Does anyone here have strong feelings regarding 16 or 20 toothed pulleys? I'm going to be using gt2 10mm belts for a table style CNC router. It's my understanding that the 16t pulleys have more torque vs 20t, and 20t are "faster" than 16t. Speed doesn't concern me, but torque does because I'm going to be using 72oz Nema 17s. I'm going to be using a pinion and belt for the x gantry and I wondered if the smaller 16t pulley would be more likely to slip than the larger 20t. And finally, does it matter if the idler is a different size? I'm thinking about going with the 16t pulleys but I have some 20t smooth idlers laying around. Thanks!
I don't think that the pulley is a concern to you, I think it's the stepper. 72oz/in steppers are kind of way underkill for a CNC router. Having said that, I don't think that either one will slip, if the tension on the belt is good. I think the stepper will stall first.
Thanks for the insight! I'm totally betting on the steppers being inadequate, but I have to try first since I already have them and moving up to 23s is a jump in cost. I'm coming from a MPCNC build and these steppers were sufficient for my needs, but I wanted a better frame that would allow a slightly larger build volume. I'm making a mini version of this with a few other modifications: Openbuilds 4x8 cnc I will be printing everything specific to the Nema 17s, so I'm not out anything in that regard. And there's that, parts of this will be printed, so I'm not expecting a workbee or lead machine level of ridgidity and quality.
