Re: Acme, ball screw or rack for wood router?

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "ddgman2001" <sheldon@d...>
wrote:

> What is the best drive system for a wood router considering the

dusty

> environment?

Totally depends on your objectives. I use my wood router to do
complex carving and sign work. Deep carves require several passes
that have to register pretty close. So in thousands of moves I have
to be able to hold .010 or better or it will show in the carving and
take a lot of handwork to clean it up. If on the other hand you are
cutting out furniture parts and large panels then less tolerance is
acceptable. You need to select your drive mechanism based on the
finish product you want to turn out.

I agree with the other members about using rack and pinion or even
chain drive for lower tolerance applications. Yes, dust is a problem
but with adequate dust extraction at the cutting point and proper
shielding of the drive mechanisms and ways, its a problem that can be
solved. They make bellows and way covers that accordian up for both
the ways and/or the ballscrews themselves. The material is not cheap
running 30 to 35 bucks a linear foot but for extreme environments its
cheap insurance.

Giving some thought to where you mount the ways and drive components
out of the direct path of flying chips will go a long way in
reducing problems.

As for speed, I found that while it's nice to have rapids that are as
fast as possible the type of cutting (often using .125 or .0625 bits)
I am doing limits my speeds to 60IPM or less except for large areas
doing roughing cycles.