Z, My machine is a rack and pinion except for the Z axis.
Before buying this machine I had an old Thermwood 4x8 I got basically DOA. I converted the drive system to Flashcut for the signal generator, Gecko drives, and reused the huge nema 42 stepper motors and power supply. I was and still am very pleased with Flashcut, and their new version of software makes it even better. The Geckos while functioning well, I think where a little light for the amps the large motors pull, and the new owner is struggling with that trying to achieve higher feed rates.
The other thing that maybe of interest to you is that in the x axis after removing one of the two heads is that I couldn't cut a full 8' and needed a longer ball screw. Not wanting to spend that kind of money on a machine I hadn't even ran yet I opted to build my own rack and pinion, with the thought I could always change to a ball screw later. Two 6' pieces of Boston Gear rack (Graingers) mounted to a large piece of angle iron, a stock gear, some timed belts and I was done. The accuracy was great, no discernable backlash, and I spent a fraction of a ball screw. Of course once I was up and running I never looked back and the rack stayed. Mike
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