This is my first post here. I've been reading the threads here for several months and am planning to build a CNC router at some point. Like most, I've been busy scrounging parts. A couple of days ago I found a salvage computer dealer here in Houston. I dropped by to see if they might have anything of use. Apparently I stopped by the right day. They had a surplus robotic tape library. This wasn't one of the little ones. It's about 6 1/2' feet tall by 2' wide by 2 1/2' feet deep. I took some pictures before I started the process of taking it apart but haven't had a chance to pull them off my camera yet. What was amazing to me was one of the linear drive systems I pulled out of this thing.
I'll try to describe it as best I can. It appears to be an aluminum extrusion much like an 80/20 extrusion. The extrusion is about 2"x2.5". On top of the extrusion rides a plate that's about the same width of the extrustion and 6" long. Where you would normally be able to see into the track of an 80/20 extrusion where the t-nuts would go is a belt. The belt is a continuous belt that runs through the extrusion and is attached to the plate that runs on top of the extrusion. At first I wasn't too thrilled because I couldn't imagine this thing would be able to hold any kind of tolerance. After playing with it I was amazed. The plate that runs on top of the extrusion appears to have no detectable play in any axis. At the end of the extrusion a shaft protrudes from the side which is coupled to a servo motor that drives the plate up and down the length of the extrusion using the continuous belt inside. I was baffled at how this little 2"x6" plate could possibly have no play and yet was used to support the entire robotic head inside this machine that weighed at least 20 pounds. I figured it out after looking at the manufacturer information on this thing and looking it up on the Internet. This thing actually has a hidden rail system INSIDE the extrusion! Take a look at this link:
http://medias.ina.de/medias/en!hp.ec...R;aI1XmOQuCHhc
That's a picture of it. The one I have is an INA MLFI25ZR. I don't see that exact part number but it appears to be identical to the INA MLFI20ZR which is listed in the link above. So what do you guys think about this piece? It seems like it would be a combination lead screw and rail system in a packaged piece that could simply be bolted on for a complete X or Y axis. Any thoughts?
-Travis