guides with steel balls or Si3N4 balls were both increased about 9.8 dB as the linear velocity increased an octave. (3) Based on the assumption that the main cause of the occurrence of the noise emitted from rolling guide may be the collision between the ball and the bearing block, we perform two analyses: First, the increasing rate of the overall sound pressure level with respect to the linear velocity. Second, the difference of the overall sound pressure level of the rolling guide with steel balls and that of the rolling guide with Si3N4 balls. These analytical results match the experimental results well.