| WARREN, OH—Drake Manufacturing Services Co., known primarily for its precision CNC thread and gear grinding machines, has launched a new website to promote its Internal Return Ball Nut technology, www.drakeballnut.com. Drake is the exclusive worldwide licensing agent for the Drake Internal Return Ball Nut and is actively seeking non-exclusive licensees. This new ball nut technology has already been commercialized and incorporated into automotive power steering systems.
Conventional ball nut designs recirculate the balls through some external mechanism — tubes, inserts, or end deflectors. The Drake Internal Return Ball Nut uses the track of the nut itself to recirculate the balls — no tubes, inserts, or deflectors at all. Drake's design recirculates the balls internally, simplifies the structure of the nut, and makes it less costly to produce than other designs.
John L. Drake is the developer of the Drake Internal Return Ball Nut, and was awarded US Patent No. 7,013,747. He is recognized worldwide for his expertise with thread and gear manufacturing machines and remains a consultant for the company he founded.
With conventional ball nut designs, aligning the finished thread with the return system requires complicated machining and fixturing. Not so with the Drake Internal Return Ball Nut – you simply find the roughed thread in the hardened blank then finish grind the advance and return features in one finish grind operation. Drake has developed special grinding processes and machines for licensees and all machines are shipped pre-programmed to machine and then grind all features of the internal return ball nut.
Drake Internal Return Ball Nuts are inherently safe and easy to assemble. There are no holes through the walls and no loose parts. They're lighter and offer a small ball nut diameter for a given ballscrew.
Drake Internal Return Ball Nuts can be used wherever traditional ballscrew and ball nut designs have been applied. Because the design is inherently safe, it can be used in critical linear motion applications in automotive, defense and aerospace. They are particularly well suited in applications where space is at a premium and weight savings are required. The design excels where defect-free operation is critical to human safety.
For more information or to inquire about licensing opportunities, visit www.drakeballnut.com or call Drake Manufacturing Services
at 330-847-7291.
Drake Manufacturing designs, builds and services
state-of-the-art precision CNC grinding, rack milling and gear
hobbing machines that help maximize productivity, improve quality
and reduce production costs for a wide variety of demanding applications.
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