How I made my own Ballscrews
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- A more in depth look at how I made my own ballscrew and nut. This was made for my ongoing terminator project, full playlist here: • Building The Terminator
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-what CAD do you use?
-excel
holy shit bro thats some serious flex
I use Ms Paint.
Excel is more like CAM, Computer Aided Manufacturing. Did computer generate some gcode from parameters? If yes, it was CAM. Doesn't matter if it was excel or something other. Ms Paint would be actual CAD here, computer aided design. If it gives you some model to visualise and input parameters into your CAM tool, it's a CAD.
Doing CAM in Excel is cursed, great job!
I'm still in shock.
I'm almost in disbelief.
It is Excel Assisted Machining.
The very definition of brute force.
I've seen one mechanics professor at university making shaft vibration simulations in ms access with vba. After this, making calculations in excel is pretty nice, I sometimes use excel to generate text conversions. While I know several programming languages, it is sometimes way faster to do it in excel than to make a custom simple script in python especially when you only need to do it once.
7:39
Watching a guy make a ball screw and he just casually drops that he's a wizard
I know, right? Holy smokes! I couldn't believe that bit.
I am impressed and horrified by the excel cam
Likewise. Guy is wizard
Very interesting video, I used to work at a Ballscrew factory for 38 years in Coventry it closed in 2005.
In the early 1970s when it was owned by the Americans we made ballscrews for the tracking systems that brought the Apollo 13 safety home. Anyway I think you did very well with your ballscrew well done, 🇬🇧 from Coventry in UK.
Thanks for commenting! It's a shame most manufacturing like that in this country has closed down now.
No more.
Fully 75% of Americans can’t calculate 2/3 + 3/4.
It seems that I have stumbled on to the British version of "This Old Tony"
As soon as the gags kicked in I immediately started hoping Andy and Tony get each other in the annual Maker Secret Santa
I am not worthy!
And --the Slick King-- I mean _ClickSpring_ too!
Yes you are. I myself often try to sound like Bach while practicing my cello. To do so would be a victory. It took most people a long time to realize that learning as humans was always about watching the hands and listening to the voice. You go. Imitation is the most sincere compliment.
The amount of knowledge you gained on ball screws was priceless, thanks for passing it along to us so we could learn along with you!
Yes, I learnt from this too.
Nice work; a curious mix of clever CNC solutions, and very labour-intensive processes. My heart sank when I saw the excel spreadsheet.
Subscribed to see more of this! 😄
Stupendous video, your clarity of presentation and transitions make it look effortless. My favorite was the angled milling vise reveal, such an intuitive way to represent the rotation
Thank you very much!
@@AndysMachines Seriously though, your subtle animations are excellent at describing what you're talking about.
The best video ever! You made my night! Now I just have to figure out where to get this new “Excel”. 🤣
Generating g-code with excel? What a badass.
Superb technical content, video production and humor. A true machinist's trifecta!! Thank you.
Cheers,
F.C.
I don't know much about machining but I love your dry narration with the hilarious comic relief in the video! 🤣
That’s some fine problem solving and utilization of what’s available and convenient.
Very enjoyable. 👍
That are the type of videos I come for to YT. Strange projects that I definitely won't do on my own. Liked. Subscribed.
Subscribed. From a fellow machinist, great work. You opened my mind to the fact that math and digital readouts can do amazing things.
Thanks!
What a blast of a video! Engineering, problem solving, reasoning, machining and humour😂! Excellent🎉
This channel is a real life terminator subplot and I’m absolutely here for it.
Your video editing and modeling work is extremely good.
Agreed! I liked the little visual representations of a spoken word or a concept!
👍 for style and clarity 🙂
This guys comedy and skill are both great I laughed and learned, would certainly say test to a second date haha
So glad I found your channel. Amazing work!
Great job; this is rare tool build. We shared this video on our homemade tool forum last week 😎
This was so amazing god damn! I love those little bits that I haven't even thought of before like the cross section of the channels. I always just took ballscrews and linear rails for granted but this changed my POV a bit
8:00 THIS GOTTA BE A JOKE
I honestly and seriously need to follow and make a copy of what you have done... I do probably do it at 1/4" and particularly need it to use it on the X axis of a CNC lathe... "Now seriously don't know how I'll be making the nut...Because I do not have a CNC Mill... probably would need that large nut to be a bit smaller as well! I really enjoyed your work. Thank you for taking the time to share it.
