Hey Everyone. Newbie here. I am a experianced Product Design Engineer that does a lot of Solidworks modeling. I am trying to set up a G0704 for doing basic prototyope work on small aluminum parts. I am really interested in true 3D contour milling. I found BobCAD V25 Mill Pro selling for $625 with training videos and bought it. I also Made a deal trading contract Engineering hours for stepper controller and motors and just recieved a G0704. So I am into this project for about $1900 so far and want to design my own motor mounts etc.
I am getting ready to convert the G0704 and have a few questions.
-Direct drive vs. belt drive off the servo motors? I am liking the reduction I can get from the belt drive. is one better than the other?
-On the Z axis, is there any reason to not use the turn handle shaft exiting the side of the main column as the pully for a belt drive servo? I see a lot of direct drive motors for the z axis and even belt drives but none of them use the side.
I have a lot of questions and am reviewing a few sites but I am pretty sure there is a ton of experiance here.