Hi guys, I'm following this mailing list for a while but still have a few questions about designing (ideal :-) CNC machine for use with woodwork mainly.
Here are the preliminary specs: tool motion: 120 x 90 x 20 cm (X-Y-Z) frame material: T-slotted aluminum motors: 3 stepper drivers: 3 geckorive (1 opt.) controller: Mesa 5120 (?) power supply: linear 35-55V 600-800W (?) X-Y motion: moving arm (X-Y axis) (with ball bearings and steel rod) Z axis: optional: 4th axis for rotating parts table: fixed Software: EMC of course Questions: what size of the stepper motors should I pickup for X-Y? I was thinking in a range of 500 - 800Nm for X-Y and 200 Nm for Z but am not sure about it. Brand names are also a question. Are http://www.anaheimautomation.com/hightorquesteppermotors.aspx good enough? Is brake mandatory for Z-axis? What kind of a moving mechanism would be the most cost effective for each axis? Lead screw, pinion gear and rack, belt, or something else? I haven't seen anybody using steel cable to move the arms around in CNC machine for example. What comes to mind here is an old HP plotter model 7221 which uses a rather complicated but efficient and precise mechanism with steel cable, pulleys, and two motors in fixed position to move the pen. While the cable will wear out faster than a lead screw for example, it's way less expensive and easier to setup with no backlash IMO. Steel cable doesn't collect much dust either making it suitable for the job IMO. I tried to find a source for plastic cable track to protect and guide the cable but Google did not respond kindly. What kind of flexible cables are used for connecting power/data to stepper motors and encoders? All suggestions are welcome but note that there is a budget limit :-) which should be significantly or reasonably lower than a commercial product of the same size and capabilities. Thanks, -- Rafael ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
