ARTICLE IN PRESS

Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831

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Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

Analysis of a ball screw with a preload and lubrication

Chin Chung Wei a, Jen Fin Lin b,, Jeng-Haur Horng a
a
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering & Center of MEMS Design and Application, Formosa University, Yunlin 63208, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e in f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Theoretical analyses of the kinematics of a single-nut double-cycle ball screw are made in the present
Received 29 July 2008 study. An adjustment in the preload can be achieved by generating an offset l on the center pitch of two
Accepted 22 December 2008 ball tracks. The critical load, which is very slightly higher than the preload, becomes the border of two
Available online 8 January 2009
axial load subregions. The contact kinematics for the axial load applied in each of these two load
Keywords: subregions are analyzed for these two ball tracks. Several parameters pertinent to the frictional forces
Single-nut double-cycle ball screw formed at the ball–nut contact areas and the mechanical efficiency of a ball screw can thus be derived for
Preload these two axial load subregions. The theoretical frictional forces and thus the resulting mechanical
Frictional force efficiencies obtained by considering the oil lubrication are compared with that without oil lubrication.
Oil lubrication
Experimental results of mechanical efficiency were also obtained from the performance tests of a ball
Mechanical efficiency
screw; they show the behavior varying with an axial load quite similar to that exhibited in the theoretical
solutions. The gaps in mechanical efficiency formed in a ball screw without oil lubrication are greatly
reduced when considering the oil lubrication. This feature is consistent with the experimental results.
& 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction when it is moving. It seems feasible to use numerical analysis to

The increasing demands that precise engineering applications
place on positioning systems have prompted an investigation into
ball screws. The reciprocating ball screw mechanism is a force and
motion transfer device. Two of the most important features of the
mechanism are its good positional accuracy and high load
carrying capacity. These two advantages make it a suitable drive
mechanism for the feed-drive mechanism of machine tools and
high-precision leveling platforms. Ball screws have been used for
many years, but the details about how the performance
parameters of a ball screw (like contact angles, deformations,
and friction coefficients of ball–screw and ball–nut contact areas),
which can affect the ball screw’s position accuracy, load capability
and mechanical efficiency, are still not fully understood. As in any
mechanical system, the friction in a ball screw complicates the
control design process and can reduce positioning accuracy
significantly. Various position control techniques have been
presented which deal with macroscopic stick/slip behavior [1,2].
Ro and Hubbel [3] use a two-stage operation to achieve
nanometer accuracy. However, their research only concerns the
use of the control method to achieve high accuracy.
The ball screw mechanism is a closed system. It is difficult to
directly investigate what happens on the inside of a ball screw
 Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ccwei@nfu.edu.tw (C.C. Wei), jflin@mail.ncku.edu.tw
(J.F. Lin).
solve several kinetic parameters in terms of the kinematics and
dynamics of this system, and then to try to build the expressions
for such performance parameters as friction coefficient, slide-roll
ratio and mechanical efficiency. The ball screw’s kinematic
behavior is partly similar to a ball bearing; the analytical method
applied in the analysis of a ball bearing can thus be exploited to
modify the ball screw motion. Harris [4,5] analyzed how the
skidding behavior arising between the balls and the inner raceway,
thus inducing rolling surface distress, can eventually lead to
bearing destruction. The model developed in Harris’s study is cited
in the present study to find a ball screw’s contact angles, as well as
several angular velocities, through geometric transformation.
Lin et al. [6] provide a theoretical study of the kinematics of the
ball screw mechanism with the aim of developing a function for
understanding the motion of the balls and their contact patterns
with the contact elements. These derivations can describe the
motion of a ball in a ball screw system, and show that slipping
often takes place between the ball and the nut (or the screw). This
means that the no-slip condition assumed in the previous two
studies [7,8] is unattainable. Lin et al. [9] also introduced three
methods for obtaining the ball screw’s mechanical efficiency.
Their study developed a closed-form solution for the mechanical
efficiency of a ball screw in motion and then employed this theory
to achieve the optimum design of this mechanism. However,
friction coefficients, normal forces and contact angles created at
the ball/screw and ball/nut contact areas, are assumed to be equal
in their studies. Also, the drag force produced by a ball moving in
an oil lubricant is not considered in the force balance.

0301-679X/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2008.12.013
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831 1817

Nomenclature v1 ; v2 the linear speeds of object 1 and object 2 at the Y n̄ -

direction, respectively. When considering the ball–-
1,10 the left and right screw raceway centers, respectively screw contact area, object 1 is the screw and object 2
2,3,4,5 four contact elliptic centers at all contact areas is the ball. Otherwise, considering the ball–nut
An ; Bn the long and short half axes length of the contact area, contact area, object 1 is the ball and object 2 is the
respectively. nut.
_
C dynamic load of ball screw x0 ; y0 ; z0 three coordinate components of the X 0 coordinate
dr the vertical distance between the ball–screw contact system
point and the screw axis (the z0 -axis) under the xr ; yr ; zr three coordinate components of the X r coordinate
condition of no axial load system
00
Db the ball diameter X n ; Y n ; Z n three coordinate components of the X n coordinate
Dm the diameter of the screw’s pitch cycle and Dm ¼ 2r m system and n ¼ iL , oL, iR or oR
H the parameter H is 1 when the applied axial load is X0 the coordinate system fixed in space and shown in Fig. 2
00
lower than the preload; H is 1 when the applied Xn the fourth coordinate system is used to define the
axial load is higher than the preload contact behavior between the ball and either the nut
^
H for the left ball, n ¼ iL or oL. When the applied axial (n ¼ oL or oR) or the screw (n ¼ iL or iR)
load is lower than the preload, H ^ ¼ 1; when the axial Xr the rotating coordinate system
load is higher than the preload H ^ ¼ 1. For the right Y the Frenet coordinate system is defined to describe
^
ball, H is 1 for either n ¼ iR or n ¼ oR, irrespective of the moving path of the ball center
the load condition a the helix angle of ball screw
hn the oil film thickness distribution of the ball–screw a1 either the ball–screw or the ball–nut contact angle
and ball–nut contact areas under the condition of no axial load and a1 ¼ 451
K the total stiffness coefficient of ball screw an contact angles formed at all contact points with the
Ks, Knut two stiffness coefficients of the screw and nut axial load is applied
!
Ktest the experimental stiffness coefficient of a ball screw bn^ ; b0n^ two spinning angles, the angle between oRn^ and the
when the axial load reaches 10% of the dynamic load C^ b–t plane is bn^ , and the angle between the projection
! 0
L the pitch length of ball screw of oRn^ in the b–t plane and the b-axis is bn^ . n^ ¼ L or R
L1 the distance between two ball bearings which support l offset pitch of nut to generate the preload
at two ends of a ball screw da the ball–screw’s axial deformation
m the mass of one ball di ; do initial elastic deformations of the ball–screw and
n for the left ball side, n ¼ iL or oL and for the right ball ball–nut contact points, respectively, when no axial
side, n̄ ¼ iR or oR load is applied
n^ for the left ball side, n ¼ L and for the right ball side, dn elastic deformations of the ball–screw and ball–nut
n^ ¼ R contact points, respectively, when axial load is applied
o original point of the screw dl elastic deformations of the offset pitch l when axial
o0L ; o0R two centers of the left and right balls, respectively load is applied
P^ the preload of a ball screw Zvn the viscous distribution of the ball–screw contact area
pn the distribution of hydrodynamic pressure at contact O angular displacement of the screw
area yL ; yR angular displacements of the left and right ball
Qn the normal forces at all contact points and n ¼ iL , oL, iR centers, respectively
or oR o rotational speed of the screw
RSi inner radius of the screw omL ; omR revolutional speeds of the left and right ball centers
rb radius of the ball along the screw’s axis, respectively
ri radius of the screw raceway oRL ; oRR spinning speeds of the left and the right ball centers,
rm the vertical distance between the ball center and the respectively
screw axis (the z0 -axis) otn^ ; onn^ ; obn^ three angular speed components of oRn^ in the t-,
ro the radius of curvature of the nut raceway n- and b-directions, respectively and n^ ¼ L or R
u1, u2 the linear speeds of object 1 and object 2 at the X n - Cn the slip angles at all contact points and n ¼ iL , oL, iR or
direction, respectively. When considering the ball– oR
screw contact area, object 1 is the screw and object 2 F the angle is formed between the nut track center and
is the ball. Otherwise, considering the ball–nut the left or the right end of the nut track
contact area, object 1 is the ball and object 2 is the nut mn the frictional coefficient at each contact point

