Converting an AMAT25LV

[Lloyd Barnes]

I run toothed belt on both my mills, the bigger one has a heavy table and servo drives, if the belt is tightened just right there is no backlash to compensate for at all. The belt can move slightly but when that movement is converted to rotation and then reduced by the screw pitch, the actual distance linear is microscopic.

I have tried backlash comp and i would not recommend it to anyone - always get the system mechanically sound and unless you are working to nuclear industry standards, just learn to live with the tiny backlash we have - there will ALWAYS be backlash or the system would not move, its just a matter of knowing how much.

yep, couldn't agree more, do it right, do it once etc. I just wasn't sure whether switching from a direct drive to a belt drive inevitably introduced a hint more backlash regardless of how perfectly you tune the belt tension. Always faster/cheaper to learn from others mistakes etc. Should have the belt drive put together over the next few days so will be able to test backlash on all the axis.

As you say we're not working to nuclear standards. I'm generally machining car parts on the mills, and the tolerances don't need to be that high. Its just I'm tired of using the Bridgeport like an oversized etch a sketch to try to make curved parts!