What type of drive system is Michael using that doesn't require a long v-belt? I am new to this, and would like to copy how he did the drive system. Also, did he make the mounting brackets for mounting the framing rails to the table?
Ooh, Is he using the clamps at 4:07 to hold the rubber belt in? Is he using a drive system like this, but I can't see the belt?
Look at the main piece top center. You can see a big silver drive pulley with a belt coming down both sides. The belt runs down under the rollers and to the ends of the V-slot. Ref: Nema 23 Belt and Pinion Actuator Edit: You beat with your response. The answer is yes.
Alright, so he is using the system where the belt is clamped down on the ends? I just couldn't see the belt that well in the video, so I couldn't tell if he used a different system.
Strong enough to do what they’re meant to do. (You want a better answer you’ve got to ask a better question.)
Ok, I want the Nema 17 motor to be pushing against a flux welder wire, because I am building a robot that is like a cnc machine, but for welding
I'm not sure a NEMA 17 could provide both the feed rate and the torque required for a FCAW unit simultaneously. Even 0.030 wire is pretty stiff (flux core aluminum wire isn't really a thing), unless you're trying to do a spool gun type thing without worrying about liner friction, in which case... Maybe? I would still push towards a NEMA 23 for that kind of setup. If you're planning on keeping the full cable and gun setup, I'd just go NEMA 34 (maybe one of the smaller ones, 3-4.5Nm) so you can get the feed rates appropriate to a robot (forget 500IPM, welding robots are orders of magnitude faster) and it's stationary/fully supported so the weight doesn't really matter. Speaking of feed rates, Hobart 0.030 E71T is apparently ~5000in/lb. There's a very real chance you could blow through a 2lb reel, even with a non-industrial robot, in less than 5 minutes. Just bear in mind you might want to be pushing 10lb spools.
The welder I will be using (Flux 125) will be feeding the wire, I just need a motor that can overcome the strength of the wire as it is pushing against the metal
Oh, I see. As I recall (haven't used it in a while, since I got my Square Wave TIG 200) my HF 90A AC unit actually pushes pretty hard, but in theory your motors should never see that force because the wire should be globulating and depositing into the weld bead as it enters the arc zone. It's a case of setting the welder feed rate correctly for the CNC's feed rate.
Will any motor controller found online work for the nema motors? Also, can I regulate how many amps the motor gets, so when it hits an edge, the motor will stop?
The controller drives the logic signal to the stepper drivers, which regulate the drive power to the motors. It's a three- or four-step process depending on whether you send the controller g-code or load it directly in: gcode -> planner/step generator -> driver -> motor. Sometimes the first two are combined inside the controller. The cheapest option is almost certainly going to be something based on grbl (where a PC is the gcode streamer and an Arduino-based board is the planner/step gen "controller", so four-step), so I would advise researching grbl as much as you can. It's virtually impossible to know too much about it, so go nuts. But make sure you understand the basics before diving deeper. Before you do that, research stepper motors, how they work, and how their drivers work. CNC is the type of project where you have to understand a lot of it before you can even start it, or it's a recipe for disaster and/or frustration.
How to Setup GRBL & Control CNC Machine with Arduino Also, what would be the cheapest way to have a moving rail system? I was thinking that epoxying a threaded rod to a NEMA 23 motor with a custom mount would work. Edit: Or a coupler instead of epoxy 8 x 10mm Flexible Jaw Spider Shaft Coupling CNC Stepper Motor Coupler Nema 23 34 | eBay
