Quantitative Evaluation Method for Damping Capacity of Linear Rolling Bearings for Feed Drive Mechanisms

The vibration damping of guide ways is an important factor in the design of feed drive mechanisms for machine tools. Linear rolling bearings are often used as guide ways because of their low friction. However, there are no quantitative evaluation methods for its damping. Thus, this paper describes a quantitative estimation method for the stiffness and damping capacity of a linear roller guide through an experiment and a mathematical model. The stiffness and damping coefficient of the linear roller guide are identified through the frequency resonance function and mathematical model of the feed drive mechanism. It is shown that a lubricant film can effectively increase the stiffness and damping capacity of the linear roller guide.