- Ball – The carriage of the unit is supported on a recirculating ball guide system.
- Prisim – The carriage of the unit is supported on a guide system that is two surfaces sliding on each other.
- Wheel – The carriage of the unit is supported on a guide system that utilizes wheels in a track
- No guides – The system does not have a guide system that can guide external loads. It can only provide a thrust component.
Ball Guides
A ball guide consists of a ball rail and a ball bushing. The ball rail is made of hardened steel and runs along the inside of the profile. The ball bushing is attached to the carriage of the unit and contains balls that roll against the rail. The balls in the bushing can be recirculating or have fixed ball positions depending on the type of ball guide. The recirculating type has a longer life and better load capability while the fixed type typically is much smaller. Thomson uses three major types of ball guides in its linear motion systems. Either the compact single rail type with recirculating ball bushing (A), the stronger double rail type also with recirculating ball bushings (B) or the fixed ball position ball bushings type (not shown) which require very little space and are used in the smallest units. Ball guides offer high accuracy, high loads and medium speed.
Prisim or Slide Guides
A slide guide consist of a guide attached to the inside of the profile and a slide bushing attached to the carriage. The guide can be made of different materials (e.g. polished hardened steel, anodized aluminum) while the bushing is made of a polymer material. There are two types of bushings, fixed and prism. Prism bushings can move in relation to the guide which results in longer life and higher load capabilities. Slide bushings are silent, simple, reliable and robust and can be used in dirty and dusty environments. They are also resistant to shock loads, have a long life expectancy and require little or no maintenance.
Wheel Guides
A wheel guide consists of ball bearing wheels that run on a hardened steel rail. Wheel guides are a simple and robust guiding method offering high speeds, high loads and medium accuracy.
Non Guided Linear Motion Systems
A non guided linear motion system has a drive shaft and a ball screw but no guides. In reality a non guided linear motion system is a enclosed ball screw assembly with a carriage that has the same look and outer dimensions as the driven version. Using a non guided unit requires some kind of external guide to which the carriage can be attached.
