New Delrin Roller Bearings for the Accu-Slice Carriages - Machining, Installation and Testing

In this video I will machining these Delrin Roller Bearing Sleeves for our Accu-Slice System. Fusion 360 software was used to both design the sleeves and also generate the g-code needed to machine them on the Tormach 8L lathe using the gang tooling I developed and described in a previous video.
In this video I describe the machining of these Delrin Roller Bearings, the installation and testing on the Accu-Slice System.
The standard roller bearings for our Accu-slice system consists of two stainless steel roller bearings with a polycarbonate outer covering or sleeve. These roller bearings are used on various carriages and accessories for the Accu-Slice system to enable them to ride smoothly on a linear rail. Similar roller bearings are also used on linear actuators for X-Y plotters, CNC routers and other linear motion systems. We have been using these roller bearings with polycarbonate outer coverings for more than 7 years on our Accu-Slice system.
On occasion we have seen these polycarbonate coverings deteriorate and crack over time. Cracking normally occurs due to excessive pressure between the roller bearings and the rail on which they travel. Excessive sawdust buildup on the roller bearings also causes premature wear and cracking of the polycarbonate coverings.
I have been investigating alternative materials for the sleeves or coverings for the roller bearings to see if they can be improved. I have discovered that Delrin may be a better alternative to the polycarbonate coverings. In my initial testing of Delrin roller bearings, I have seen improved performance of the roller bearings. They ride more smoothly on the rail and I have seen no evidence of any cracking of the roller bearings. As a result, I do believe that these will provide for improved performance.

[@lesrehklau1965]

nicely done John, thanks for the viewing of the tormach in action

[@billm4560]

Thanks John for the update on those bearings! Very interesting! 👍🏻

[@glencrandall8334]

very nice upgrade. Thanks