hi Zapp,

Quote Originally Posted by zappautomation View Post
I also see a possible problem with the rails bowing slightly, and this will also put presure on the ball screw.
May be a good idea to either use some profile rail along the top of the 50X50 box section, or upgrade the top rail to 25 or 30mm.
Also how are you driving the gantry along X axis you mention rack, but are you looking at driving it from one side or both? if you are driving from one side, you may encounder some crabbing?
Looks very good overall though.
I'm driving both sides of the gantry with rack and pinion from a stepper through a 3:1 reduction using pulleys and belt. The Solsylva plans were very specific about driving both sides and the problems you can encounter if you don't. Can't recommend the 4x2 plans enough, even if all you want is ideas for a machine.

For the rails I'm thinking of using profiles as you suggested on the top at least as this will require the least modification. I'll do a bit of deep thinking on that one :)

Just heard my Rack is on it's way (I have a tracking number!) so hopefully that's an end to that little episode.

Thanks for the comments, they really do help.