WOLFSCHLUGEN; GERMANY - Thomson Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer of linear motion control solutions, has enhanced its popular online ball screw selection tool to include online configurability options, expert guidance and faster performance.

Design engineers using the tool will now have access to more capabilities and expert guidance in configuring end machining, end fixity, thread lengths, nuts and related assembly preferences. An interactive reference table is updated, providing one-click access to information on the safety factors for each available option. A real-time diagram displays the status of their assembly, and built-in prompts guide them through optimal design sequences.

“We know how important it is for design engineers to be able to size and select linear motion components as quickly, easily and accurately as possible. Building on iterative user feedback and the latest advancements in user interface design, we have made numerous changes in our user interface to enable designers to get to their optimal configuration as quickly and effortlessly as possible,” said Eduard Schweinfort, Product Line Manager EMEA and Asia for Screws, Screw Jacks, Linear Bearings and Guides at Thomson.

The following are some of the new ball screw configuration capabilities that design engineers can now perform online with the upgraded Thomson tool:

• Select cut ends or standard machined ends, with or without end supports.
• Specify whether end supports should be assembled or shipped separately.
• Define overall screw lengths and threading.
• Configure the right product more quickly and easily with an enhanced user interface.
• See all available nut options instantly.
• See safety factors for each configuration with a single click.

Faster processing and data loading capabilities accelerate all such operations and enable design engineers to download a CAD diagram of their configuration more quickly.

A unique feature of the newly enhanced Thomson ball screw configuration tool is a nut availability grid that reveals safety factors instantly. Clicking one of the green cells, shown in the above table, enables the design engineer to compare the ball screw's capacity to its requirements, and displays the additional performance expressed in safety factors.

The enhanced Thomson ball screw selection tool is available at https://www.thomsonlinear.com/bs

About Thomson Industries, Inc.

With 75 years of achievement in motion control innovation and quality, Thomson is the industry’s premier producer of Linear Actuators, Linear Ball Bushing® Bearings and Profile Rail Bearings, 60 Case® Shafting, Ground and Rolled Ball Screws, Linear Systems, and related accessories. Thomson invented the Linear Ball Bushing Bearing in 1945 and has set the standard ever since with an unsurpassed set of linear motion control solutions serving global aerospace and defense, medical and health, factory automation, food processing, and mobile off-highway markets. Thomson, a brand of U.S.-based Altra Industrial Motion, has facilities in North America, Europe and Asia with more than 2000 distributor locations around the world.

For more information Thomson Industries, Inc., 1500 Mittel Boulevard, Wood Dale, IL 60191-1073; 1-540-633-3549; 1-540-633-0294 (fax); Thomson@thomsonlinear.com; www.thomsonlinear.com