hi everyone, i am making a jig that requires a lead-screw as the mechanism for both - sliding a gantry up and down the length of a c-beam rail but also, - as a means of locking the gantry at a set position along the rail "as there will be length of string between the two gantrys applying tension between them" the issue: i'm planning for the jig to be at-least 1500mm in length, i see on the openbuild shop the screw type tr8*8 is 8mm and apparently is prone to whipping at anything above 1000mm, worse still the only manufacturer i have found that sells this type of lead screw in the length i need is in Canada (i am based in the united kingdom) so it is very expensive to post and this is IF it makes it to my door safely.. ive seen people on banggood receive lengths like this that more often than not turn up bent and seriously out of alignment... worse still all the companies i have contacted in the uk regarding a custom lead-screw cannot offer me what i want unless it is at-least 10mm in diameter.. my question: if i go for a 10mm lead-screw how feasible is it to convert the standard kit offered by openbuild to accommodate the difference in lead-screw diameter? i expect i would need to bore out the hole in the end blocks to fit larger bearings but also i wanted to know, will the step motors be able to cope with the larger diameter lead-screw considering the added weight through the extra length i require in the leadscrew itself (1500mm)? thanks in advance i hope that all makes sense. Andy
If your using a decent nema 23 then you will not have any problems. You would have to look into bearings for the rod. You can drill the plate larger but you need to make sure the bearing will fit. Maybe you could locate a flanged bearing that would work. Depending on how much of a machine flange is left they make make a 10mmID with the same as the old ones OD.
