On the design front, more designers/engineers are looking for customized designs, but screw manufacturers are also offering more integrated designs, which can be seen in all-in-one packages such as ball- screw-based linear actuators, which can reduce design time and simplify assembly. And as these new offerings continue, ball screws are being adopted into new applications, such as some medical applications.
One manufacturer of precision ground ball screws, has seen an increased interest in replacing ball screws with precision ground ball screws when refurbishing and upgrading older machining equipment to modern CNC technology/precision. Some of the benefits of upgrading include more precise and repeatable positioning with low backlash and minimal dead-band associated with precision ground ball screws. There’s also increased efficiency using ball screws that can result in smaller sized drive motors.
Friction-slip clutches are finding uses in medical devices such as blood centrifuge machines. Medical devices, particularly ones that use slip clutches including blood centrifuge machines, feeding machines, and medication dispensing machines. There’s also increased demand for specialty bellows meeting medical requirements of being anti-microbial and cleanable applied to respirators, diagnostic equipment, and patient beds.
Other applications include package delivery vehicles, which have experienced explosive demand with home delivery increasing. These often use aluminum slatted roll up doors combined with drop-in prepackaged designs. But also, companies are using the pandemic time to invest in automation applications, especially automotive and Tier 1 suppliers. This continues to present strong demand with material handling, robotic applications, palletizing, and end of line processes.
Package delivery vehicles, which have experienced increased demand with home delivery growing during the pandemic, often use aluminum slatted roll up doors combined with drop-in prepackaged designs.
Manufacturers have increased their investment in product.