Ball Screws and Lead Screws

Ball Screws and Lead Screws

Ball screws and lead screws are threaded rods that typically rotate to drive matching threaded, load-carrying nuts axially without nut rotation, except in captive pusher designs where the nut rotates and the screw moves axially without rotating. Rotating motion is thus converted to linear motion as moving threads on one component force stationary threads on the other. The direction of linear motion is determined by the combination of right or left thread handedness and rotation direction, while screw lead (distance traveled per full rotation) and rotation speed determine how far and how fast the nut or screw moves axially. Ball screws use recirculating balls for high efficiency, while lead screws use sliding thread contact for simpler, more cost-effective motion control. 

Ball screws use helical grooves to guide the recirculating ball bearings within the nut, enabling low-friction linear motion, high efficiency, and repeatable accurate travel. Our precision-rolled 1050 steel ball screws are produced in the USA and are available in 6, 8, and 10 mm diameters with 1, 2, and 2.5 mm leads, offering six metric screw-and-lead combinations. Ball screw nuts are available in cylindrical or flanged configurations and include a multi-liner ball return system for recirculation, along with polymer seals for contaminant protection. 

Lead screws rely on direct sliding contact between the screw threads and a matching nut to convert rotary motion into linear movement. PTFE-coated stainless steel lead screws provide corrosion resistance, low wear, reduced friction, and minimal flaking. They are available in 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 mm diameters with a wide range of lead options, and can be paired with round, triangular, or Constant-Force Anti-Backlash nuts to minimize play. Certain ball screw and lead screw combinations are compatible with NEMA 08–23 motors or hand cranks, allowing them to function as screw-driven linear actuators for compact positioning, adjustment, and automation applications.

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Ball Screws and Lead Screws

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72 products
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut and a 12mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$132.41
Lead Screw with a regular Rectangle Nut and a 12mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$121.23
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut and a 12mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$132.41
Lead Screw with a regular Triangle Nut and a 10mm diameter, 5mm lead and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$121.23
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut and a 10mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$132.41
Lead Screw with a regular Rectangle Nut and a 10mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$121.23
Lead Screw with a regular Triangle Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 1mm lead and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$121.23
Lead Screw with a regular Rectangle Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$121.23
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 508mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$132.41
Lead Screw with a regular Rectangle Nut featuring a 12mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut featuring a 12mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$83.74
Lead Screw with a regular Triangle Nut featuring a 12mm diameter, 5mm lead and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a regular Rectangle Nut featuring a 12mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a regular Triangle Nut featuring a 12mm diameter, 1mm lead and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut featuring a 12mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$83.74
Lead Screw with a regular Triangle Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$83.74
Lead Screw with a regular Rectangle Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 5mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a regular Triangle Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. With exceptional lead accuracy, this assembly exceeds industry standards, achieving unmatched straightness tolerances, a smoother finish, and greater..
$72.57
Lead Screw with a Round Anti-Backlash Nut featuring a 10mm diameter, 1mm lead, and a length of 254mm, made from precision-rolled 300 Series Stainless Steel and coated with PTFE to prevent flaking. The Round Constant Force™ Anti-Backlash nut uses a spring to maintain uniform radial pressure, reducing backlash by 2-4..
$83.74

Ball Screws and Lead Screws

72 products

Ball screws and lead screws are threaded rods that typically rotate to drive matching threaded, load-carrying nuts axially without nut rotation, except in captive pusher designs where the nut rotates and the screw moves axially without rotating. Rotating motion is thus converted to linear motion as moving threads on one component force stationary threads on the other. The direction of linear motion is determined by the combination of right or left thread handedness and rotation direction, while screw lead (distance traveled per full rotation) and rotation speed determine how far and how fast the nut or screw moves axially. Ball screws use recirculating balls for high efficiency, while lead screws use sliding thread contact for simpler, more cost-effective motion control. 

Ball screws use helical grooves to guide the recirculating ball bearings within the nut, enabling low-friction linear motion, high efficiency, and repeatable accurate travel. Our precision-rolled 1050 steel ball screws are produced in the USA and are available in 6, 8, and 10 mm diameters with 1, 2, and 2.5 mm leads, offering six metric screw-and-lead combinations. Ball screw nuts are available in cylindrical or flanged configurations and include a multi-liner ball return system for recirculation, along with polymer seals for contaminant protection. Ball screw nuts are also available in two fits: Standard Backlash (0.05mm max) and Transitional Backlash (0.008mm to ≤3% preload). 

Lead screws rely on direct sliding contact between the screw threads and a matching nut to convert rotary motion into linear movement. PTFE-coated stainless steel lead screws provide corrosion resistance, low wear, reduced friction, and minimal flaking. They are available in 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 mm diameters with a wide range of lead options, and can be paired with round, triangular, or Constant-Force Anti-Backlash nuts to minimize play. Certain ball screw and lead screw combinations are compatible with NEMA 08–23 motors or hand cranks, allowing them to function as screw-driven linear actuators for compact positioning, adjustment, and automation applications.

  • Ball Screw Diameters: 6, 8, and 10mm
  • Ball Screw Lead Sizes: 1, 2, and 2.5mm
  • Ball Screw Nut Fit: Standard and Transitional 
  • Ball Screw Nut Profiles: cylindrical, flanged and externally threaded cylindrical nuts
  • Lead Screw Diameters: 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 mm
  • Lead Screw Lead Sizes: 1, 2, 2.5, 4, 5, 6, 8 , 10, 12, and 25mm
  • Lead Screws have round and triangular nuts
  • Lead Screws made of stainless steel with a PTFE coating to prevent flaking


More Features of Ball Screw & Lead Screw Assemblies

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a screw lead?
A screw lead is the distance a nut or screw moves axially in one full rotation. It is often confused with thread pitch, or the distance between adjacent threads measured along the screw. On a single-start screw, pitch equals lead; on multi-start screws, lead equals pitch multiplied by the number of thread starts.
What is the difference between screw pitch, screw start and screw lead?
Screw pitch is the axial distance between adjacent threads. A screw start is an independent thread path wrapped around the screw. Screw lead is the axial distance traveled in one full rotation. On a single-start screw, pitch and lead are the same. On multi-start screws, lead equals pitch multiplied by the number of starts.
What does axial movement mean?
Axial movement means motion along the lengthwise centerline of a shaft, screw, axle, or similar part. On a car or truck, axial movement would be motion along the axle from side to side, rather than spinning around it. In ball screw and lead screw systems, axial movement is the straight-line travel produced along the screw’s length.
What does NEMA mean?
NEMA refers to motor frame size standards from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. In linear motion systems, NEMA sizes such as NEMA 08, 11, 17, or 23 describe the motor mounting face size, helping users match motors, mounts, and actuator assemblies.