I am not sure how the answer to this question can be relayed verbally but I am not sure where else to turn at this point... I am at my wits end and do not know anyone locally who can come check for me if what I am experiencing is within acceptable tolerance... My question is how can I tell if my X-Axis has too much resistance when moving the spindle plate back and forth on the X-Axis? I am building a new machine from a kit and I have spent no less than 8 hours building, rebuilding, tweaking, etc, the extrusions and linear slides for the X-Axis and no matter what I do I cannot get it so it is smooth and consistent as I slide the linear bearing blocks with the spindle mount attached back and forth over the range of the X-Axis (4 feet). I have not installed the ball screw or anything yet, I just wanted to make sure it was smooth and consistent on the rails with the X-Axis motion before moving any further along in the build. I have used my calipers many times, tried different methods of tightening the linear rails to the extrusions, etc.... I am so frustrated. It does not bind to the point where I cannot move it or anything, it just has two points of various resistance along its range of motion that are "tighter" than the rest. For example, I can move the plate with my fingers and it feels smooth, then it comes to a point where it requires a little more pressure to move past and then it gets easier again. I need to know if what I am feeling is acceptable or if it is too tight and requires more tweaking.
If anyone knows a way to answer this question without having to feel it in person I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Matt Johnson