Linear Motor Axis Drives

[AppliedMachine]

I have noticed that most of the posts in this forum section are about motor drives for CNC Routers, but I wondered if any of the manufacturers of the CNC Routers have incorporated Linear Motor - Axis Drives instead of Ball Screws? I don't represent any CNC Router manufacturers, so I wondered if they have utilized this technology?

I'm a Distributor for Sodick a world leading manufacturer of EDM and Wire EDM machines. They use Linear Motor for all their machines. They also have a line of precision High Speed Milling machines utilizing the Linear Motor Drives. The Linear Motor drives in the Sodick High Speed Mills are extreamly accurate and do not wear or have backlash. To this point they are able to provide a 10 year positioning accuracy Guarantee.

Here is some information on Sodick's High Speed Milling Machines:

Linear Motor Axis Drives
Sodick’s high speed mills use linear motor-based axis drives. Linear motors have no moving parts (ball-screws, ball-nuts, rotary motor). Therefore, no component will thermally expand, and no-backlash in the drive system. Linear motors provide high acceleration (1.2G) and high speed feeds (1,440”/min.).

You can also get more information at this link: http://www.sodick.com/index.php?t=pr...roducts__id=22


Applied Machine Solutions, Inc.
Sodick Distributor for Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.
www.appliedmachine.com

[veteq]

Hey,

That Sodick machines are so nice, i`m a student and never seen a router that uses the linear motors. (searched a lot on the web)
On this forum there isn`t anybody, also not on a benchtop mill.
I`m in the proces of designing a small mill and been looking to use some lineair motors, maybe in the future i will, when prices go down.

Good luck with your search.

[keebler303]

I think the main reason is cost. For wood routers, the accuracy does not need to be dead on and the cost for an 8' or 10' linear motor would be excessive. Linear motors are somewhat new technology and therefore there is no surplus market for them, as there is for servos and ballscrews. A hobby build would have to utilize new linear motors, which would be cost prohibitive for most DIYers.

I have seen the Fanuc linear motor demo setup and it is pretty darn cool. I would definitely like to use them, but I wouldn't want to pick up the tab on buying them.

Matt