Self-Cleaning Rack-and-Pinion design? 4

[fester225]

I have an application which would work very nicely using a rack-and-pinion. The problem is: the environment is inherently very dirty. A typical rack-and-pinion arrangement would quickly seize.

Does anybody know of a self-cleaning rack-and-pinion design?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Hard to say with such little information.
Size?
Orientation?
Access?
Type of 'dirt' involved?
Wet or dry environment?

Instead of self-cleaning, can the rack and pinion be contained in a sealed cover.

Or maybe an open cover with an air flow to keep the 'dirt' out.

 

[racookpe1978]

1) What about turning the rack and pinion sideways?

Have the pinion axle go up & down vice horizontal. The dirt/rocks/debris/shavings/particles will fall out of the gear teeth on both rack & pinion because the grooves are now vertical.

2) Eliminate oil or grease (use a dry system) and expect to replace the pair more often.

 

[unclesyd]

You can use one of the offerings by a company posted below or one of many others that make machine covers.

http://www.buww.com/bellows.asp

 

[ornerynorsk]

We have a plasma cutting table that makes use of rack and pinion linear drives. I will be anxious to see what solutions are posted here, as well, as it is a time consuming bugger to keep clean.

 

[strokersix]

How about a relief (deeper root) in the root of one or both elements? I've seen this used on roller chain sprockets in agricultural applications. Rather than debris packing hard in the root, it squirts out the side through the relief. In this case the debris is primarily soil and crop residue.

 

[hydtools]

Something like a track drive on earth moving equipment. They tolerate a lot of debris.

Ted

 

[MechGnarMonkey]

Give us a schematic of the problem/your solution, you will get much better feedback for the problem you specifically have and any critical nuances that may be apparent.

 

[unclesyd]

You might want to look at the roller pinion system by Nexen.

http://www.nexengroup.com/nexen/prod/prod_main.jsp/product?pn=966687

 

[macthenife]

The rack and pinion steering on a car is sealed from dirt ingress.

Why not take a trip down to your friendly car breakers.

Their have a selection of types to try.