Belt driven XY movements

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4x8_Plasma
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Belt driven XY movements

Post by 4x8_Plasma »

Belt driven XY movements

I want to get the most out of my table with what it currently has.
The table used belts to move the x and y motions.
The gantry moves on roller bearings and im getting a small amount of skip/shake in the movement when ran under power. Is this normal for belt drives to do this?
My table is a Delusional design 4x8 weld together table.
I have checked for play coming from the roller bearings and made sure they are tight in place and nothing is loose.
All the rails are cleaned and a small amount of oil was applied.
Please let me know what I could do to improve.
Also, how do I know if the belts are too tight or too loose?
No manual to tell this, no gauges etc, so what do I base it off of?
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acourtjester
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Re: Belt driven XY movements

Post by acourtjester »

there should not be skips/shake in the movement as many operations have small dimensions to be successful.
You say yours is belt driven by this do you mean the full length of the x and Y movement is using a long belt segments.
With no power on you should be able to move in the X or Y directions with some resistance, to much and the roller bearing may be to tight.
With the power on you should not be able to move the X or Y any, the motors are locked in a holding state, movement means the belt is too loose.
Timing belts are reinforced against stretching.
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certifiedinc
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Re: Belt driven XY movements

Post by certifiedinc »

4x8_Plasma wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:13 pm Belt driven XY movements

I want to get the most out of my table with what it currently has.
The table used belts to move the x and y motions.
The gantry moves on roller bearings and im getting a small amount of skip/shake in the movement when ran under power. Is this normal for belt drives to do this?
My table is a Delusional design 4x8 weld together table.
I have checked for play coming from the roller bearings and made sure they are tight in place and nothing is loose.
All the rails are cleaned and a small amount of oil was applied.
Please let me know what I could do to improve.
Also, how do I know if the belts are too tight or too loose?
No manual to tell this, no gauges etc, so what do I base it off of?
Does your table also have z coordinates to properly hold the tip off of the metal? Our shop has a Lockformer 1000B, which also has belts running the length of the x and y axis. There is not any z control, so the tip actually has a roller bearing head that drops on the sheet, and it rolls on that to maintain proper distance from the sheet. I use a dry graphite lubricant to keep those rollers moving freely, as the slag creates a resistance that can occasionally give us what you are describing. We still get some occasional shake that I haven't quite narrowed down, but nothing terrible. She is getting old, and the shop is currently looking at replacements.
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