Well presented, relevant topic and a pleasure to watch.
Thank you.
Great idea. Experimenting is the best part of Engineering. I always part off this sort of thing in the Lathe with a stout tool. It doesn't matter if there's an intermittent cut on a decent lathe.
Another useful idea is to use the CNC mill to machine a form tool from Gauge Plate which is then hardened. I have a standard 3D model that I use to project the desired profile onto an angled plane. The profile is cut with the stock at an angle, so that when it's used flat, there's clearance on the front and the shape is then correct.
The algorithm isn't as powerful as you may think. As an example, it only just showed me this channel, dispite (If this video's a typical example of your content) it being 100% the kind of channel I subscribe to within seconds of finishing the first of it's videos I see........ Which is what I did here BTW. 😏
Outstanding machine work, amusing graphics and visual gags, and very informative.
What a marvellous exercise, 🙏 thanks for sharing, after having seen this I need to have a go myself even if purely on an academic level
Genius, loved it! Also excel gcodes is next level insanity, well done.
Impressive as always, Andy! Thanks for a very fine video!
Thanks Tom!
Great solution to this problem 😊 love the sound effects too
Interesting video, I think you were quite brave to attempt this, results are pretty blooming good but I have to agree that a factory made unit will be better. A very satisfying thing to do well done indeed!
You should try making hydrostatic screws! Pump a few hundred psi oil or water into an otherwise normal lead-nut and get ballscrew-like performance in a nice low profile package.
You'd need sleeves over the screw to capture and recirculate the fluid but your design already has that.
Wow. I use Excel for post-processing GCODE for 3D printing, and people think I'm wild. Actually creating toolpaths, I doff my cap to you!
Hi Alex, good to hear from you, I hope you're doing well! This was really quite a simple toolpath and could actually have been written in notepad using helical interpolation moves (G02/03), but excel allows more flexibility and easier modification. Excel is also really good for modifying existing gcode.
Nice work and clever approach to making the nut. One thing I could think of to make whole thing more precise would be to fabricate the nut with even more reduced contact surfaces and make them slightly too small to accommodate the balls. Then run the screw back and forth with shims, thick enough enough allow for movement under force, between the two halves of the nut . Repeat, reducing the shim thickness by small increments till the channel the balls pass through has been burnished to match the screw exactly. Adding some polishing paste instead of grease could add an abrasive element to the fitting
THis would be obviously overkill for this application, but might be one way to make the nut fit the screw very precisely and also work harden the contact areas with the bearings. Though it would be limited by how accurate you can make the screw. Any defects in the screw could transfer to the nut in this way, though it could potentially also improve the screw as well.
I did actually think it would come out slightly undersize and need some sort of wearing in, but being brass it came out the exact dimensions I machined it to.
Good engineering content and great humour👍👍
I fucking love this video! Great work man
Taking care of both holes separately for better access, nice.
You are smart AF!!! Respect!!! Why? Cuz you made nut from two halves. If it gets worn a bit, you just grind mating planes a bit. Then you can tighten your nut and change clearance using different washers between half nuts. Maybe it is not ideal and can cog somehow but I think it will be good enough.
Call this guy Skynet and prey for humanity. Can't wait the next episode
you'll have to make a roller screw next. thanks for another great video!
Fantastic result, well done.
Wow, what a wonderful and informative video so far! Wait, this man uses MICROSOFT EXCEL FOR CAM????
Most people watch for the machining. I watch for the video editing
I get excited when I see the notification - brilliant watching
Awesome dude, happy to have you on my list of teachers. (I'm new) 🙃
Balls,nuts,screws,holes...
Drilling. 😂
but is he a Pro(fessional)
Rigid tool @@lawrencemanning
Shafts
Flange
well done, truly!
A year ago I made a toolpath generator for a DIY CNC lathe, I made it with Javascript. and Today I saw your video which uses Excel to generate G-Code cycles. Oh my God, I feel like I have friends who think the same way🤣🤣
Thanks for the ride, Andy,, 👍🌟👍
"simple formulas" Simple for you perhaps.
Terrific job!