Huang and Ravani [10] used the concept of medial axis
transform (MAT) to analyze the contact stresses between a
ball–screw and ball–nut. In their analysis we can determine
normal forces, contact angles, and contact stress in contact areas
of the ball–screw and ball–nut. But the effects of friction and oil
lubricants are not considered in their paper. They also assume the
slip angle of both the ball–screw and ball–nut contact areas to be
the same, an assumption which is only acceptable when normal
forces and contact angles in the two contact areas are the same.
However, from their results we can see that normal forces and
contact angles in the two contact areas are not the same.
Therefore, their results must admit operational error.
Kinematic analysis of the ball screw mechanism, which
considers variable contact angles and elastic deformations, was
done in the study of Wei and Lin [11]. Their theoretical analysis
was developed for a ball screw with a single nut, as well as a
single cycle of balls. Therefore, no preload effect on the
mechanical efficiency was discussed in the study. An analytical
method developed by Takafumi et al. [12] was used to determine
the motion of the ball and the ball load distribution, including the
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

1818 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831

effect of the motion for a given ball screw geometry and its
operating conditions. Here, the motion of the ball is based on
raceway control theory, introduced by Jones [13].
Ball screws have several advantages over single nut load
screws, such as zero backlash due to preloading capabilities,
reduced torque, high stiffness and low wear. Preload for the ball
screw, studied in the paper of Cuttino et al. [14], is provided by
oversized balls that introduce an interference fit between balls,
nut and screw. This analysis was conducted for situations in which
there is no axial loading. Weule and Golz [15] introduced a system
which kept in mind the above advantages of a preload-control ball
screw. Their system allows variable set-up and control of the
preload in ball screws. The improvements in the constancy of the
preload-progression and the reductions in wear and heating were
discussed. In the study of Nakashima et al. [16], ultra-precision
positioning was examined for a fine feed system utilizing the
elastic deformation of lead screws accompanying the change in
the preload in a double nut.
In the present study, theories for the kinematics of a single-nut
double-cycle ball screw are developed in a dry contact condition.
An adjustment in the preload of the ball screw is achieved by
generating an offset on the nut center pitch of the two ball tracks.
An axial load is assumed to be applied in the nut’s left end of the
ball screw, such that it is parallel to the screw axis. As a result, the
behavior of contact angle demonstrated at the left ball-nut
contact point is quite different from that demonstrated at the
right nut-ball contact point. The variations of these two contact
angles with the axial load are strongly related to the critical load,
and can be determined in the present study. As a result, it can be
used as the border of two axial-load subregions: the axial load is
(1) smaller and (2) larger than the preload. The contact kinematics
for the axial load applied in each of these two load subregions are
analyzed for these two ball tracks. Several parameters pertinent to
the frictional forces formed at the ball–nut contact areas and the
mechanical efficiency of a ball screw can thus be derived for these
two axial load subregions. The theoretical frictional forces and
thus the resulting mechanical efficiencies obtained by considering
the oil lubrication are compared with that without oil lubrication.
Experimental results of mechanical efficiency were also obtained
from the performance tests of a ball screw; they were compared
with the theoretical results obtained by differing the axial load
and the screw rotational speed.
b-direction. When an axial load is applied to the left end of the
nut, the offset l will produce an elastic deformation dl at the left
end of the nut (see Figs. 1(b) and (c)).
In a study of the kinematics and dynamics of ball screw
mechanisms, four coordinate systems are needed to describe the
motion of the three components and their contact behaviors. The
(x0 ; y0 ; z0 ) coordinate system is fixed in space with its z0 -axis
coincident with the screw axis (see Fig. 2). The rotating coordinate
system, (xr ; yr ; zr ), also has its zr-axis coincident with the screw
axis, but this coordinate system rotates with the same angular
velocity as the screw. The Frenet coordinate system, (t,n,b), is
defined such that it describes the moving path of the ball’s center.
The fourth coordinate system, (X n ; Y n̄ ; Z n̄ ) (see Fig. 3) is used to
define the contact behavior between the ball and either the nut
(n ¼ oL or oR) or the screw (n ¼ iL or iR) such that the X n  Y n plane
lies on the plane of the contact area and the Z n -axis is normal to
the contact area. The subscript ‘‘L’’ denotes that the information
applies to the left ball; whereas the subscript ‘‘R’’ denotes that it
applies to the right ball.
2.1. Coordinate transformations
The coordinate transformation between the first coordinate,
(x0 ; y0 ; z0 ) and the second coordinate, (xr ; yr ; zr ), can be written
as [6]
0
X ¼ T 1Xr (1a)
where
0
X ¼ ½x0 y0 z0 T ; X r ¼ ½xr yr zr T ,
2 3
C O SO 0
6 7
T1 ¼ 6
4 SO CO 0 7 5
0 0 1
Here, C O ¼ cosðOÞ, SO ¼ sinðOÞ, and O denotes the screw’s angular
displacement. As Fig. 2 shows, two balls move along the raceways
of screw. Assume that a ball has moved an angular displacement
yn^ along the screw helix angle, where the subscript n^ ¼ L denotes
the contact at the left ball and n^ ¼ R denotes the contact at the
right-ball. The coordinate transformation between the Frenet
coordinate (t,n,b) of the ball center and the rotating coordinate
(xr ; yr ; zr ) can be expressed as

Xr ¼ T 2Y (1b)
2. Theoretical analysis
where
A preload can eliminate the axial backlash and improve the 2 3
C a Syn^ C yn^ Sa Syn^
rigidity of the ball screw, but an excessive preload will increase 6 Sa C yn^ 7
Y ¼ ½t n bT ; T 2 ¼ 4 Ca Cyn^ Syn^ 5
the friction of the ball screw, thus lowering its mechanical
Sa 0 Ca
efficiency. Single nut preload in the present study can be achieved
by giving an offset pitch, l, to the nut, as shown in Fig. 1. The l The Sa, Ca, Syn^ and C yn^ terms denote sinðaÞ, cosðaÞ, sinðyn^ Þ and
value varies with the axial load. Since the axial load is applied to cosðyn^ Þ, respectively. The coordinate transformation between the
the nut symmetrically w.r.t. the screw axis, all the balls in the Frenet coordinate system (t,n,b) and the coordinate system
same track should be under the same loading conditions. There- (X n ; Y n ; Z n ) can be written as
fore, kinematic analyses can only be made for one pair of balls; 00
one ball is in the left ball track, the other adjacent, in the right. X n̄ ¼ T 3 Y ðn ¼ iL ; iR ; oL ; oR Þ (1c)
Figs. 1(a)–(c) show the ball screw mechanisms with an axial load where
as well as with different preloads. Fig. 1(a) represents the 2 3
ball screw operating under a preload but without an axial load; 0 ^ a
HS C an
n
00 6 7
Fig. 1(b) shows the ball screw operating under both a preload and X n ¼ ½X n Y n Z n T ; T3 ¼ 6
41 0 0 75
an axial load—the preload is greater than the axial load. Fig. 1(c) 0 C an ^ a
HS n
shows the ball screw operating under a load condition exactly
opposite to that shown in Fig. 1(b). The offset-type preload can San and C an denote sinðan Þ and cosðan Þ, respectively. For the left
add a l offset to the nut’s center pitch. The nut’s center pitch (L+l) ball, n ¼ iL or oL. When the applied axial load is lower than the
is thus greater than the screw’s center pitch (L). Due to this offset, preload, H^ ¼ 1; when the axial load is higher than the preload
the nut and the screw generate a preload to balls parallel to the ^
H ¼ 1. For the right ball, H ^ is 1 for either n ¼ iR or n ¼ oR,
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C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831 1819

