Ball Screw Units and Bearings for Automatic Braking Systems

NSK is expanding its production of ball screw units for electric-hydraulic braking systems. 10 million of these ball screw units will be globally produced by 2026. The move is in line with the new mandatory regulations that will soon enter force.

by Andrea Baty

NSK has implemented plans to expand its production of ball screw units for electric hydraulic brakes. The move is in line with increasing numbers of regulators around the world mandating new vehicles be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems. The automotive industry is set to revolutionise safety over the coming years. Mandatory requirements in the EU, Japan and the US for new vehicles to be fitted with automatic emergency braking systems will enter force in 2021-2022. Automatic emergency braking systems help prevent accidents by scanning the road ahead and engaging the brakes to avoid potential collisions. The system brakes automatically if approaching another vehicle or obstacle at a speed that could result in an accident. To pre-empt the rise in demand that will result from the forthcoming market changes, NSK has a new roadmap in place to produce 10 million of these ball screw units globally by 2026.
Following the start of mass production of the units at its Saitama plant, NSK is now considering the establishment of additional production facilities for the units outside Japan, supported by an investment fund of around ¥10 billion (approximately €84.2 million).

The highly reliable system can already be found in vehicles

From a conceptual perspective, the unit is a compact and lightweight combination of high reliability ball screw and support bearing. Designing and manufacturing this innovative product has been made possible by leveraging NSK’s world-class ball screw technology, which is backed by more than 100 years of bearings expertise. The units can already be found in existing road vehicles, with more and more automakers rolling out implementation to further models.