Sources for new BIG ball screws and rails?

[ewest]

Hello!

OK so I'm getting my act together and starting to design up a large format router - No less than 4x8, probably a 5x10.

I have a pretty hefty budget, and dropping a thousand bucks on the right ball screw will not phase me in the least.

My design will be a heavy structural steel setup, welded and bolted where needed to allow me to move it in and out of spaces, and to allow some tweaking of the frame if need be. I will probably NOT have the frame ground, but depending on what it looks like once it's designed, I may after all.
The longest Y axis will have a rotating ball nut supported by timken bearings, and driven by a 750 or 1KW AC servo. I'm thinking I'll use two long rails on the underside of the table, with two trucks on each side of the gantry, spaced probably a foot or more apart. The base of the gantry will come up the sides of the table and terminate on a heavy bolt flange. The X will then be attached to that. Whatever height I want can be put together at a later time. I'm thinking I'll do a 12" Z for now. The X will be driven by a 500 or 750W AC servo, this time with a rotating screw. The Z will get another 500W servo as well. For the Z, the trucks will be on the gantry, and the rails on the axis itself. On this will be mounted a nice spindle. Probably an ATC Colombo...

The ultimate plan is probably to do a much taller Z and strap on a 5 axis head for hardcore foam cutting, but thats a year or so down the road. That alone will probably cost as much as the entire gantry.

My Question is This:

WHO SHOULD I USE FOR MY COMPONENTS? I've been looking at a company called NOOK Industries http://www.nookindustries.com/ for my stuff. I also really like dealing with their stuff because they have solidworks parts on line, making my life super easy, but I've never bought anything from them.

I also don't really want to get the parts from McMaster, since I have NO idea what I'm actually getting, and It's hard to say whether I'm getting a good price.

Can anybody recommend a vendor for decent parts? I'm located in New York City.

Thanks!

Andy Baker

[duce00]

Sorry I cant help you with your questions but thanks for tipping me on that site. Very nice to get SW models for my design.

[Zumba]

Andy, Nook should have a distributor list on their website. Nook will only sell through distributors, but they drop ship, and prices are determined by Nook. McMaster's prices are good for gaging prices from other places. You can get better prices on the screws, but you won't do much better on the nuts.

Did you already buy the motors? Curious as to how you decided on those particular sizes.

[nwrepair1]

I'm sorry. Nook sells direct and doe not have a distributor list. I can tell you that a quote for a rolled ballscrew for that length of table (4 x 8) will cost you more than $1,500.

[WayneHill]

McMaster Carr is a Nook distributor.

[r.r.mccoy]

I've not tried them so as to be able to recommend or not, but http://www.roton.com/ sells rolled ball screws by the foot.

[ewest]

So McMaster sells Nook parts?? Neat! And that quote for $1500 for a screw? What grade? McMaster has (I think) had a big screw for about $600, and $200-300 for the nut. Maybe I should just look for a quote from NOOK, just to get an idea of what I'm up against.

Also, as far as the motor sizes, I'm just guessing. I recently got a pretty nice 750W servo at work for an indexing system, and it absolutely kicks ass. The other idea is that I'd like to be able to move the servos over to a larger system if I have to. I look at them like an investment, and I don't see any harm in overkill, despite the fact that it's going to cost a lot more.... plus really fast rapids give me a hard-on. The other big thing is that I don't feel like going with a home-brew DC or even a Geckodrive for my controls. I want industrial amps that have their own power supply and run on 3-phase. A lot of it probably also has to do with the very bad taste I still have in my mouth from the PracticalCNC that's currently in the shop.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'm going to try to call the engineering dept. at Nook tomorrow to see what they have to say about my project. I'm not buying anything until I can figure out what kind of heart and soul are going in to the machine. I'm also going to check out Roton.

Thanks!

Andy B

[Al_The_Man]

FWIW Reid Supply sells Nook B.Screws (also Thompson) Catalogue on line, also the Misumi Free Catalogue is a usfull reference, also online.
I have had excellent service from both.
Al.

[ewest]

Yeah Roton... I dunno. I've been farting around on their site for a few minutes now, and I don't see any information on lead accuracy or anything else of that sort, and I don't see any information on their nuts - are any of them pre-loaded? etc?

I wouldn't mind buying from them, I'd just like to know more about the product than they provide.

Has anybody had any experience with them?


Thanks again!

Andy Baker

[Zumba]

Originally Posted by WayneHill McMaster Carr is a Nook distributor.

Yeah, but the problem is you don't know if you're going to get a Nook product when you order. It's like ordering seasonal dishes from a seafood restaurant.... sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't.

I bought a 1" x 0.250" rolled screw and nut from them and got Thomsons. This was barely 3 months ago.

[lgalla]

Andy Misumi seems to be the best for precision or rolled ballscrews as they can be ordered with machined ends.Also their angular bearing support blocks are reasionable price.
Larry

[magick_man]

well i just ordered a 4ft 5/8 x .200 ballscrew and single nut from roton since they are cheaper than homeshopcnc.
worst case i am out $63.
but i think they will be okay. and if so i am going to get the rest of mine there.
if anyone is interested i can try to test for slop in the nut and lead accuracy, anthough i my indicator is only 2" so it wont be a real accurate test.
but it should give some insight to whether or not they are decent quality.

~Magick_Man~