Fig. 1. The ball screw mechanisms with an axial load as well as different preloads: (a) the ball screw operating under a preload but without the axial load; (b) the ball screw
operating under a preload as well as an axial load, and the preload is greater than the axial load; (c) the ball screw operating under a preload as well as an axial load, and the
preload is smaller than the axial load.

irrespective of the load condition. Therefore, the inverse coordi- 2. Normal forces, acting at ball–screw and ball–nut contact areas
nate transformation between the (t,n,b) coordinates and the as shown in Figs. 7(a) and (b), are equal, Q on^ ¼ Q in^ ¼ Q n [9]. _

(X n ; Y n ; Z n ) coordinates can be written as 3. Slip angles, Con^ and Cin^ can be written as Cin^ ¼ Con^  p [9].
00 4. Centrifugal and drag forces applied in ball centers can be
Y ¼ T 1
3 Xn (1d) ignored when the rotating speed of screw is very low [11].
where 5. The gyroscopic angle b can be seemed as a constant in very low
2 3 rotating speed of a ball screw, and its value is 48.991. The other
0 1 0 0
6 HS gyroscopic angle b is 01 [11].
T3 ¼ 6
^ a 0 C an 7
7 6. Assume the ball–screw and the ball–nut contact areas to have
4 n
5
C an 0 ^
HSan their pure-rolling points [11].

2.2. Analyzing velocities of four contact points
In our analyzing conditions, as presented in Table 1, the
rotating speeds of the screw were less than 200 rpm. The rotating
speed is very low, many parameters can be ignored and the
analyzing model thus was simplified. Six assumptions were used
in the paper from the analyzing results of Lin [9] and Wei et al.
[11] and introduced as:
1. Two contact angles, aon^ and ain^ , friction coefficients, mon^ and
min^ , of ball–nut and ball–screw contact areas can be seem as
equal. aon^ ¼ ain^ ¼ an^ and mon^ ¼ min^ ¼ mn [9]. _
Fig. 3(a) shows a case in which the axial load is smaller than
the preload; whereas Fig. 3(b) shows a case where the axial load is
greater than the preload. Surface deformations is very lower than
the radius of race way and can be ignored. From the first
assumption, aon^ ¼ ain^ ¼ an^ , and the elastic deformations, dn̄ ,
existed at the contact area is much lower than the curvatures of
a ball and screw raceway, the two ball centers and two screw
raceway centers in the Frenet coordinate system can be written as
center of the left ball o0L : ð0; 0; 0ÞY
center of the right ball o0R : ð0; 0; 0ÞY
left screw raceway center
1 : ð0; r i  ðri  r b ÞC aL ; ðr i  r b ÞSaL ÞY
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1820 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831

Table 1
List of the parameters used in the present study [16].

Parameters Value Unit

(I) Geometric parameters of

ball screw
(1) Helix angle a 2.73, 4.36, 5.44 Degree
(2) Pitch L 5, 8,10 mm
(3) Screw inner diameter Di 33.52 mm
(4) Screw pitch diameter Dm 40.02 mm
(5) Screw track curvature 3.429 mm
radius ri
(6) Nut track curvature radius 3.429 mm
ro
(7) Ball diameter Db 6.35 mm
(8) Distance between two end 343 mm
L1
(9) Test stiffness Ktest 55, 58 kgf/mm
(8) Density of lubricant oil x 0.8 g/cm3
(9) Viscosity of lubricant oil Z0 68 cst
(10) Barus coefficient a 2.51 m2/N
(11) Ball number Bnum 72,52,41
(12) Young’s modulus 2.111 1011 N/m2
(13) Poisson’s ratio 0.3
(14) Dynamic load C^ 25 720 N

(II) Theoretical operating

conditions
(1) Axial load Fa 0, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, N
1400, 1600, 1800, 2000, 2200,
2400, 2600, 2800, 3000, 4000,
5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000,
10 000
Fig. 2. The position of the left and right ball centers in space and the coordinate
(2) Rotational speed for screw 90, 125, 200 rpm
systems.
o
(3) Preload P^ 1000, 1800, 2500 N

(III) Experimental operating

conditions
(1) Axial load Fa 1400, 2600, 3600, 4600, 5600, N
6600, 7500, 8500, 9300
(2) Screw rotational speed o 90, 125, 200 rpm
(3) Preload P^ 1800.4 N

right screw raceway center

10 : ð0; r i  ðr i  r b ÞC aR ; ðr i  r b ÞSaR ÞY,

where, rb represents the radius of ball; aL and aR are the contact

angles of the left and right contact areas, respectively. Point 1
represents the left screw’s raceway center (see Fig. 2). Figs. 4(a)
and (b) show the left and right ball’s centers, respectively. Figs.
3(a) and (b) show, the coordinates of the contact points at the left-
ball and right–ball contact areas are
Point 2 : ð0; rb C aL ; Hr b SaL ÞY; Point 3 : ð0; r b C aL ; Hr b SaL ÞY
Point 4 : ð0; r b C aR ; r b SaR ÞY; Point 5 : ð0; r b C aR ; r b SaR ÞY

On the left ball side, points 2 and 3, the parameter H is 1 when the
applied axial load is lower than the preload; H is 1 when the
applied axial load is higher than the preload. The screw’s inner
radius is RSi. The p-plane is located at the xryr surface and the q-
plane is located at the xRyR surface. o is the projection of o at the
q plane, and is also the original point of the (xR ; yR ; zr ) coordinate
!
system. Fig. 4(a) shows the position vector of oo0L in the (x0 ; y0 ; z0 )
coordinate system as
! ! !
oo0L ¼ o1 þ 1o0L
2 3T
ðaL  RSi ÞðC yL C O þ SO SyL Þ þ bL Sa ðC O SyL þ SO C yL Þ
6 7 0
6 7
¼ 6 ðRSi  aL ÞðC yL SO þ C O SyL Þ þ bL Sa ðSO SyL  C O C yL Þ 7 X (2)
4 5
Fig. 3. The positions of pure-rolling points and ball centers at the contact areas: (a)
bL C a þ RSi yL T a
the axial load smaller than the preload; (b) the axial load greater than the preload.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831 1821

!
o RL and the b–t plane is bL, and the angle between the projection
! 0 !
of oRL in the b–t plane and the b-axis is bL . The angle between oRR
and the b–t plane is bR (spinning angle), and the angle between
! 0
the projection of oRR in the b–t plane and the b-axis is bR
(spinning angle). From the 5th assumption in the front of
0
the section, bn^ ¼ 48:99 and bn^ ¼ 0 . The six components of the
spinning velocity in the (t,n,b) coordinate system can thus be
denoted as
otL ¼ otR ¼ 0 (6a)
onL ¼ HoRL SbL (6b)
obL ¼ oRL C bL (6c)

onR ¼ oRR SbR (6d)

obR ¼ oRR C bR (6e)

From the 5th and 6th assumptions, the revolution velocity, omn^ ,
and the spinning velocity oRn can be obtained [11] as
_

omn _ ð1  Db =Dm C an Þ _

¼ ðn^ ¼ L or RÞ (7a)
o ð1  Db =Dm C an Þ þ ð1 þ Db =Dm C an Þ
_ _

omn ½1 þ ðDb =Dm ÞC an C a

_
_

oRn ¼
_
ðn^ ¼ L or RÞ (7b)
ðD=Dm ÞC b C an _

Fig. 4. The positions of ball centers and the curvature centers of the screw
raceways: (a) the left ball; (b) the right ball.

where aL ¼ ðr i  rb ÞC aL  r i and bL ¼ ðr i  r b ÞSaL . The velocity of the

left ball’s center with respect to the (x,y,z) coordinate system can
be obtained by differentiating Eq. (2) with time. Then

