Round Shafting

Round shafting and rails support, guide, and enable linear motion in round ball, roller, and plain bushings. They handle several degrees of misalignment, uneven parallelism, and rail height variations. Round rails and shafts also support vertical loads and loads that require end-supported linear raceways. They are used with open bearings, which are bearings with two sides that do not close to form a circle. This open shape allows the bearing to mount on rail-supported shafts. Closed bearings can only mount on end-supported shafts that do not use rails.