[JerryBurks]

....Now comes the most fun part (to me) of building up the gantry and Z axis assembly.....CarveOne

I guess what you are saying is that it now gets really complicated:drowning:

Getting rid of the remaining 2/1000 parallel error would be nice but that is approaching the limits of my measuring capability/repeatibility.

I also took out my old engineering text books and estimated the thermal (bi-metal) bending of a 20mm steel rod firmly attached to a 4.5" wide aluminum bar (accounting for the air channels in the 80/20 profile). Over a 10 degree C temperature span (which can easily happen in my shop) there might be a whopping 6/1000" bending in the middle under worst case conditions. I suppose practically it is much less because the steel rod may be sliding on the supporting extrusion but I will check the remaining error at different temperatures.

[CarveOne]

It's all been fun to me, but cutting and welding tubing is less fun than machining the parts. I wouldn't be happy if I had to make a living making the same things over and over. It's the novelty of doing something different each time that interests me more.

CarveOne

[JerryBurks]

No practical work today, just too hot and muggy (my shop is in the garage, extending into the driveway...)

But I did incorporate a few suggestions into the design today (torsion box gantry and z-axis thrust bearings) and made many more detail changes and corrections:

Complete rendering (but without the cart)


X-Plate and Z-axis from "inside"


The Z-Axis ballscrew is completely enclosed. X and Y axis will get sliding curtains to keep the dust out. Well, at least that is a the idea.

I got to cut a few more aluminum parts for bearing supports and stepper mounts and then then I can start the gantry structural pieces.