! !
V o0L ¼ oo0L
2h i 3T
ðaL  RSi ÞðSyL C O þ SO C yL Þ þ bL Sa ðSO SyL þ C O C yL Þ ðy_ L þ O
_Þ
6 7
6h i 7 0
6 _ Þ7
¼ 6 ðRSi  aL ÞðSyL SO þ C O C yL Þ þ bL Sa ðC O SyL þ SO C yL Þ ðy_ L þ O 7 X
6 7
4 5
RSi y_ L T a
(3)

The position angles of the left and right ball’s centers are (yL þ O)
and (yR þ O), respectively (see Fig. 2). The revolution velocity of
the left and right balls, omL and omR , can be obtained by
differentiating (yL þ O) and (yR þ O) with time, respectively. Then

omL ¼ y_ L þ O_ ¼ y_ L þ o (4a)

omR ¼ y_ R þ O_ ¼ y_ R þ o (4b)

where o denotes the rotational speed of screw. The left and right
! !
ball’s spinning velocities, oRL and oRR , are expressed as
!
o RL ¼ ½otL ; onL ; obL Y (5a)

!
o RR ¼ ½otR ; onR ; obR Y (5b)

where (otL ; onL ; obL ) and (otR ; onR ; obR ) denote the angular
velocity components of oRL and oRR in the (t,n,b) coordinate
system. Figs. 5(a) and (b) show the sliding velocities, the sliding
angles and the ball’s angular velocities formed at the ball–screw
and ball–nut contacts. The three components of the left ball’s
! !
spinning velocity oRL and oRR in the (t,n,b) coordinate are Fig. 5. Slip velocities and the slip angles formed at the ball–screw and ball–nut
presented in Figs. 5(a) and (b), respectively. The angle between contacts: (a) the left ball; (b) the right ball.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

1822 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831

!
where, Db is the diameter of a ball, Dm is the diameter of the vector oo0R of the right ball can be written as
screw’s pitch cycle, and Dm ¼ 2r m ; rm is the vertical distance
between the ball center and the screw axis (the z0 -axis). From Eqs. ! ! !
oo0R ¼ o10 þ 10 o0R
(1a) and (1b) and (4), Eq. (3) which is originally defined in the 2 3T
(x0 ; y0 ; z0 ) coordinate is transformed to the (t,n,b) coordinate, and ðaR  RSi ÞðC yR C O þ SO SyR Þ þ bR Sa ðC O SyR þ SO C yR Þ
! 6 7 0
the velocity of the left ball’s center, V o0L , can be represented as 6 7
¼ 6 ðRSi  aR ÞðC yR SO þ C O SyR Þ þ bR Sa ðSO SyR  C O C yR Þ 7 X (13)
4 5
2 3T bR C a þ RSi yR T a  L
C a omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi y_ L T a Sa
! 6 7
V o0L ¼ 4 0 5 Y (8) where aR ¼ ðr i  r b ÞC aR  r i , bR ¼ ðr i  r b ÞSaR and L is the pitch
Sa omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi yL Sa_ !
length of the ball screw. By differentiating oo0R with time and
! using the coordinate transformations shown in Eqs. (1a), (1b) and
The linear velocity (V bsL ) of point 2 on the left ball’s side can thus !
(4b), the linear velocity of the right ball center, (V o0R ) can be
be determined as
written as
! ! ! ! 2 3T
V bsL ¼ V o0L þ oRL  o0L 2 C a omR ðRSi  aR Þ þ RSi y_ R T a Sa
2 3T ! 6 7
C a omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi y_ L T a Sa þ onL Hr b SaL  obL r b C aL V o0R ¼ 4 0 5 Y (14)
6 7 Sa o ðR  a Þ þ R y_ Sa
¼64 0 7 Y
5
mR Si R Si R

_
Sa omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi yL Sa The linear velocity of point 4 (at the ball–screw contact surface)
(9) on the right ball side can be written as

! ! ! ! !
The linear velocity ( V sL ) of point 2 on the screw side can be V bsR ¼ V o0R þ oRR  o0R 4 (15a)
defined as
!
The substitutions of Eqs. (5b) and (14) into Eq. (15a) give V bsR as
! ! ! ! ! !
V sL ¼ o  o2 ¼ o  ðoo0L þ o0L 2 Þ ¼ ½oSa ; 0; oC a Y
2 3T 2 3T
C a omR ðRSi  aR Þ þ RSi y_ R T a Sa  onR r b SaR  obR r b C aR
2bL Sa C a þ RSi yL T a Sa ! 6 7
6 7 V bsR ¼ 4 0 5 Y
6 7
6 ðaL  RSi Þ þ r b C aL 7 Y RSi y_ R Sa  Sa omR ðRSi  aR Þ
4 5
b̄L þ RSi yL Sa þ Hr b SaL (15b)
2 3T
½ðaL  RSi Þ þ r b C aL C a
6 7 Whereas the linear velocity of point 4 on the screw side can be
¼ o6 _ _ 7
4 ½bL þ RSi yL Sa þ Hrb SaL Sa þ ½2bL Sa C a þ RSi yL T a Sa C a 5 Y expressed as
½ðaL  RSi Þ þ r b C aL Sa
! ! !
V sR ¼ o  o4
(10) 2 3T
½ðaR  RSi Þ þ r b C aR C a
6 _ _ 7
where o ~ is the screw angular velocity and o ¼ O _ . The same ¼ o6 7
4 ½2bR Sa C a þ RSi yR T a Sa  LSa C a  ½bR þ RSi yR Sa  LC a  r b SaR Sa 5 Y
method can be applied to determine the linear velocity of point 3. ½ðaR  RSi Þ þ r b C aR Sa
!
Using Eqs. (3) and (5a), the linear velocity (V bnL ) of point 3 on the (16)
ball side can be obtained as
Similarly, the same method is followed to obtain the velocity of
! ! ! ! point 5, formed at the ball–nut contact area. The velocity vector
V bnL ¼ V o0L þ oRL  o0L 3 !
2 3T (V bnR ) of point 5 arising on the right ball side can be written as
C a omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi y_ L T a Sa  onL Hr b SaL þ obL r b C aL
6 7 ! ! ! !
¼64 0 7 Y
5 V bnR ¼ V o0R þ oRR  o0R 5
Sa o ðR  a Þ þ R y Sa _ 2 3T
mL Si L Si L
C a omR ðRSi  aR Þ þ RSi y_ R T a Sa þ r b ðonR SaR þ obR C aR Þ
(11) 6 7
¼64 0 7 Y
5
! RSi y_ R Sa  Sa omR ðRSi  aR Þ
The nut’s linear velocity V n of point 3 was described as [6]
(17)
   
