Telescopic Rails & Linear Guides for Medical Devices

Where telescopic rails and linear guides work in medical tech

Typical mounting points across the industry — the tag shows which product line does the job.

Telescopic rail

Patient table extensions

Full-extension slides lengthen imaging and treatment tables under patient load.

Telescopic rail

Instrument & supply drawers

Carts and wall units with smooth, low-force drawer travel — gloved-hand friendly.

Telescopic rail

Analyzer & lab modules

Diagnostic instruments slide out for reagent access and service.

Telescopic rail

Bed & stretcher mechanisms

Compact partial-extension rails in adjustable bed and transfer systems.

Telescopic rail

Device housings

Ventilator, dialysis and monitoring modules extracted on slim rails for service.

Linear guide

Patient-table travel

VB ball guides carry the longitudinal and lift axes of imaging and treatment tables — quiet, stiff and accurate.

Linear guide

C-arm & accessory carriers

Precise linear guides position detectors and accessory trays.

Linear guide

Lab automation & pipetting

Small VB and VX guides run pipetting heads, sample handlers and analyser axes.

Linear guide

Therapy & rehabilitation devices

VX ball guides run quietly and tolerate mounting errors in therapy and training equipment.

What the application demands

The engineering constraints that drive series selection — and how Veltork answers them.

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Noise is a clinical issue

Rattling drawers have no place near patients. Ball-cage travel with zero clearance — or K1 preload — makes telescopic motion silent and constant-force; on positioning axes, ball linear guides run smoothly and quietly.

sanitizer

Hygiene & cleaning agents

Surfaces face alcohol and peroxide wipes daily. Nickel and zinc-nickel finishes plus FDA-grade greases keep telescopic rails compliant and cleanable; linear guides come nickel-plated, hard-chromed or in stainless steel.

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Deflection under patient load

A table extension carries a person cantilevered. VT-S's high moment of inertia holds deflection to a minimum at full extension.

Recommended series

Start with these series; the configurators weigh your exact load, stroke and service life against the whole range.

Telescopic rails

VT-S100 % · S1/S2 ext

Slim Full Extension

Slim, quiet, minimal deflection at 100 % extension — the default for table extensions and device drawers, sizes 28–63.

Sizes 28–63minimal deflection, slim profile

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VT-LCarriage in C-profile

Compact Rail

Compact rail with the carriage protected inside the profile — precise positioning for detector and accessory axes.

Sizes 22–63up to 122 kN per carriage

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VT-P≈ 50 % ext

Partial Extension

Rigid partial extension for bed mechanisms and service panels where 50–60 % travel suffices.

Sizes 22–63highest telescopic load, per pair

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Linear guides

VBBalls · O-arrangement

Ball linear guide, O-arrangement

Patient-table and positioning axes: stiff, accurate (classes N to UP) and quiet, sizes 15–65.

Sizes 15–65up to 5 m/s · accuracy N to UP

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VXBalls · X-arrangement

Ball linear guide, X-arrangement

Lab automation and therapy devices: especially quiet running, tolerant of mounting errors, sizes 20–35.

Sizes 20–35tolerates mounting errors

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Technical fit

Execution options of both product lines.

Telescopic rails

Working speed

≤ 0.8 m/s (derates with length) · max accel 1.2 m/s²

Surface coatings

Zinc per ISO 2081 (standard) · zinc-nickel · nickel · E-coat on request

Lubrication

Medium lithium grease; re-lube every 100 km or 6 months. FDA, cleanroom, marine & temperature greases on request.

Load basis

Telescopic series per pair of rails · VT-L per carriage

Linear guides

Accuracy · preload

Accuracy N · H · P · SP · UP; preload C0–C3 (roller guides C1–C3, C4 and C5 on request)

Speed · acceleration

VB up to 5 m/s and 500 m/s² · VR 4 m/s, 150 m/s² · VX 2 m/s, 40 m/s²

Sealing

End and bottom seals standard; double seals, metal scrapers, inner seal strips and rail cover strip on request

Corrosion protection

Oiled as standard; hard chrome, black chrome, nickel, black oxide or stainless steel

Load basis

Per carriage; load ratings to ISO 14728

Frequently asked questions

Are food/medical-grade lubricants available?expand_more

Yes — FDA-grade and cleanroom greases are standard options, combined with nickel or zinc-nickel surfaces for wipe-down resistance. The execution is encoded in the part-number suffix.

How quiet are the slides in practice?expand_more

Ball-cage running on ground, induction-hardened raceways with zero clearance produces no rattle; for absolutely play-free motion (e.g. imaging axes) choose the K1 preloaded execution.

Can a patient-table extension really carry a person?expand_more

Telescopic capacities are per pair of rails; appropriately sized VT-S or VT-X pairs carry several hundred kilograms fully extended with minimal deflection. We verify sizing against your load case, including moments.

What temperature limits apply for sterilisation environments?expand_more

VT-L, VT-P, VT-X and VT-O operate to +170 °C; VT-S (rubber-damped stops) to +80 °C. For autoclave-adjacent installations we select the family and grease accordingly.

Which linear guide for a patient-table or imaging axis?expand_more

VB ball guides for the main table and positioning axes — stiff, accurate (classes N to UP) and quiet; VX where the mounting surface is less precise or the axis has to run especially quietly. For wipe-down areas, rails and carriages come nickel-plated, hard-chromed or in stainless steel.

Other industries

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Tell us your application — we return a part number.

Send the payload, stroke and envelope, or let a configurator narrow the range first. Our team returns a sized series, deflection estimate and dimension drawing — prototypes in under 14 days.

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