Kind of the direction I’m leaning here, or at least the design I’ve been tinkering with. Space has become a more prominent consideration in my thinking lately. Would be using 3/8 (0.375) aluminum plate on the sides with 1/4 (0.25) plate on the gantry. The idea would be to raise the table height to meet the spindle (with pre made leafs), but have room for a 6x6 if needed. Also the X axis travel will most likely be increased from 750 to 1000mm (10"+) because they’re out of stock of the 1500mm, and the Y axis would remain at 500mm.
how much cost and complexity(??) do you save with the belt drive vs. a more conventional ballscrew? and how much force and resolution do you give up?
Well, the v slot extrusions are cheaper than the non v slot extrusion, and the pulleys are cheaper than the flexible couplings. The belt is $2 a foot and is much less complex than a ball screw setup, plus you eliminate the backlash and vibration issue. So yes you save quite a bit cost wise, and I don’t think there’s any resolution loss. More than enough force for what you’re doing (as in bit breaking force). Plus nothing stopping you from adding ball screws later if you like. This whole thing should be well under $400 usd for the hardware (not including motors, electronics and labor). The only advantage of ball screws that I can see is over time, as the belts will age.
Lots of video’s out there of them. They seem to work great…