I have spent the last couple of weeks pouring over this site and the manufactures of CNC tables trying to get ideas on how I will contruct my CNC Plasma Table
Ive decided to use linear slides on harden rods unless it makes more sense to do something else. The gantry will be made with 4x4 aluminum tube in the shape of a T. The table size will be approx 4'x4'
The drive will be gear and rack. Ive seen a few on this site that have created their tables with direct drive using bigger motors 400oz/in plus.
My questions are:
1. Will linear slides on solid rod work well for a plasma table?(both X and Y) Im thinking about 20mm.
2. Does it make more sense to use a big stepper 400 oz/in + and a quality stepper driver like gecko, or smaller stepper around 200 oz/in with a 2:1 to 3:1 reduction and belts to get the torque and increase resolution?
If I used the Gecko drivers with big drives direct drive, will running it in mega microstep mode to get the resolution I need? Will running in microstep increase resolution, or will it just get rid of the harmonics?
If I run the belts and reduction will the hobbycnc board and 200 oz/in steppers give me plenty of power, smoothness, and resolution, or is it still best to go Gecko? Im not super concerned about rapids, but want to be able to cut up to 300 ipm if need be.
The table will be used for cutting suspension brackets and aluminum bits out of .125 - .250" I want it to be as accurate as possible but build the machine on a budget..
As soon as I get a few more bucks together I will upgrade to THC from Cambell designs and cut some thinner stuff.
Im going to use Mach2 and SheetCam for software.
Im super excited about the project... any help would be greatly appreciated!!
David