I'm converting an X3 mill to CNC and have been doing a bit of brainstorming which has thrown up the following query:

I'll be driving my ballscrews with stepper motors coupled via oldham type couplings.

I need to incorporate some thrust arrangement, preferably a pair of angular contact ball bearings configured back to back - but I don't want to increase the overhang at the drive end any more than absolutely necessary as the steppers are pretty large components.

Is mounting the thrust bearings at the non drive end of the ballscrew a bad idea?