THK SHW Series Wide-Rail Caged Ball LM Guide
The THK SHW Series is a caged ball LM Guide with a wide LM rail and a low center of gravity. This makes it well suited for setups that need a compact footprint along with strong resistance to moment loads.
Balls roll through four rows of precision-ground raceways on the LM rail and LM block. Ball cages and end plates inside the block keep the balls circulating smoothly, which helps the guide run quietly, stay maintenance-free over the long term, and handle high speeds well. Each row of balls sits at a 45° contact angle, giving the SHW Series a four-way equal load structure. This means load ratings stay even across all four directions, radial, reverse-radial, and lateral, so the guide can be mounted in any orientation.
The SHW Series also uses THK’s self-adjustment capability. A front-to-front arrangement of circular-arc grooves lets it absorb mounting errors even under preload, keeping motion accurate and smooth. Because the ball cages remove friction between the balls and hold lubricant better, the guide also produces very little dust.
There are 2 model variants, covering flanged and non-flanged types, with bolts mounted from above or from both above and below. Sizes range from 12 to 50, with basic dynamic load ratings from 4.31 kN to 70.2 kN and basic static load ratings from 5.66 kN to 91.4 kN, depending on the model.
