Re: Why is the push to such high step rates (Grex and Arc100)?

Engineer or not, it is all going to have to come down to some
practical application otherwise it is nothing more than a peeing
contest.

I am well aware that there are many more applications beyond machine
tool for motion control, but I would just like to see a practical
application that utilizes such performance. Dave may have hit on
something with a rotary motion or device, but even there, you would
need resolution and probably not speed - star tracking is a pretty
slow (make that extremely slow) process.

I have seen some laser engraving machines that do marking on metal
parts (as well as others) that was very fast - VERY FAST. Ofcourse
in that application, the laser and parts are stationary and only a
mirror is moving the beam (as best as I could tell). I don't recall
all the specifics but I seem to recall it writing about 150
characters on a couple dozen parts in a matter of seconds. I have
no idea what the precision is or how fast the mirror moved or even
what moved the mirror, I just know that something is moving and
perhaps this is an application of this level of performance.
However, it does seem to me that even this doesn't seem applicable.

Ball screws and lead screws have maximum critical speeds even under
tension so I don't see a direct application there. Timing belt
drives probably can't handle that sort of velocity with a matching
precision (resolution) due to thermal distortion and even flex etc.
A linear motor does seem to show some promise of application but I
don't know as there is little information I know of them.

So, once again, I am back where I started, is there a practical
application?

Chris

> Chris you need to realize that you are dealing with hardware

engineers

> (emphases on Engineer). I are one so I can talk about them! If the
> latest greatest chip can do those numbers then SOMEBODY must need

it!

> Often times it's a solution looking for a problem.
>
> Forgive me if I don't get real excited about the "do everything"
> products (all they lack is just a "little" programming). I work

down

> in the trenches with the guys building their own machines (and a

few

> OEM's). I still have to answer the most basic of questions. Most

of

> my support on my hardware is not the hardware itself but things

like

> MACH3 setup, toolpath development, How to do things like turn on

the

> spindle or setup Home switches (;-)
>
>
> Tom Caudle
> www.CandCNC.com
>