Love the command and conquer reference
Excellent ! Just absolutely brill 👏👏👏
Honestly pretty banger of a video
Now it's a half-nut. In fact, it's two half nuts next to each other.
One is a mirror image of the other, so that when flipped over, they make a whole nut.
That's nuts...
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this.
Yes, very nice. Another piece of Arnold's Skeleton finished. :)
I'd love to hear you explain the math and process of creating the G-code for the milling of the threads.
I swear I'm going nuts with all the ballscrews! Ballsy move to make your own ballscrews!
This design and purpose has come a long, rather right way since its middle age origin
coolest linear actuators ever.
I remember the poorly translated instructions that read "Please avoid removing the ball nut from the shaft as often as possible. "
Very interesting. Nice work mister
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing!
Very impressive!
Both the brass and the steel will continuously work harden with use.
You might want to rig a drive to do a few thousand full length cycles overnight (under load) to even out the hardness along the full stroke.
Awsome job !!
12:03 yup that was the best of them all
Amazing Craftsmanship 👍🏻👍🏽👍🇬🇧🇬🇧
Balls, nuts, screws, drilling, holes... that swear jar would be full in no time!
Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.
5:44 If you have watched Forged In Fire, you will see the crazy warping of steel!
I found this as I am Not familiar with all this stuff.
But i bought a defekt Vice which has exactly such ball Channel to hold the screw of the vice.
I bought IT to try to repair IT.
The defect is: with Balls INSIDE the screw can Not be driven. If Balls are Out the vice works but could Not be fastened. So i watched your Video to learn more about the technique behind.
And you gave me the Idea to try First smaller Balls.
I think Something ist wrong with the Channel. I can Put a Pipe Cleaner through it, so there IS No piece of Metal INSIDE or some other dirt.
Maybe the Gothic Arc is Missing.
I have No milling or other Machines, only a drill Press.
I am looking Forward to get IT run now.
Thanks a Lot for Sharing this technique and for the nice speech without music in Background .
This makes it better to understand - English ist my 2nd language and often i do Not understand the speech due to Background music but could understand the meaning.
Yes, I think new balls is the first thing I'd try, they might have small imperfections causing them to jam against each other. Another thing you can do is alternate a smaller ball in between each regular one, this allows all the balls to rotate without sliding on each other since the smaller balls can rotate backwards like an idler between the bigger ones.
You are so good !
For a precision ball screw nut, most companies use grinding heads, not boring bars.
My basic math is more basic than yours! I struggled just trying to understand that video! But that was nice! 😂
First time viewer of the channel. I was SO excited to find another machining channel with quality content... and then I saw you upload intervals. Sigh. I guess you simply can't expect quality content to be mass producible. Subbed and having a crack at the Terminator series. It will be like Project Binky, won't it? :P
Welcome aboard! I wish I could spend more time on my projects, but this is just a hobby after all and life gets in the way. There was a big gap between videos recently, but I promise I'll try and upload more regularly in future. Really I will.
@@AndysMachines I get it. This Old Tony and Clickspring also have periods of inactivity, but I'm still delighted like a child whenever they upload.
Arrrgghh.! Machines making machines….we’re doomed. Great project. Do you have a video about your workshop machines? I’ve been sat in a drawing office for 20’ish years and want to get back to my apprenticeship days making chips, so it’s interesting to see what machinery people actually use in their workshops/hobby shops.
Yes, I seem to spend most of my spare time making machines to make other machines! I have quite a few videos about workshop machines I've built from scratch, and a few about machines I've bought and repaired/modified.
Well done.
This was very cool, thanks.
Excellent video. Thanks..
amazing job
Wow! Thanks For Sharing.
when i first read the title, the first thing in my mind was: either this man is a a huge poser or a master screwer. when i saw that his nuts were made of brass i even laughed, everyone knows that those nuts would be destroyed with all the screwing in and out. but then i noticed ... he got steel balls in there. 6 out of 5 on anything related to nuts balls or screws.
Have you considered non-recirculating nuts? They'd be like helical drawer slides. You'd need a cage to hold the balls against the screw but overall the actuator could be slimmer and have the same travel if the cage is half the length of the screw + half the length of the nut.
I see what you mean, but in this case I needed the maximum amount of travel from the shortest nut possible, so it had to recirculate.
