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Case Study: Price Difference Between Repair and Replacement
THE REQUIREMENT: Solution needed for damaged large ballscrew in CNC machine
Ballscrews are mechanical devices that produce linear motion from rotational motion. They are highly efficient and ideally suited to higher-load applications and those requiring greater positional accuracy. At an aerospace company in the North of England, a very large ballscrew measuring over two metres long had become damaged and was no longer performing at its best.
When the machine was traversing, the noise it was generating suggested it had lost some balls or had a lot of wear on the balls or the nut. The ballscrew, which had been in operation for over a decade, is used in a Puma 400 bed CNC machine capable of handling parts almost 7 feet long. The CNC machine supplier was unable to supply a repair service, so the aerospace company was looking to purchase a replacement of the ballscrew, which was both costly and had a 7-10 working day lead time.
THE SOLUTION: Repair rather than replace wins on cost, delivery & sustainability
There is a large price difference between repair and replacement in linear motion applications. Matara, as part of the Rubix group – Europe’s largest supplier of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul products and services – has a close working relationship with Rubix’s Insite™teams.
Insite is a Rubix branch within a customer’s site, dedicated solely to that customer. It helps customers achieve cost savings by consolidating vendors and providing value-added services, including those from other companies within the group. The Rubix Insite Manager at the aerospace company suggested to the company’s maintenance supervisor that the repair was possible through Matara rather than replacing the large ballscrew. Matara has a large, fully equipped machine shop facility at its headquarters in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, allowing up to 80 ballscrews to be machined per day.
The cost difference between repair and replacement
Matara inspected the ballscrew and quoted for the repair work at £1,140.00, which compared more than favourably against the £5,641.00 cost of replacement, representing a saving of almost 80%. The work on the damaged ballscrew was produced to a high quality and was returned in full working order in just seven days.
The benefit of repair rather than replacement is not only a financial win but also one for sustainability, as it prevents the existing ballscrew from heading to landfills.
Discover Mataras solutions for your application
If you wish to learn more about us at Matara, you can read our technical articles for advice on a wide range of machinery and pneumatic and linear motion solutions or review our other case studies to learn about the value we provide for our customers.
