Page 005. My gantry
A CNC gantry is usually turned up on one edge thereby occupying the least amount of space on the long rails and providing for optimal range of motion. But my gantry lies on it’s side. Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time. And now that it’s done, I’m okay with it. It’s more stable than a gantry turned up on its side. Or at least I think it is. But mostly, it was easy to build that way. And if my design has a plus– it is that. It was easy to build. I always look for the easiest way. My thinking is that if it works I can change it later.
This picutre was taken with the motor removed. A motor is mounted to a plate which slides up and down within the two side bars.
This plate actually goes on the other side of the gantry, the driven-side, so there are no holes for a motor. A strong spring keeps the pinion pulled into the teeth of the rack. If a chunk of sawdust gets in the teeth the motor can move rather than breaking teeth.
This is the motor I used on all three axes. They’re 640 oz/in. What led me to this motor? I didn’t have a clue. Were they too big, too small? I bought them new from an online vendor. If I decide to build another CNC router, maybe to sell, I will probably use this same motor because I know it does what I want it to do. A smaller, cheaper one might work just as well. I don’t know. All my electrics were purchased to coincide with this motor.
