[BZee]

Hi, we plan to use rack and pinion on a build which will handle 8' x 4' sheet material, on the major axis (X) we plan to use one motor each side. The motors and motor drives are identical, we will be using Mach 3 as the control software.

From what I can gather our best way to pair the motors is to set up Mach 3 such that the second motor is on the A-axis, with A slaved to X.

It would still seem that we'd need to tune the motors identically to ensure no twist on the grantry as it drives, and an earlier thread touched on the possibility of one motor loosing steps and causing the same situation. Can anyone outline for me what can be done to mitigate this from a design perspective, or what the optimal build set up is where the gantry is driven from both sides? Or even if driving from both sides is simply a bad idea, and if so what our alternatives are using R&P.

Best regards, Zee.

[ger21]

The vast majority of machines here are driven exactly like this.

Can anyone outline for me what can be done to mitigate this from a design perspective

Basically, don't try to run the machine faster than the motors are capable of. If you stay within the limits of the machine and motors, you won't have any problems.

There's really no "tuning" with steppers, other than setting the acceleration and max velocity. As long as both motors have identical settings, it's very simple.

[BZee]

Thanks Ger, appreciated.