It is important that you pick a slide which is best suited to the environment it will be used in, ask yourself these questions before deciding which product to use:
Are there any environmental factors to take into consideration? Will there potentially be a lot of dirt and dust in the environment, or will this slide have to ensure that a cleanroom or medical application is free from bacteria?
The Accuride self-cleaning ball retainer protects slide raceways by removing foreign particles between ball bearings and the lubricant provided is sufficient for normal slide life.
Accuride slides are designed for indoor use and should be protected from excessive moisture, chemical fumes, dirt and corrosion. However, some of our slides are designed to be more resistant to corrosion and high temperatures than others.
Will your slide need to be corrosion resistant? When choosing your slide the following product prefixes denote the level of corrosion resistance according to tested sample:
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DH - corrosion resistant (up to 96 hours)
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DP - corrosion resistant (up to 500 hours)
Will the slide be subject to high temperatures? Some of our slides can withstand higher temperatures, have a look below to see which is best for your application:
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Accuride slides with plastic or rubber components are designed to be used for extended periods in temperatures between -20oC and 70oC
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Accuride slides without plastic or rubber components can be used in temperatures between 10o and 40oC
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Extreme temperatures can affect the lubricant and plastic or rubber components
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The DS3031 slide has been designed to withstand up to 300oC
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DFG friction slides have been designed to withstand temperatures between -40 and +90oC
For service outside normal temperature and humidity ranges, consult Accuride directly.
How much space do you have to accommodate the slide? Each type of slide has its own side space requirement, but you need to also take into account the profile height of the slide.
Think about mounting options. How do you want to fix the slide into the application? The majority of slides have screw fixing hole patterns, but there are also slides with bayonet mounting options for fixing into steel cabinets. Or use our ladder strip mounting to allow bayonet slides to be mounted into wooden cabinets.
Is the surface suitable? In order to minimise waste and ensure the utmost efficiency and effectiveness, precision is an obvious parameter to be aware of, but this goes beyond the precision of the slide placement and ensuring the guides are parallel. Precision comes into play in many ways, including the precision of your own measurements and the precision of the surface to which the slide is being applied. An uneven base will reduce the precision of the movement and will, therefore, have an effect on the overall performance of the application.