! oL 0 oL oL !
V n ¼ 0; 0; X ¼ Sa ; 0; Ca Y (12) The velocity ( V n ) of point 5 on the nut side is the same as point 3,
2p 2p 2p
and has been given in Eq. (12). These linear velocities were used in
The same method as mentioned above is introduced to the Section 2.5 to analyze the kinematic behavior of the lubricant.
velocity equations established for the right ball–screw and
ball–nut contact areas. Similarly, in each of these contact areas 2.3. Geometric analysis of ball screw mechanism with preload
there exists a pure-rolling point. Considering the kinematical
behavior of the right ball (see Fig. 2), point 10 is the center of the The screw raceway center does not have axial displacement
screw’s raceway and its projection points at the p- and q-planes because the axial load is applied to only the nut. The double-
are points q0 and q, respectively. As Figs. 2–4(b) show, the position cycles single-nut ball screw is a bilateral mechanism when there
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831
is no axial load (see Fig. 1(a)). L1 denotes the length between the
left end of the nut and the left end of the left nut track. As Fig. 1
shows, the F angle is formed between the nut track center and
the left or the right end of the nut track. a0L and a0R represent
the curvature centers of the left and the right nut tracks,
0 0
respectively, and bL and bR are the curvature centers of the left
and the right screw tracks, respectively. When an axial load is
applied, a00L and a00R become two new curvature centers of the left
00 00
and right nut tracks, respectively; bL and bR become the two new
curvature centers of the left and right screw tracks, respectively,
and o00L and o00R become two new ball centers of the left and right
balls, respectively.
The screw does not move in the axial direction (the z0 -axis)
during this operation. In other words, the curvature centers of
these two screw tracks are fixed in space. The relationships among
the ball centers, the nut curvature centers, the ball screw’s axial
deformation (da) and the pitch deformation of nut (dl) can be
found. The geometric relationship for the left ball–screw contact
mechanism under an axial load lower than the preload is
0 00
established first. The positions of bL and bL are actually un-
changed. Therefore,
0 00
jCbL j ¼ jCbL j (18)
From the geometries shown in Figs. 1(a) and (b), Eq. (18) can be
expressed as
L1 þ r o SF þ ðr o þ r i ÞSao ¼ da þ L1 þ r o SF þ ðr0oL þ r0iL ÞSaL (19)
where ro denotes the radius of curvature of the nut raceway; r o
0
and r i represent the lengths of a0L o0L and bL o0L , respectively; r 0oL and
0 00 0 00 0
riL represent the length of aL oL and bL oL , respectively. ro ¼ r i ¼ r,
r o , r i , r0oL and r 0iL are thus expressed as
r o ¼ r i ¼ r 0oL ¼ r 0iL ¼ r  r b (20)
When an axial load is applied but is still lower than the preload,
Eq. (19) can be rewritten as
2ðr  r b ÞðSao  SaL Þ  da ¼ 0 (21)
Similarly, when the axial load is elevated higher than the preload
(see Fig. 1(c)), the two contact positions of the left ball are shifted
to the quadrant on the other side. This geometric relationship is
obtained as
2ðr  r b ÞðSao þ SaL Þ  da ¼ 0 (22)
0 00
Similarly, the screw curvature centers, bR and bR (at the right ball)
remain unchanged. This geometric relationship satisfies
0 00
jCbR j ¼ jCbR j (23)
From the geometries shown in Figs. 1(a) and (b), Eq. (23) is now
expressed as
dl þ 2ðr  rb ÞðSao  SaR Þ þ da ¼ 0 (24)
where da ¼ F ap =K. The total stiffness coefficient, K, of a ball screw
consists of two parts: one is the screw stiffness, Ks, and the other is
the nut stiffness, Knut. The balls, screw and nut are the devices to
be series in the ball screw system. Therefore, the total stiffness of a
ball screw (K) can be shown as
1 1 1 balance held at the left ball and in the b-direction, as Figs. 7(a) and
¼ þ (25)
K K s K nut
From the specifications [16] provided by a commercial source for
the ball screw, the screw stiffness coefficient Ks is given as
2 ball–screw contact area. F XiL denotes the frictional force of the
dr
K s ¼ 67:4 (26)
L1
where dr is the vertical distance between the ball–screw contact
point and the screw axis (the z0 -axis) when there is no axial load.
1823
dr is thus expressed as
dr ¼ Dm  Db C ao (27)
where L1 denotes the distance between two ball bearings which
are supported at both ends of a ball screw; a1 denotes either the
ball–screw or the ball–nut contact angle in the condition of no
axial load and a1 ¼ 451 [16]. The nut’s stiffness coefficient, Knut, is
given as [16]
!1=3
P^
K nut ¼ 0:8K test (28)
0:05C^
where Ktest is the experimental stiffness coefficient of a ball screw
^ Dynamic
when the axial load reaches 10% of the dynamic load C.
load C^ is given in Table 1 [16]. P^ denotes the ball screw preload. By
combining Eqs. (21), (22), (24) and the force balance equations
(these will be analyzed in Section 2.4), the contact angles an^
(n^ ¼ L; R) and the deformation dl can be determined numerically.
2.4. Analyses of force balances at the contact areas
Figs. 6(a) and (b) show the free body diagrams of all forces
acting on the nut for an axial load lower and an axial load higher
than the preload, respectively. The force balance equation of the
nut is thus given as
 F ap þ ½HQ oL SaL þ F XoL C aL þ Q oR SaR þ F XoR C aR C a
 ½F YoL þ F YoR Sa ¼ 0 (29)
where Fap represents the axial force applied to one pair of balls;
Q oL and Q oR denote the normal forces acting on the nut by the left
and the right balls, respectively; F XoL and F XoR are the frictional
forces of the left and the right ball–nut contact areas acting on the
nut as well as in the X oL -direction and the X iL -direction,
respectively; F YoL and F YoR , respectively, denote the frictional
forces of the left and right ball–nut contact areas acting on the
nut, as well as in the Y oL -direction and the Y iL -direction. When the
axial load applied is lower than the preload, the parameter H is 1;
otherwise H is 1. If the ball number of a ball screw is denoted as
Bnum (see Table 1) and the axial force Fap is written as
F ap ¼ 2F a =Bnum (30)
where Fa denotes the axial load externally applied to the nut. The
friction forces, F XoL , F XoR , F YoL and F YoR , are written as
F XoL ¼ Q oL moL C CoL (31a)
F XoR ¼ Q oR moR C CoR (31b)
F YoL ¼ Q oL moL SCoL (31c)
F YoR ¼ Q oR moR SCoR (31d)
where moL and moR represent the friction coefficients produced at
the left and right ball–nut contact areas, respectively.
Figs. 7(a) and (b) show the free-body diagrams of all the forces
acting on one pair of balls. In Fig. 7(a) the axial load is lower than
the preload, and in Fig. 7(b) it is higher than the preload. The force
(b) show, is written as
HðQ oL  Q iL ÞSaL  ðF XoL þ F XiL ÞC aL ¼ 0 (32)
where Q iL represents the normal force arising at the left
left ball–screw contact area generated in the X iL -direction. It is
written as
F XiL ¼ Q iL miL C Ci (33)
L
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

1824 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831

Fig. 6. Force balance created at the contact points of the nut: (a) when the axial load smaller than the preload; (b) when the axial load greater than the preload.

where miL denotes the friction coefficient. The force balance in the
2.5. Lubrication analysis
n-axis is given as
ðQ oL  Q iL ÞC aL þ HðF XoL þ F XiL ÞSaL ¼ 0 (34) The frictional force is obtained by the integration of frictional
As Figs. 7(a) and (b) show, the Y iL -axis, the Y oL -axis and the t-axis shear stresses with respect to the contact area. The frictional
are actually parallel to each other. Therefore, the force balance in forces generated at the ball–screw and ball–nut contact areas
the t-direction gives which are lubricated by oil and in the X n - and Y n -directions,
respectively, can be written as [20]
F YoL þ F YiL ¼ 0 (35) Z Bn Z An
F Xn ¼ tX n Zn jZn ¼hn din djn
where F YiL is the frictional force in the Y iL -direction formed at the Bn An
Z Z !
left ball–screw contact area. This is stated as Bn An
qP n hn Zvn ðu2  u1 Þ
¼ þ din djn
qin 2 hn
F YiL ¼ Q iL miL SCi (36) Bn An
L
ðn ¼ iL ; iR ; oL ; oR Þ (39a)
Similarly, the force balances of the right ball are shown as:
b-direction: Z Bn Z An
FYn ¼ tY n Zn jZn ¼hn din djn
ðQ iR  Q oR ÞSaR  ðF XoR þ F XiR ÞC aR ¼ 0 (37a) Bn An
Z Z !
n-direction:
Bn An
qP n hn Zvn ðv2  v1 Þ
¼ þ din djn
Bn An qjn 2 hn
ðQ oR  Q iR ÞC aR  ðF XoR þ F XiR ÞSaR ¼ 0 (37b)
ðn ¼ iL ; iR ; oL ; oR Þ (39b)
t-direction:
where tX n Z n and tY n Z n denote the frictional shear stresses in the
F YoR þ F YiR ¼ 0 (37c)
X n  Z n and Y n  Z n planes, respectively. in and jn are coordinates
where Q iR denotes the normal force acting on the right ball by the of an arbitrary point at the X n  Y n plane. pn is the distribution of
screw, F XiR is the frictional force of the right ball–screw contact hydrodynamic pressure formed at the contact area. hn denotes the
area acting in the X iR -direction, and the frictional forces F XiR and oil film thickness at the contact area. Zvn̄ denotes the lubricant
F YiR are written as viscosity. An and Bn denote the half lengths of the long and short
axes of the contact area, respectively. u1 and u2 denote the linear
velocities of object 1 and object 2 in the X n -direction, respectively.
F XiR ¼ Q iR miR C Ci (38a) v1 and v2 denote the linear velocities of object 1 and object 2 in
R

the Y n -direction, respectively. When considering the ball–screw

F YiR ¼ Q iR miR SCi (38b) contact area, object 1 represents the screw and object 2 represents
R
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831 1825

