From dovetails to linear slides

MC.Technology is basically a technical trading company with over 25 years of experience in supplying drive and control technology in the broadest sense. The product range is divided into four main pillars: control technology, drives, linear technology and components. Customer-specific solutions are also possible. One of the companies that MC.Technology has represented for many years and with which a very good relationship and cooperation has been established is ERO Führungen.

Wholesalers depend in part on the brands and companies they represent for their success. MC.Technology therefore chooses its partners carefully to be assured of good quality and the best support for customer-specific questions. One of those partners is ERO Führungen, a supplier from the south of Germany that has built up extensive knowledge and experience with linear slides, rotary tables and composite mechanical systems since 1963.

Dovetail slides

A highlight from the program concerns the carriages with dovetail guidance that are produced in aluminum or steel. The aluminum variants are available in widths of 20-150 mm and with stroke lengths of 10-100 mm. The maximum load is 450 N. These aluminum variants can be assembled into XY, YZ and XYZ systems combined with manual or motor drive as required. MC.Technology supplies these solutions on request including driver/controller card. For example, the company designed and built a linear system including a camera system with which surfaces can be scanned with an accuracy of 50 µm.

The steel variants are available in widths of 30-400 mm, with standard stroke lengths of 10-600 mm and loads up to about 30 kN. Again, the slides can be assembled into complete systems and equipped with a manual or motor drive. Optionally, these slides can also be equipped with T-slots and mounting holes or supplied as customer-specific versions. MC.Technology supplied the systems with steel guides in an extra heavy 300 mm version with Teflon guides and in a nickel-plated version for use in a humid environment.

A truly unique version is the curved dovetail carriage: a motor-driven variant with a width of 100 or 150 mm that is used, among other things, in warehouse equipment at a pressing plant.

Complete linear slides

In addition to dovetail slides, ERO Führungen is strong in the manufacture of complete linear slides. In many cases, the universally applicable series EROspeed is chosen in the construction sizes 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 mm. These slides optionally have a width of 60, 100 or 230 mm and reach a stroke length of up to 6,000 mm. As part of a complete system - XY, XYZ and XXYZ gantry system - the slides can be combined with a toothed belt, linear motor, rack and pinion drive or ball screw, among others. In the context of precise control, monitoring and maintenance, MC.Technology also has the necessary drive and control components in its program. These include encoders and inductive home and limit switches with a robust connection. If desired, stepper and servo motors can also be added and it is possible to choose a complete system including control cabinet, controller and software. The total is suitable for high speeds and large loads.

Project example

A nice, appealing project realized MC.Technology for a customer who was looking for a reliable system for feeding aluminum and plastic foils towards a press. Special requirements were in the speed and quality of the feeding system needed for full-speed production. The current market did not offer a standard solution and also a self-built system did not meet the high requirements. Together with ERO Führungen, MC.Technology designed a standardized system that could be built directly onto the existing press. The selected drive and control system completed the solution to a fully adjustable feeding system for film widths of 200-500 mm.