Traverse Units      

The Marldon rolling ring traverse unit converts rotary motion into linear travel. Rotating rolling ring bearings with a specially shaped inner race, spring loaded against a smooth round shaft and maintained under constant pressure, convert the rotary motion of the shaft into linear movement at a rate that is proportional to the angular position of the rolling bearing set relative to the shaft axis. A simple adjustment of this angle by a regulating mechanism allows a wide range of traversing speeds while the shaft speed remains constant.

Uses
The product is mainly used as a guiding mechanism for feeding linear material onto a rotating reel during the winding process, where one rotation of the reel requires a traverse movement equal to one diameter of the material being wound. The traverse shaft is driven by a toothed belt connection from the shaft supporting the reel, thus ensuring a constant relationship between the traversing speed and reel take-up speed. This is illustrated below:

The unit is self reversing, so the direction of the shaft rotation does not need to be reversed to effect travel in the opposite direction. The place where reversal occurs is dictated by the position of stops adjacent to the shaft which reverse the angle of the bearing set on contact.

The Principle
The Marldon rolling ring traverse unit converts rotary motion into linear travel. Rotating rolling ring bearings with a specially machined inner race, spring loaded against a smooth round shaft and maintained under constant pressure, convert the rotary motion of the shaft into linear movement at a rate that is proportional to the angular position of the rolling bearing set relative to the shaft axis. Picture A simple adjustment of this angle by a regulating mechanism allows a wide range of traversing speeds while the shaft speed remains constant.
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