Fig. 7. Force and moment balance created at the contact points of the left and right balls: (a) when the axial load smaller than the preload; (b) when the axial load greater
than the preload.

the ball. Then where Z0 represents the viscosity of the lubricant in the
conditions of atmospheric temperature (25 1C) and pressure
u1 ¼ ðV X n Þon screw side ; u2 ¼ ðV X n Þon ball side
(1 atm), as shown in the Table 1; the constant z in Eq. (126) can
v1 ¼ ðV Y n Þon screw side ; v2 ¼ ðV Y n Þon ball side be given as
where n ¼ iL or iR. When considering the ball–nut contact area,
a
object 1 represents the ball and object 2 denotes the nut. Then z¼ (42)
5:1  109 ðln Z0 þ 9:67Þ
u1 ¼ ðV X n Þon ball side ; u2 ¼ ðV X n Þon nut side
v1 ¼ ðV Y n Þon ball side ; v2 ¼ ðV Y n Þon ball side where a is the coefficient of Barus model, given in Table 1. The oil
film thickness (hn ) formed between two contact surfaces is thus
where n ¼ oL or oR. In the present study, the hydrodynamic written as
pressure distributions formed in the contact areas seem to be very
hard to obtain from the elastohydrodynamic lubrication analysis.
i2n j2
Instead of this kind of solution, the Hertzian contact pressure is hn ðin ; jn Þ ¼ hcn þ þ n þ dn ðin ; jn Þ  dn ð0; 0Þ (43)
2Rn1^ 2Rn2^
used to approximate the hydrodynamic pressure. The pressure
distribution pn ðX n ; Y n Þ is thus written as [17,18]
where the elastic deformation (dn ðin ; jn Þ) is given as [17,18]
"  2  2 #1=2
3Q n i jn Z Z
P n ðin ; jn Þ ¼ 1 n  (40) 2 Bn An
Pn
2pAn Bn An Bn dn ðin ; jn Þ ¼ d^in d^jn (44)
pE0 Bn An ½ðin  ^in Þ2 þ ðjn  ^jn Þ2 1=2
An and Bn in Eqs. (39a) and (39b) are the long and short axis of a
Hertz contact ellipse area, respectively, and can be obtained from where ^in and ^jn are the coordinates at the X n  Y n plane. hcn is the
the Hertz contact theory [17,18]. central oil film thickness; Rn1^ and Rn2^ represent the curvature
The viscosity–pressure relationship is written as [19,20] sums of either the ball–screw or the ball–nut contact area at the
^
1-plane ^
and the 2-plane, ^
respectively. The 1-plane ^
and the 2-plane
Zvn ðin ; jn Þ ¼ Z0 expfðln Z0 þ 9:67Þ
are located on the X n  Z n plane and the Y n  Z n plane,
 ½ð1 þ 5:1  109 P n ðin ; jn ÞÞz  1g (41) respectively. The multiplicative inverse of the curvature sum for
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

1826 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831

P
either the ball–screw or ball–nut contact area ( rn ) is denoted as directions, respectively. They can be expressed as
X 1 1 1 1 ðV X iL Þon ball side ¼ Bb2 C aL (54a)
rn ¼ þ þ þ (45)
r b1^ r b2^ r n̄1^ r n̄2^
^ and
where r b1^ and r b2^ represent the curvature radii of ball at the 1- ðV Y iL Þon ball side ¼ Ab2 (54b)
^2-planes, respectively; r ^ and r ^ are the curvature radii of either Similarly, ðV X iL Þon screw side and ðV Y iL Þon screw side are the velocity
n1 n2
^ and 2-planes,
the screw (n ¼ iL ; iR ) or the nut (n ¼ oL ; oR ) at the 1- ^ components of ball–screw contact on the ball side and in the X iL -
respectively. The curvature radii between the screw’s track and and Y iL -directions, respectively. They were obtained by trans-
the ball are given as follows: formed Eq. (10) from the (t,n,b) coordinates to the (X iL ; Y iL ; Z iL )
8 coordinates in the use of Eq. (1d), and expressed as
>
> r ^ ¼ rb
> b1
>
< r ^ ¼ rb ðV X iL Þon screw side ¼ HBS2 SaL þ C S2 C aL (55a)
b2
ðn ¼ iL or iR Þ (46)
>
> r n1^ ¼ Di =2
>
>
: r ^ ¼ r i
n2 ðV Y iL Þon screw side ¼ AS2 (55b)
where Di is the screw’s inner radius and ri denotes the curvature where
radius of the screw track. The curvature radii between the nut’s
track and ball are given as AS2 ¼ ½ðaL  RSi Þ þ r b C aL oC a (56a)
8
> r b1^ ¼ r b
>
>
> BS2 ¼  ½bL þ RSi y_ L Sa þ Hr b SaL oSa
< r ^ ¼ rb
b2
ðn ¼ iL or iR Þ (47) þ ½2b Sa C a þ R y_ T a Sa oC a
L Si L (56b)
>
> r n1^ ¼ Do =2
>
>
: r ^ ¼ r o
n2
C S2 ¼ ½ðaL  RSi Þ þ r b C aL oSa (56c)
where Do is the nut’s inner radius and ro is the curvature radius of
The other velocity components of contact points on the X n  Y n
nut’s track. Therefore, the relationships of the curvature sums on
^ and 2-planes
^ plate were also obtained follow the same method, and introduced
the 1- can, respectively, be given as
as below. By the use of Eqs. (11) and (12), linear velocities on the
1 1 1 contact point 3 can be obtained as
¼ þ ðn ¼ iL ; oL ; iR ; oR Þ (48a)
Rn1^ r b1^ r n1^
ðV X oL Þon ball side ¼ Bb3 C aL (57a)
1 1 1
¼ þ ðn ¼ iL ; oL ; iR ; oR Þ (48b)
Rn2^ r b2^ r n̄2^ ðV Y oL Þon ball side ¼ Ab3 (57b)
dn ðin ; jn Þ denotes the distribution of elastic deformation. hcn is
oL
given as [20] ðV X oL Þon nut side ¼ C a C aL (57c)
2p
0:7 0:46 0:09
hcn ¼ 4:77U n Gn W n Rn (49)
oL
where U n is the dimensionless velocity parameter; Gn is the ðV Y oL Þon nut side ¼ Sa (57d)
2p
dimensionless material parameter; W n is the dimensionless load
where
parameter. U n , Gn and W n are stated as [20]
Zo un Qn Ab3 ¼ C a omL ðRSi  aL Þ
Un ¼ ; Gn ¼ aE0 and Wn ¼ (50)
E0 Rn E0 R2n þ RSi y_ L T a Sa  r b ½HSaL onL  C aL obL  (58a)
where, un is the average speed of the sliding velocity components
of contact surfaces on the X n  Y n plane. Then Bb3 ¼ Sa omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi y_ L Sa (58b)
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
   
ðV X n Þon ball side þ ðV X n Þon screw or nut side 2 ðV Y n Þon ball side þ ðV Y n Þon screw or nut side 2
un ¼ þ (51)
2 2

