Extended Lineup of NSK RA Series Roller Linear Guides Available in Single Unit Quantities with Preload

Tokyo, Japan, May 30, 2006—NSK Ltd. has extended the lineup of its RA series of roller linear guides. Unlike conventional linear guides that are sold in paired units, this latest version of the RA series allows customers to choose roller slides or rails separately in random single-unit quantities.

The NSK RA series of roller linear guides, which provide users with the world’s highest load capacity and highest rigidity, have been used primarily in machine tool applications. These days, the users of linear guides have expanded into various industries including automobile and LCD manufacturing. Machine toolmakers in China and other Asian countries, in addition to automakers and LCD manufacturers in Japan, have increasingly required that their suppliers fill orders for components and equipment with shorter lead-times. NSK has developed a new type of roller linear guide to further meet the needs of such customers. The latest RA series comes preloaded for greater motion accuracy when compared to its conventional counterpart and allows for random matching of rails and bearings.

Features
1. Convenience, speed, and reduced inventory

The new RA series frees our customers from having to buy paired units of products. The rails and roller slides can be selected and matched randomly to meet the specific needs of a specific application while retaining levels of performance and functionality that are equivalent to the conventional RA series of roller linear guides. Availability in single-unit quantities helps customers to reduce excess inventory and aids NSK in more quickly filling customer orders. Our customers can thus quickly introduce a different bearing type or specification onto an existing line when responding to additional orders or changes in their manufacturing process.

2. Higher motion accuracy and interchangeability

Accuracy of the mounting surfaces (parallelism and perpendicularity) and the rail raceway surfaces has been improved. Dimension tolerances have been reduced to half that of the conventional RA series. Stringent dimension control is maintained with each component of the RA series, which ensures that random combinations of roller slide and rail continue to provide excellent profile accuracy, preload accuracy, and constant rigidity.

Typical applications include machine tools, automobile manufacturing equipment, LCD manufacturing systems, and medical equipment.

The extended lineup of the NSK RA series of roller linear guides will be made available in six preloaded sizes starting in August 2006. NSK projects annual sales of 1 billion yen in 2008. This RA series will be on display at the 23rd JIMTOF 2006 exposition being held at the Tokyo Big Site from November 1st through the 8th.

*According to NSK research