Also, how much down pressure is required between the idler rollers and the belt?
Thanks
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Also, how much down pressure is required between the idler rollers and the belt?
Thanks
In my building gantry router cnc machine, 3 axis are through the timing belt drive connections to the ballscrews. No solid solution to the little non-synchronization between gantry drives or backlash are there then. May be the using of glass scale encoder is a solution. But it cannot be implemented in Mach3 environment under servo or stepper motor drive conditions. Presently, no step down gear ratio are used between the timing belt pulleys(Is it better than using small pinion to a large gear in term of backlash amount??). Two 32 teeth are linked with MT5 belt. Wider belt is more preferable in that case as well. Thanks.
Has anybody ever implemented Mike's system by forming the bottom "belt" from epoxy using a real belt as a mold?
I've seen a router where the bottom belt profile was machined into aluminum.
I personally think that would not be an improvement. If the lower belt wears enough that you need to change it out that would take 20 minutes. If the aluminum wears out how long will it take to change it out? Especially if you have to mill the aluminum first. T5 belt is so inexpensive it makes no sense to reinvent the wheel! Go with a wider belt if you think you need more ability to handle the force.
Ha ha ha! First time I check this thread in a long time and this is what I read.
Yes I did exactly that. Super simple setup, I even made it on a table as a base. I put some tension on the belt and made sidewalls leaving a few mm space. Then poured and it worked really well.
Funny, I do not get alerts for this thread or I would have chimed in!
So, with regard to molding the base teeth, I too have done this, and the first discovery was that clearance is needed to allow the very slight pitch changes of the upper belt, from belt to belt. It will mesh with an upper belt over a short distance, or sometimes a long distance, but not reliably, belt run to belt run. Clearance is needed. So, you need to replicate the base belt complete, which adds another step and for a one-off, not worth making a mold.
For me, having base belt sections that are molded would be a good thing, but has not yet become essential. VHB to hold base belting down is great stuff if you use it right.
Either way, when I make a mold, it will be cut metal, and geometrically will make base teeth the same as the belting. Some features, though, like the little groove in the bottom of the groove, aid in getting air out of the mesh, reducing noise, and are a complication that would be solved well by replication..
ding, the more you know..
We put this drive in our KL7 Series CNC routers at BobsCNC. I love the cleverness of this design.
https://youtu.be/GRhJgDyyM7g