I guess this is a silly question, but someone has to ask it.
I see allot of machines that use timing belt, gears, etc... to change the ratio of turns from the motor to X/Y movement.
1. Is this really needed? If I was using a Rack-and-Pinion type movement, couldn't I just hook the motor up straight to the rack (with one gear) without changing ratios, and tell the software to go slower or faster?
2. Is there some kind of formula for figuring what kind of ratio you might want?
I'm just trying to figure out why some machines get so complicated with such things. Thanks for any info........Sam