Product Selection Guide

To reduce complexity and cost of a design, it is important to accurately size a motor/lead screw combination. Below are a few simple steps in selecting the necessary components for a given application.

Step 1 – Choosing a motor NEMA size (Force requirements)

Here is a general overview of the output thrust vs. NEMA size:

As the NEMA size of the motor is increased, the output thrust of the actuator is consequently increased.

Step 2 – Choosing a screw lead (Force and Speed requirements)

After estimating the required thrust and choosing a NEMA size that may fit your application, the speed and acceleration of the load must be considered and evaluated to choose an appropriate screw lead.

Due to the nature of lead screws, the output speed and output thrust achievable by a motor/lead screw combination are two inversely proportional variables (i.e., increasing the required thrust will lower the achievable speed for a motor/lead screw combination). Therefore, the maximum output force of a system is lowered for applications that require higher speeds.

For complete motor/lead screw selection data, please refer to the speed/thrust curves for each NEMA size.

Although these two steps provide a solid foundation in motor/lead screw selection, other variables must also be considered:

• Duty Cycle

• Desired Life of a System

• Environmental Considerations

• Positional Repeatability

• Acceptable Backlash

• Acceleration/Deceleration Requirements

• Driver Specifications

• Vertical or Horizontal Orientation

Because of the numerous variables involved in motor selection, it is highly recommended for users to proceed with physical testing to accurately determine the motor/lead screw combination required for a given application.

NOTE: Although this section aims to provide a rough guide to selecting a motor/lead screw combination that best fits an application, we recommend contacting our application engineering staff for further assistance with the motor selection process.