mike hide wrote:

| Last time I followed one of your posts you were spouting robotics.
| a subject totally alien to me . This is what I have been piddling
| with since ......mjh

As you've probably figured out, robotics are an important part of my
work life - and I'm sufficiently fascinated with the possibilities to
talk about the stuff whenever I can.

I especially like your box beam, heavier rails, and the rail supports
for the y-axis - and your router/spindle mount is much more elegant
than my (rather primitive) band clamp setup that surprised even me
with its rigidity.

How did you handle the linear bearings - and are you satisfied with
their performance?

I used Delrin slides on round rails and they work well at low to
moderate speeds, but are prone to chatter when I try to move the
spindle around at speeds higher than about 5"/sec. I'm planning to try
another approach (mounting ordinary ball bearings to machined aluminum
blocks) to see if I can push the speed up a few more notches. I'd
really like to be able to run the steppers flat out.

Please post more pictures as you progress - and let the rest of us
learn from your experiences...

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html