[85mudblazin]

Hey everyone first post on this great forum!
Anyways I am going to be purchasing a 4x4 Precision Plasma standard gantry kit and I am torn on which motor size to get with the bladerunner package from candcnc.com.
What are the advantages of going with the bigger motors? I dont mind paying the extra money for them if they are better but hate to waste money on something I dont need.
The gantry will be pretty light since its all aluminum, I may down the road add a router setup if the extra weight sways it one way or the other.
Thanks for any help
-Chris

[mcv300]

If you have extra money, buy their servo version

[plain ol Bill]

Steppers versus servos - here we go again. STOP - and figure out what your table usage is going to be and on what materials. Generally speaking steppers are going to be all you need for plasma. You aren't going to be loading them other than what it takes to move a gantry or Z axis. If you are going to use a router on your table then I would think about servos because you will be loading them with tool resistance forces.
Talk to Tom at CandCNC and he will give you a lot of guidance and not just price based.

[85mudblazin]

Im talking strictly stepper motors here. Just trying to decided between the two sizes they offer.
-Chris

[85mudblazin]

Anyone with some input?

[plain ol Bill]

If your gantry is light weight (under 75 pound) I would use 2 of the smaller to drive it. If in doubt at all go for the bigger size. You can do small work with big motors but it don't work the other direction.

[WSS]

If your gantry is light weight (under 75 pound) I would use 2 of the smaller to drive it. If in doubt at all go for the bigger size. You can do small work with big motors but it don't work the other direction.

X2, Regarding the stepper/servo issue, I like servos, but I have never had steppers, so not objective enough.

WSS

[seanmurphy265]

300 oz will be plenty big for plasma cutting. I thought bigger OZ motors would make the machine run faster, but it's more about holding power. The setup you are going to run is aluminum so I would bet it's a light setup. My gantry is 5' long and made from 2"x2"x 1/8" steel square tubing and it's not heavy enough to justify the 400oz probotix motor on my gantry. Save the money and put it some where else. If your planning on running this machine all day every day; I would look at larger motors if that is the case.