Haydon Kerk announces launch of 3-D-printed leadscrew-nut insert prototype service

January 11, 2018— Haydon Kerk, a business unit of AMETEK Advanced Motion Solutions, now offers 3DP, a 3-D-printed leadscrew-nut insert prototype service as a way for machine builders to verify linear-motion design iterations more accurately.

Engineers typically do not have access to 3-D printers to do this prototyping. Instead, most of them contract with a third party to get quick turnaround on parts. With Haydon Kerk 3DP prototyping services, machine builders can now get help with this type of design verification.

Even in instances in which design engineers do have access to 3D-printing machines, parts produced by such machines are often unsuitable for motion-axis verification. That’s because a major challenge in motion control (particularly leadscrew assemblies in which one surface slides on another) is the materials commonly available for additive manufacturing aren’t designed with tribology that is suitable for power transmission.

Those materials commonly exhibit high friction and poor wear characteristics because they are primarily formulated for mechanical or part-geometry stability. Useful prototyping of a leadscrew-driven axis, however, relies on accurate simulation of the leadscrew-nut assembly’s tribological performance, as this directly impacts power consumption and anticipated life.

Development engineers and original equipment manufacturers who are testing new machine builds with leadscrew-driven axes can now order the Haydon Kerk 3DP leadscrew-nut inserts in any quantity.

The leadscrew-nut inserts have a threaded interior (with a high-efficiency thread form) and a hex-shaped exterior to embed into flanged nut bodies or into more-complex 3D-printed prototype assemblies. In addition to the hex shape, which radially locks the insert into the nut body or assembly, each insert also includes a ring groove that (with adhesive) axially locks it into place.

The 3DP nuts support OEMs that use additive manufacturing for short lead times. These nuts are made of advanced materials that are engineered explicitly for production-part performance.

Currently, Haydon Kerk offers the 3DP nut inserts in a lubricated polyacetal or a proprietary Kerkite KN30, a self-lubricating, high-performance engineered polymer.