Eq. (9) is the linear velocity of point 2 on the left ball side, and By the use of Eqs. (15) and (16), linear velocities on the contact
can be transformed to the (X iL ; Y iL ; Z iL ) coordinates in the use of point 4 can be obtained as
Eq. (1d). It is rewritten as ðV X iR Þon ball side ¼ BS4 C aR (59a)
2 3T 2 3T ðV Y iR Þon ball side ¼ AS4 (59b)
Ab2 Bb2 C aL
! 6 7 1 00 6 7 00 ðV X iR Þon screw side ¼ Bb4 SaR þ C b4 C aR (59a)
V bS2 ¼ 4 0 5 T 4 X iL ¼ 4 Ab2 7
6
5 X iL (52)
Bb2 HBb2 SaL ðV Y iR Þon screw side ¼ Ab4 (59b)

where
where
Ab4 ¼ C a omR ðRSi  aR Þ þ RSi y_ L T a Sa  r b ðonR SaR þ obR C aR Þ (60a)
Ab2 ¼ C a omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi y_ L T a Sa þ r b ðHonL SaL  obL C aL Þ (53a)

Bb2 ¼ Sa omL ðRSi  aL Þ þ RSi y_ L Sa (53b) Bb4 ¼ ½RSi y_ R  omR ðRSi  aR ÞSa (60b)

ðV X iL Þon ball side and ðV Y iL Þon ball side are the velocity components of
ball–screw contact on the ball side and in the X iL - and Y iL - AS4 ¼ ½ðaR  RSi Þ þ r b C aR oC a (60c)
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831 1827

BS4 ¼ ½2bR Sa C a þ RSi yR T a Sa  LSa oC a written as [9]

 ½bR þ RSi yR Sa  LC a  r b SaR  (60d) MiL ¼ r m ½HQ L Sa SaL  HF XiL Sa ðr b =r m þ C aL Þ
 C a F tiL ð1  r b =r m C aL Þ (66a)
C S4 ¼ ½ðaR  RSi Þ þ r b C aR oSa (60e)
MiR ¼ r m ½Q iR Sa SaiR þ F XiR Sa ðr b =r m þ C aiR Þ
By the use of Eqs. (12) and (17), linear velocities on the contact
point 5 can be obtained as  C a F tiR ð1  r b =r m C aiR Þ (66b)

u1 ¼ Bb5 C aR (61a) The mechanical efficiency (Z) of a ball screw system is thus
defined as
v1 ¼ Ab5 (61b) W Fa F ap V axial F ap ðL=2pÞ
Z¼ ¼ ¼ (67)
M input o M input o Minput
oL
u2 ¼ C a C aR (61a)
2p
3. Experimental details
oL
v2 ¼ Sa (61b)
2p The test of mechanical efficiency was carried out on a ball
where screw test machine. The schematic diagram of the test machine is
shown in Fig. 7. This test machine consists of several components:
Ab5 ¼ C a omR ðRSi  aR Þ þ RSi y_ R T a Sa þ r b ðSaR onR þ C aR obR Þ (62a) servo-motor, torque meter, ball screw, load cell and oil pressure
tube. The servo-motor is the primary power supply source. The
Bb5 ¼ ½RSi y_ R  omR ðRSi  aR ÞSa (62c) maximum power supply is 34.1 kW/s, and the maximum
rotational speed is 2000 rpm. Due to the demand of achieving a
large torque output, the rotational speed of the ball screw in the
present study was limited to no more than 200 rpm. The ball
2.6. Mechanical efficiency screw was designed to support a heavy load but rotates at a low
rotational speed. The specifications of the ball screw and the
The mechanical efficiency of a ball–screw system is defined to operating conditions are given in Table 1. When the ball screw was
be the ratio of the work output to the work input. The work output driven by the motor, the oil pressure cylinder was designed to
is related to the load applied to the nut in the axial direction. It produce a pressure force to balance the thrust force generated by
can be given as the ball screw. It had a function of stabilizing the thrust force of
the ball screw. The oil pressure in the cylinder could be controlled
W F a ¼ F ap V axial (63)
by adjusting the flows at the oil inlet and outlet. The load cell
where V axial is the linear velocity in the axial direction of the nut. which was applied to measure the thrust force of ball screw could
It can be expressed as measure the maximum load up to 20 000 N, and the precision
error is 71 N. The torque meter was used to measure the input
oL
V axial ¼ (64) torque from the servo-motor. The mechanical efficiency of the ball
2p
screw could thus be determined in the use of Eq. (67) if the driving
The moment input related to the frictional forces created at the torque and the thrust force were measurable (Fig. 8).
screw contact areas is given as [9]
M input ¼ M iL þ M iR (65)
4. Results and discussion
where M iL and M iR denote the moment inputs needed to overcome
the frictional torques generated at the ball–screw contact When a ball is entrapped between the nut and the screw,
areas formed on the left and right sides, respectively. They are elastic deformations are generated at the two elliptical contact

Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of ball screw performance tester.

