The rails in this photo were still lined up on the long shop rack when we took the picture. Most of the machining was already done: the mounting holes were in, the running faces were finished, and the pieces were waiting to be sorted for a German order. They will go by sea with our other export cargo.
These are HGH series Linear Guide Rail pieces. On a finished machine, each rail works with its matching block, but at this stage the long rails are easier to check and handle on their own. The rows of mounting holes have already been machined along the full length, so once the customer receives them, the rails can go straight onto the prepared machine bed.
Long rails usually show up when the machine frame has already decided the travel. Cutting a standard rail later is not always the best option, especially when the mounting-hole positions also have to line up with an existing base. That is why we often make the Linear Guide Rail length and hole layout around the drawing rather than asking the customer to change the frame.
Germany is a natural market for parts like these. The country has a large machinery and automation sector, with plenty of specialist equipment builders working on machine tools, handling systems, packaging machinery and production lines. On that kind of equipment, longer guide rails are often used when the moving section has to cover a fixed bed or when an older machine is being rebuilt around dimensions that cannot easily be changed.
Before packing, the rails are separated by size and order number. The running faces are kept apart inside the wooden case so the long pieces are not rubbing against one another during the sea trip. With rails of this length, a small knock at one end can show up much farther down the piece, so the packing is kept simple and firm.
Standard HGH sizes cover a lot of machines, but the rail itself does not have to follow one catalogue length. If the frame is already drilled, send us the drawing first. We can work around the required Linear Guide Rail length, mounting-hole spacing and block combination before production.