I understand the RUclips confusion. You also have the b-screw type you can use in the bedroom....
I used Excel as well for years to create tool paths, before I finally mustered the energy to dig into CAM software. Kinda surprised I am not the only one out there.
Subscribed !
you are not the only one who is surprised you are not the only one :-P
I've done it too! Usually when I'm doing rotary axis stuff on my mill.
Dude, you have no idea what was going through my mind, when I read your title... 😂😅
this was way funnier than it had any right to be hahahaha!
Im gonna be the 500th person to comment about 8:00 but my man!... Thats cool! And honestly, its bananas!
First I hear of excel g code. Surprisingly complex parts can be programmed using only manual g code programming, how it used to be done.
I have never seen a decent demo or how-to on using the arc/radius function of a DRO *specifically* for z-axis 3D milling. I know your channel isn't exactly a how-to channel, but it sure would be amazing to see a proper how-to for this feature from someone who clearly knows what they are doing (you). I've seen demos on x-y arcs, and I'm sure an x-z arc is the exact same thing, but my brain can't compute!!
Yes, I try and avoid 'how-to' videos, more just 'this is how I did it'. I'm just a hobby machinist after all and not really qualified to give in depth tuition. Working in the X-Z plane is definitely harder to comprehend than X-Y, but it's just a case (in both) of moving each axis one at a time through a series of points, always first moving the axis which takes the tool AWAY from the part, then the other axis that takes the tool towards the part to end up at the specified point. (And the third unused axis should be locked in place, (unless working in the X-Y plane and taking the cuts by plunging with the Z, then you can ignore most of the above. See, how-to's are complicated!)).
fantastic!
Interesting project. Couldn't you just buy the ball screw thread and make a nut that fits on it? Also, I'd propably try internal grinding for the internal threads. Way less tool pressure than thread turning and very smooth finish. Don't think brass will last long tho, the balls will press in grooves really fast. Maybe you could try using tool steel?
Edit: I remembered something that you might be interested in: roller screws. Instead of balls you have threaded rollers between the screw and the nut, should be able to make it with regular threading tools and the load capacity is better than with balls while still being backdrivable. I'm not sure how exactly the geometry has to be designed, it's propably similar to planetary gears with a really steep helix angle. So you'd definitely have to make multi-start threads for it. I never tried it, but the concept is pretty intriguing.
Grinding a hardened steel nut would of course be best (that's how commercial ballnuts are made). Unfortunately I don't have the tools to do that! I already had some actual (ball) screws I could have used, but making the screw part is relatively easy.
@@AndysMachines ok, fair enough. I also edited my comment with something I remembered, maybe it's interesting for you.
>Basically a helical ball bearing
>making point contact with hardened steel balls
>it's not going to have to withstand the large forces
I think there's a reason why they usually make the ball bearing with exceptional quality steels rather than brass.
One quibble with your design: it's impossible for balls roll in any circular path with four points of contact and no slipping. That's exactly how ball bearing lapping machines work.
To eliminate sliding you have to use two points of contact, which means a race profile whose diameter is slightly larger than the ball diameter. You can eliminate backlash completely by shifting the inner and outer races along the axis. The result is an eye shape that's only wide enough to hold the ball in one position. You can even preload them with reasonably high force while still allowing the balls to roll. Hard steel balls rolling in brass would deform the nut to make their own path -- that's why bearing races are usually hardened -- but you can get zero backlash and pure rolling contact with a light preload.
Yes, you're right, but the balls would only have 4 points of contact under radial load. Under axial load unless there's zero clearance (or an interference fit) the load would be spread between just two points (as in the illustration with undersize balls, and why most ballnuts have 2 or more circuits preloaded against each other). However linear bearings must have 4 points of contact? Unless they are the double row type which can have just 2.
Great video, but you forgot one something VERY important; the ballnutsack. You NEED the ballnutsack for safe storage of ballnuts.
I generated nose radius compensation by hand recently to turn on a CNC-mill and felt pretty good about myself, but Excel just isn't beatable.
I do actually think there's an over reliance on CAM in the hobby-scene, I work in production and write my programs on the machine. If you don't have 3D contours it's not that hard to do.
Fist time I see this channel. Is this ThisOldTony's brother?
thanks !