Abstract: Machine tool characteristics mainly depend on the systematic stiffness properties composed of the constructional component stiffness and the joint stiffness. The joint stiffness of linear ball guide is the primary constituent portion of the system stiffness. The linear ball guide pair is composed of some slides and rails, and the joint between one slide and rail is called the joint cell of linear ball guide. A joint cell of the linear ball guide is composed of many joint surfaces, namely multi-column, multiple cylindrical-spherical joint surfaces. An analytical method is introduced for the static characteristics of the cylindrical-spherical joint surfaces based on the fundamental parameters of the joint, and which is validated by the comparison between a case study and experimental results. Therefore, the method can be used in the design and analysis of cylindrical-spherical joint surface.

Key words: Cylindrical-spherical joint surfaces, Linear ball guide, Static characteristics