Hypothetically speaking, if it were possible to make a superlong X-axis (like 36" travel), would you be interested in such a product? Replacing the existing table with one of the same basic design but a longer table, dovetails, and leadscrew.
I know cuemakers already place a very long plate on the X-axis just to hold the work, but they don't get any more than the original 12" of travel and have to reposition.
It may be possible as long as the mill is bolted down (so it doesn't tip over when the axis and work is extended to one side) and the X-axis speed may need to be limited because there could be a span of 3ft of leadscrew between stepper and leadnut (or 3 ft hanging off the leadnut) and we don't want that wobbling into a "jumprope". Accuracy may (or may not) be reduced slightly as the table is extended because a 3ft long span of leadscrew has some flex to it in compression. It's a stiffness issue. Cuemakers do not need extreme accuracy to begin with. There will surely be some practical limits to how much work mass can be added before the Y-axis ways have too much torque on them from an off-center mass to move smoothly.
If you have long-stock projects, it sounds like a godsend, and doesn't sound that mechanically difficult of a design per se (actual production of such a beast is another issue). It could do jobs that some people might otherwise have to buy a $3000-$5000 wood router for. And a wood router typically wouldn't do a rotary axis for a cue for example even if you did get one. Production of such an axis would require a certain volume of users here.  |