 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1828 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831
areas formed where a ball is in contact with the screw and the nut.
The largest elastic deformations in these two elliptical contact
areas are do and di . The angle formed between the n-axis and the
line joining the center of either of these two elliptical contact
areas is the so called ‘‘contact angle’’. The contact angle formed at
the nut (ao ) is certainly different from that formed at the screw
(ai) unless no axial load is applied. If a non-zero axial load is
applied, either ao or ai, formed on the right ball track is also
different from that formed on the left track. Before applying an
axial load to the ball screw system, all four contact angles have the
same value. However, the existence of a preload in the nut allows
the line joining the centers of two elliptical contact areas formed
in the right ball track to incline leftwards at an angle of ao,
whereas the line in the left ball track will incline rightwards at the
same angle. When an axial load is applied (but is still lower than
the preload), the contact angle (aoL ) formed both in the nut as well
as on the left ball track will be reduced, moving the contact center
towards the n-axis. However, the contact angle (aoR ) formed at the
nut, as well as on the right ball track, is moved far away from the
n-axis. The behavior of lowering aoL sustains until the axial load is
considerably close to the preload. When this axial load is almost
equal to the preload, the deformations doL and diL , which originally
existed on the left ball track disappears, and the normal force
acting on the contact area becomes zero. This contact point will
rapidly move to the left-land side of the n-axis if the axial load
applied to the system is higher than the preload. This abrupt shift
of the contact angle aoL causes several parameters to have no
solutions for an axial load very close to the preload. Fig. 9 shows
the results of two contact angles, aoL and aoR , formed on the left
and right ball tracks. These are evaluated by varying the preload,
the helix angle and the axial load. As to the contact angles arising
at the right ball track, they are slightly increased by increasing the
axial load applied in the system or by decreasing either the
preload or the helix angle. Nevertheless, the contact angles are
always formed on the left-hand side of the n-axis, irrespective of
the axial load magnitude as compared with the preload. However,
the contact angles for the left ball track show an abrupt change as
the axial load reaches the preload. A positive value of the contact
angle means that the angle is formed on the right-hand side of the
Fig. 9. Variations of the contact angles formed at the right and left ball–nut
contact areas.
n-axis; whereas a negative value means the angle formed on the
left-hand side of the n-axis. The dash lines, which are marked by
different symbols, indicate a place where sudden shifts occur,
changing the contact angle from a positive to a negative value.
This place is dependent upon the axial load magnitude. The dash
lines with an arrow indicate the way of the contact angle (aoL )
varying with the axial load applied to the system.
The ball screw mechanical efficiency, as Eq. (67) shows, is
inversely proportional to the moment input required to rotate the
ball screw under an axial load. The moment input is certainly
related to the combination of the friction forces generated at the
left and right ball–nut contact areas.
Figs. 10(a) and (b) show the friction forces generated at the left
and right ball–nut contact areas, respectively; they are evaluated
at three rotational speeds without taking the oil lubrication into
account. As these two figures show, the friction force is
significantly elevated by increasing the screw rotational speed.
However, the effect of the axial load on the friction force becomes
of less importance although the friction force is still changed by
raising the axial load. For the friction force formed at the left
ball–nut contact area, the behavior exhibited in the region of the
axial load is smaller than the preload is exactly opposite to that
exhibited in the region where the axial load is greater than the
preload when increasing the axial load. This characteristic is
certainly caused by the sharp change in the quadrant of contact
angle as shown in Fig. 9 when the axial load is very close to the
preload. The friction force arising at the right ball–nut contact
area, however, always presents harmonically increasing when the
axial force is increased. The feature is exhibited because the
quadrant of contact angle remains unchanged at various axial
loads.
The results of friction force predicted by the model taking oil
lubrication into account are shown in Figs. 11(a) and (b); they are
evaluated at the left and right ball–nut contact areas, respectively.
Under the same operating conditions as shown in Fig. 10, the
differences among the friction forces predicted by these rotational
speeds are greatly narrowed if oil lubrication is considered in the
ball screw analysis, irrespective of the left or right ball–nut
contact area. Furthermore, the magnitudes of friction force
generated at the contact areas with oil lubrication are apparently
much lower than that without oil lubrication.
The theoretical results of ball screw mechanical efficiency in
the present study can be predicted by the contact model
considering either with or without oil lubrication. The experi-
mental results, considering a ball screw in the wear condition, and
the theoretical solutions of mechanical efficiency predicted by the
contacts without oil lubrication are shown in Fig. 12(a). The curves
of three screw rotational speeds are shown. The dash curves
represent the theoretical solutions; whereas the solid curves
represent the experimental results. As an axial load is almost
equal to the preload (1800 N), the dash curves show a disconti-
nuity in the efficient gradient. In the region of an axial load greater
than the preload, the mechanical efficiency is elevated by
increasing the axial load; whereas in the region of an axial load
smaller than the preload, the mechanical efficiency is elevated by
decreasing the axial load. Three rotational speeds marked by 1, 2
and 3 are 90, 125 and 200 rpm, respectively. The ball screw
mechanical efficiency is lowered by increasing the ball screw
rotational speed. Since the theoretical results are obtained under
the frictional contacts without oil lubrication, the gaps among the
three theoretical curves due to the change in the screw’s
rotational speed are quite large.
The experimental results denoted by the solid curves show the
tendency in the mechanical efficiency similar to that exhibited in
the theoretical results. However, the gaps among these solid
curves are much smaller compared with the theoretical results. It
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831
Fig. 10. Frictional forces formed at the (a) left, (b) right ball–nut contact area
without lubrication.
can be thus expected that the gaps in the mechanical efficiency
can be narrowed significantly as the oil lubrication between two
contact surfaces is considered.
It should be mentioned that three points obtained from the
experiments are separated from the solid curves and are present
in the subregion that the axial load is lower than the preload.
According to the specifications of the ball screw provided
_
by the
_
commercial source, the maximum preload is 0:1C, where C
denotes the dynamic load. In the present study, the dynamic load
is 25 720 N. the preload applied in the ball screw system is
suggested to be 70% of the maximum load. The preload applied to
the ball screw test is thus about 1800.4 N. Therefore, these three
experimental points obtained under the axial load less than the
preload can not be connected by the solid curves.
1829
Fig. 11. Frictional forces formed at the (a) left, (b) right ball–nut contact area with
lubrication.
In order to improve the mechanical efficiency, the axial load
applied to the system is suggested by the commercial source [16]
that it should be at least greater than the mean operating load Fb;
the mean operating load is evaluated by F b ¼ 2:8P PR, where PPR
denotes the preload. If a preload of 1800.4 N is given, the mean
operating load should be at least 5041 N. As Fig. 12(a) shows, the
mechanical efficiency corresponding to an axial load greater than
5041 N are actually working in the region of high mechanical
efficiency.
The theoretical results of mechanical efficiency predicted by
the model including the oil lubrication are shown in Fig. 12(b). The
experimental results both shown a ball screw in normal and wear
conditions, and they all have the same behavior. When the ball
screw in the wear condition, its efficiency is lower than in normal
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1830 C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831
Fig. 12. Theoretical results and experimental dates of ball screw mechanical
efficiency. The theoretical results are obtained from (a) no oil lubrication; (b)
considering oil lubrication.
condition, and decreases with rising rotating speeds. The gaps
among the three curves of the theoretical results are significantly
reduced because the frictional forces created at these three
rotational speeds become quite close if oil lubrication is
considered (as the results shown in Figs. 10(a) and (b)). The
experimental results are lower than the theoretical results. This
means that the mechanical efficiency obtained from the ball
screw test is always lower than that predicted by the present
theory, including the oil lubrication. This characteristic can be
reasonably interpreted because the theoretical results are eval-
uated on the base of hydrodynamic lubrication; whereas in the
practical applications, the ball screw might operate in the mixed
lubrication or even in the boundary lubrication from the evidence
that the lubricant in the ball screw contained iron debris after
repeated use in a period of time. However, the coincidence in the
Fig. 13. Mechanical efficiencies of ball screw varying with the preload, axial load
and rotational speed. The helix angle is 5.441.
Fig. 14. Mechanical efficiencies of ball screw varying with the helix angle, axial
load and rotational speed. The preload is 1000 N.
tendency shown in the experimental and theoretical results
confirms that the model developed in the present study is
trustworthy.
Apart from the ball screw rotational speed, the preload is one
of the influential factors for the mechanical efficiency. The
theoretical mechanical efficiencies evaluated at three preloads
(1000, 1800 and 2500 N) are shown in Fig. 13. Each of these three
preloads is also evaluated at two different screw rotational speeds
(90 and 200 rpm). Reduction in the preload would shift the entire
mechanical efficiency curve leftwards. The shifts in the curve
cause the mechanical efficiency exhibited in the axial load to be
greater than the preload to be lowered by increasing the preload if
the axial load is fixed. Conversely, the behavior exhibited in the
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
C.C. Wei et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 1816–1831
axial load which is smaller than the preload shows that the
mechanical efficiency is lowered by decreasing the preload. The
drops in the mechanical efficiency due to the increase in the screw
rotational speed are significant over the entire axial force region
even when the screw rotational speed is slightly elevated from 90
to 200 rpm.
The change in the helix angle of a ball screw is also an
influential factor for the mechanical efficiency and the ball’s
proceeding velocity in the axial direction. In general, an increase
in the proceeding velocity of a ball may decrease the mechanical
efficiency. As Fig. 14 shows, the mechanical efficiency of a ball
screw is increased by decreasing the helix angle of a ball screw,
thus resulting in the lowering of the ball proceeding velocity.
5. Conclusions
1. The contact angles formed in the nut as well as on two ball
tracks are dependent upon the axial load applied to the system.
For the balls on the right track the contact angle is always
formed on the right hand side of the n-axis, despite the
magnitude of the axial load. The contact angle formed on the
left track remains on the right-hand side of the n-axis when
the axial load is still lower than the preload. However, this
contact angle turns out to be on the left-hand side of the n-axis
as the axial load is higher than the preload.
2. There exists a critical load which is very slightly different from
the preload. This critical load can be considered as the border
of the two axial-load subregions. Several parameters in this
ball screw system show discontinuity in their behavior when
the axial load is equal to this critical load.
3. The friction force formed at either the left or the right ball–nut
contact area is significantly elevated by increasing the screw
rotational speed if considering no oil lubrication. The gaps in
friction force formed by differing the screw rotational speed
can be narrowed when taking oil lubrication into account.
4. The theoretical results of mechanical efficiency show the
behavior varying with the axial load is quite similar to that
exhibited in the experimental results, no matter whether the
oil lubrication is considered. The gaps in mechanical efficiency
formed by varying the screw rotational speed can be effectively
reduced when considering oil lubrication.
5. Ball screw mechanical efficiency is always elevated by low-
ering the screw rotational speed; it is also elevated by using a
small helix angle. The effect of the preload on ball screw
1831
mechanical efficiency becomes complex; nevertheless, de-
creasing the preload is helpful for improving the mechanical
efficiency if the axial load is applied larger than the preload
and is sufficiently high.
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