As a follow up to the above intro - for the X axis I'm considering these options
1) Cheap threaded rod, low rpms, slow speed
2) Either, timing belt, chain drive, wire rope set up on each side of the X, driven by a common shaft which is suitably reduced to the motor.
re #2. to date it seems that the timing belt setup (with cogs) is the most expensive. I've looked at McMaster carr and don't see myself getting anywhere close to my 150$ target. Any other resources/materials to consider? That's what brought me to the chain drive... a lightweight chain at $1 per foot is in the budget and all sorts of cogs are available/cheap. My only reservation is what about backlash? The wire rope was another idea... if at the drive end it took 2 or 3 raps around the drive pulley I think no slippage would occur. this would be by far the cheapest. All ideas at this point.... please comment on hypotheses/experience with any/all. The picture below shows roughly what I'm thinking (I hope!). In any setup, I'd have the idler pully adjustable to tension the belt/wire/chain.
If any of these work I may retrofit to the Y axis too.
Thanks
AJ
PS: if the underlying theme of cheap hasn't come through yet... well yes, I'm another dreamer that wants to build performance without paying for it!
