All steel, no welding, 2000x1300x250mm

[Wal]

Price :) ! The gold was to make things cheapER. 12 SBR20UU blocks cost me $60. Stainless steel shifts will be less than $50 for all axis. Shaft supports are integrated to parts and don't add any cost to the machine but a few seconds of cutting.

Hi Eurikain.

I've used TBR20's on my build and they work well etc. BUT, if I was building it again I'd use profile rail. Why? Rigidity (my rails aren't really long enough for this to be an issue for me) and ease of maintenance. Have a look at the attached pic:



The bearing housing in the block will work it's way loose from time to time despite the top and side grub screws that are meant to hold it in place (you can only nip 'em up so far before the unit binds). Once the bearing housing has loosened it will, over time, rotate and eventually the sharp corners of the cylinder will scrape along the rail supports. This isn't a catastrophe, nor should it lead to a catastrophic failure, but it's an annoyance that'll cost you time and an extra thing to watch out for. No biggie for a hobbyist like myself, but if downtime's something you want to avoid then do yourself a favour and buy profile rails...!

Wal.