Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Rack and pinion as guides and drive

On 6/15/04 11:45 PM, Fernando wrote:

>What would happen if you had a rack and pinion drive, and you just
>support the gantry or bridge on the pinions, instead of using linear
>guides, just use the pinions as traction wheels. some other "idlers"
>should be used to prevent the bridge from moving sideways, and so it
>wont rotate on its axis.

Being a dyed in the wool gerry-rigger by both birth and profession, I may not be
the wisest one to pick for advice on this. But I think that the biggest problem
is not load on the racks (given proper engineering), but the more mundane issue
of schmutz getting in the way of smooth operation. It would be better to have
the racks facing horizontally or upside down to let debris fall away.

But then I'm also the guy who used cast aluminum sheaves running on inverted
angle iron to drive a plasma cutter. This may sound awful, but it works fine if
you don't run into any obstructions. And flying pieces of metal just fall off
easily.

Good luck.

Hal Eckhart - Casa Forge - Minneapolis MN - <http://www.casaforge.com>