[Matt Adams]

Neil,

Are you sure that you need .001 accuracy, or do you need .001 repeatable? The difference might be upwards of $750 or more per axis, because you'll need ground screws instead of rolled.

.001 accuracy means that you command the motors to go to any position at any point on the gantry and you'll be within .001 of an inch. As an example, if you command (2.325, 1.750) you'll be within .001 of either of those.

.001 repeatability means you'll command the motors to go to a position, and any time you go back there, you'll be within 0.001. In the above example, with the repeatabiliy, you might be within say 0.004 of the commanded values (e.g. 2.321, 1.753) , but you'll end up at those same positions, +/- 0.001 repeatably.

For pick and place with a fixed number of known stations or positions, you usually want to concern yourself with repeatability, not accuracy, but sometimes you need both. Could you describe the application a little more?

Also, would slides with linear guides, screws and in the $800 for each axis be a price range you're looking at, or is this way off?

Let me know,

Matt