Hi all,
I'm trying to assemble a simple linear motion system with a budget of about $600 (not including motor/controller). I'm wondering if it is possible to do this using off-the-shelf parts and hopefully without having to machine anything (drilling mounting holes is probably OK). This is for a (for fun) personal pet project not related to CNC, so please recommend other forums if appropriate.
Details: I'd like to build a system to move a platform weighing 30 pounds over a distance of 6 feet horizontally. The platform is about 3 feet by 1 foot, and I'd like it to move at a maximum speed of 3 feet / second. This is a project in an office environment for fun, so doesn't need to be very precise (say 1/4-inch precision in the motion) and the operating environment is a benign office environment. My tenative design was to mount two cheap linear rails about two feet apart on some stiff substrate (plastic or maybe aluminum extrusion), mount a belt-drive between the two rails and affix limit switches near the ends of one of the rails.
I was wondering if anyone knew if there's somewhere I can buy off-the-shelf parts to assemble this. I looked at McMaster-Carr, but couldn't figure out what parts I'd need - for example to attach the drive pulleys. I also poked around at 8020, but their linear motion support is limited.
As you can probably tell, I'm not a mech-e (I'm a software engineer), so any pointers to info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Josh