Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Sawyer motor

Anne Ogborn wrote:

>
> Anybody on this list been sick enough to contemplate
> making a machine based on a sawyer motor?
>
> A Sawyer motor is a sort of 2D linear stepper motor.
> I used to run a giant pen plotter that used one.

My dad used to work for a place that made those. They had versions that
cut cloth for Levis, another that would make up wiring harneses, etc.
Very fast and quiet. Don't know what sort of thrust they can generate,
nor how prone they are to losing steps.

On a similar vein, I'm sure you've seen the assembly robots working on
the same principle, with a large overhead platten and multiple little
"pucks" running around on the "ceiling". Magnetic attraction holds them
up, and they float on a cushion of air.

I thought one time how cool it would be to have a mill with a separate
shuttle for each tool. Depending upon the part (and it would certainly
work best with shallow parts), you could have several tools working all
at the same time. Of course the software and collision avoidance would
be an interesting challenge.

Jon