Thanks fred
I finally got David's e-mail straitened out. I kept getting the letters turned around. He said the same as you about the gantry and here are the responses to my other questions I asked....
The gantry could be lengthened with a minimum of trouble but its beam
may have to be enlarged to reduce flex. The extra weight may reduce
the speeds at which the gantry can move as well. I see no real
problems though; nothing different gearing or larger drives couldn't
resolve.
I have tried chains and they are cheaper by about a factor of 2 or 3
but I was not happy with the results enough to pursue fine tuning.
They add significant drag as compared to belts and when tightened
enough to remove backlash the drag increases; there is bound to be a
happy medium, but I have not heard anyone speak well of chains other
than to say they work pretty well and are cheap. In a plasma setting
they may be just the answer though, since there is less chance of
damage from wayward splatter and the resolution of the cutting plasma
is usually worse than the table can hold.
The belt table's gantry and Z axes are completely made of metal. The X
chassis is wood but could easily be replaced with metal when the
proper tools are available. The prototype table with the wooden bed
and X rail supports would be a hazard to use with plasma, but again,
switching out to a steel frame with an "ice tray" grid to support the
metal stock would be straightforward.
Hopefully this helps!
David Steele
I will be ordering his plans soon, review them think about it review again and try to convince myself to not get to far ahead of what this is for, Entry level learning tool that will when done correctly will provide excellent results for a small investment and provide good parts! Wish I could say I'll start posting the build tomorrow but this will be a long process for me, I will post with my progress if the thread doesn't expire
lol. Just pics no video wife burnt vid cam using night shot during daytime.... ? go figure. any way just try to pass what little info i have, Forward