<p>The answer is yes; and it's a normal thing to do.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.igus.com/info/linear-guides-butting-rails-together" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.igus.com/info/linear-guides-butting-rails-together</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/izszZ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/izszZ.jpg" alt="DryLin® aluminum rails"></a></p>

<p>Basically you should only do it with rails from the same manufacturer and you might have to file the mating surfaces, but butting them is altogether trivial. This method works with Drylin and UHMW-PE bearing surfaces as recirculating balls could get caught in the small gap that is left behind. This would cause the carriage to "jump" as it passes over the joint.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-27T16:55:42.217Z
They need to be mounted to a **very** rigid piece.
Davo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-27T22:28:15.697Z
You must include that this works for DryLin® bush bearings, these do not use ball bearings. I doubt it will work for the ball bearing type as a notch causes wear on the balls.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-27T15:01:39.753Z
2019-08-28T13:39:20.280Z
2019-08-28T13:39:20.280Z
user77232
<p>Take the standard Hiwin rail, as commonly used in 3D printers:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/69Wy5.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/69Wy5.jpg" alt="Ebay Listing of Hiwin rail"></a></p>

<p>They come in a max length of 2500 mm. Let's say I need twice that. If I connect two rails together end to end (as a "butt joint") and just bolt them into place, will it work as though it was one 5000&nbsp;mm rail? Or are we limited to whatever lengths the manufacturers put out.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-26T21:43:01.683Z
Could you give a bit more context to make it a 3D printing question, as it is formulated, this would be more appropriate on the Engineering stack.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-27T06:43:54.970Z
Technically they should, but the transition point may be rough. You have to make sure there's no room between the rails, or the balls might get stuck there.
towe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-27T23:17:12.200Z
This is presumably for a delta printer? Which make/model do you have?
Greenonline
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-28T13:34:59.197Z
No, its for printers in general.
user77232
<linear-motion>
Can linear guide rails be joined?
user77232
# Can linear guide rails be joined?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-26)

Take the standard Hiwin rail, as commonly used in 3D printers:

[![Ebay Listing of Hiwin rail](https://i.sstatic.net/69Wy5.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/69Wy5.jpg)

They come in a max length of 2500 mm. Let's say I need twice that. If I connect two rails together end to end (as a "butt joint") and just bolt them into place, will it work as though it was one 5000 mm rail? Or are we limited to whatever lengths the manufacturers put out.

**Tags:** linear-motion

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you give a bit more context to make it a 3D printing question, as it is formulated, this would be more appropriate on the Engineering stack.  
> **username_2**: Technically they should, but the transition point may be rough. You have to make sure there's no room between the rails, or the balls might get stuck there.  
> **username_3**: This is presumably for a delta printer? Which make/model do you have?  
> **username_0**: No, its for printers in general.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2019-08-27. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

The answer is yes; and it's a normal thing to do.

<https://www.igus.com/info/linear-guides-butting-rails-together>

[![DryLin® aluminum rails](https://i.sstatic.net/izszZ.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/izszZ.jpg)

Basically you should only do it with rails from the same manufacturer and you might have to file the mating surfaces, but butting them is altogether trivial. This method works with Drylin and UHMW-PE bearing surfaces as recirculating balls could get caught in the small gap that is left behind. This would cause the carriage to "jump" as it passes over the joint.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: They need to be mounted to a **very** rigid piece.  
> **username_1**: You must include that this works for DryLin® bush bearings, these do not use ball bearings. I doubt it will work for the ball bearing type as a notch causes wear on the balls.  

---

