Originally Posted by TOTALLYRC  Ball screws do not preclude the use of ball screws, my point was why spend the money required to go with ballscrews and then handicap it by putting it on an mdf based machine.
That being said, if you dont have the ability or machinery to work with aluminum or steel, by all means go with mdf.
My point exactly.
Also mdf doesn't hold screws that well and then there is the creep of the fastners. When you thru bolt it the wood takes a set, then after awhile the bolts become loose, not because the bolt loosened up but because the wood crushed and got smaller under the washers. |
OK Thanks for elaborating. I hadn't considered the moisture / crushing issue. I have a manual lathe & tooling, a good pillar drill and a fairly comprehensive workshop in terms of hand tools. I suppose the fact is that since this would be my first CNC project, I'm thinking MDF would be far quicker and cheaper to work with, and if it didn't work out as planned, its easier to modify. Regarding the ballscrews, you could argue that using a less accurate positioning method would compound the issues of using MDF. Im thinking its better to spend money on a critical item that would be transferrable to a future machine.