So this is…probably going to be quite a meandering thread where I explore a few different ideas around a central theme, compared to the tightly focused linear rail conversion thread I just posted: I linear rails-ed my Maslow
I broadly think of this all as ‘The Maslow 4x4 project’ - because it’s based around the idea of 'can I build a Maslow variant that is strong enough to carry and utilise a big vfd spindle (so 65mm diameter, 2kg-ish air or watercooled spindle) and be stiff enough to make use of that.
The 4x4 part of it comes from the idea that it might well need a structure something like this:
with 4 linear rails and 4 Z-screws, so you have very stiff, very accurate Z travel, even with a heavy spindle.
Now it may well be the 2-rail 2-Z conversions i’ve been working on, combined with a normal router are actually all we’ll ever need, but I find hardware experimenting fun and maybe i’ll find out some interesting stuff along the way.
There are a few more bits to it, and i’ll keep updating as I go.
I broadly think of this all as ‘The Maslow 4x4 project’ - because it’s based
around the idea of 'can I build a Maslow variant that is strong enough to
carry and utilise a big vfd spindle (so 65mm diameter, 2kg-ish air or
watercooled spindle) and be stiff enough to make use of that.
take a look at
with the fixed arms checkbox checked (top left)
This moves the forces for the belts off of the spindle and onto a fixed surface
(software support for this will be in the next release) and all the parts are
parameterized so that you can make them any dimension.
This is using more complex arms, they have bearings in them (two sets, one that
the spool rides against, and one that rides against a central tube)
It’s quite similar to the next variant i’m working on after the one I posted in the other thread, except what i’m trying isn’t about separating the Z movement of the spindle - will grab a photo a bit later if I have time
It’s quite similar to the next variant i’m working on after the one I posted
in the other thread, except what i’m trying isn’t about separating the Z
movement of the spindle - will grab a photo a bit later if I have time
I figured that by making the arms not move, it eliminates one area of error, and
it lets them have a much more rigid attachment to the sled
(ignore the makita clone router + shorter columns - that’s just so I don’t need another dewalt router while i experiment on getting this Z movement working).
Hopefully once i’ve got the Z-travel working on this it lets me potentially have 4 columns/rails/Z-loading (possibly with 2 motors and belts for the 4 i’m not sure). But it also lets me pick the size of motor rather than being limited to pancakes and lets me tes if you really do need 4 columns or if 2 is stiff enough (which all seems quite similar to what your model looks like?)
if you can eliminate two of the verticals so that the swing of the arms is not limited to a quadrant, you avoid the problems in the corners that the current design suffers from, that will allow MUCH smaller frames for the same size work area.
I was wondering if the lead screws could be stiff enough to support things with just the two. I figured they would be if they just needed to manage the motor and not the belt tension. in that same cad document, I have bearing holders and stepper holders designed to key against a piece of 3/4 materical for the upright to make it easy to align things
steppers with leadscrews are pretty cheap, and it makes almost no difference if you get a 50mm leadscrew or a 300mm leadscrew
Yeah, it for sure could also turn out to be a step too far - i’d wondered about having two sets of delrin nuts on each (though that might be a nightmare to get to align), and yeah, plenty of other possibilities like yours!
I was thinking of a mod that would make the spools much bigger and separate the z axis from spools. That way the router mount and z axis doesn’t interfere with the spools. It would probably have to use a bigger sled, probably cut from plywood.
I was thinking of a mod that would make the spools much bigger and separate
the z axis from spools. That way the router mount and z axis doesn’t interfere
with the spools. It would probably have to use a bigger sled, probably cut
from plywood.
yep, that (plus trying to give the arms more range to swing) is where I was
looking when I did my design.
