Defined movement through guide rollers

Guide rollers are technical components designed to ensure the mobility of assemblies in a defined, linear direction. A guide roller basically also includes a guide rail.

Properties of guide rollers

Guide rollers only function optimally in a combination of roller and guide rail. Both components must fit together exactly. If the rail is too wide, the rollers do not have sufficient hold and can slip. In addition, the gaps created by rails that are too wide or rollers that are too narrow are excellent dirt traps. At installation sites where no guide rail is available, the guide must be supplemented by lateral support rollers. To improve the rolling characteristics, the rollers and the rails are often lubricated. They are therefore designed in such a way that they cannot be touched from the outside. The sliding system is thus technically necessary, but should be as space-saving as possible. This makes the rollers and the rails very small. In order to nevertheless be able to absorb the required forces, they are made of high-strength steel. To reduce noise, highly loaded rollers are coated with polyamide or polyurethane.

Structure of guide rollers

The construction of a guide roller depends strongly on its size and its load. Small and simple rollers consist of a monolithic cylinder. Large rollers have a multi-part bearing in their centre. For medium loads, simple ball bearings are sufficient to ensure the desired rolling capacity. A heavily loaded guide roller is equipped with a roller bearing.

Installation and care of the castors

The guide roller can be attached to the rigid or the movable side of a kinetic system. The other side holds the matching guide rail. Rollers should always be mounted so that their top is protected. An open-top design has a number of disadvantages. These include, above all, the susceptibility to soiling. When open, the rollers are exposed so that dust can trickle in from above. Cleaning them is very difficult. Therefore, the usual placement of the guide roller is the moving part.

A guide roller is highly resilient. Its weak point is its susceptibility to contamination. Fibres, dust and gumming lubricants can greatly reduce its rolling capacity. It therefore makes sense to thoroughly clean and relubricate the sliding system on a regular basis. It is particularly important that the rollers are not only superficially cleaned, but thoroughly rinsed. This is the only way to reliably and sustainably remove dirt particles in the axles.