Easy way of setting out bolt hole patterns etc

[hotponyshoes]

Do Ball screws cope with plasma type speeds?
If so you could mount motors on both ends, one high speed and one high torque.
Then just engage whichever end was required

 

[ukracer]

I’d agree with that, for what it’s worth.

There’s a free QCAD for mac, by the way - I run it. I only use it as a converter from vector stuff I’ve done in Inkscape. It’s not very intuitive.

Emachineshop is much better.

Fusion is good. You’re 100% correct there. I can’t get it to run at the moment- I’m running Catalina and it needs the next thing up. As it’s web based now I can’t just install it and be done with it. If they upgrade it their end past my system then I’m screwed which is where I’m at.

Had a play the other night on a friends Aspire CAD. Easier than fusion to use by far. Let’s you do tool changes and all sorts of CAM stuff. I know Fusion does too but this is far more intuitive. Cheaper too. And it’s standalone.

Just general observations that may assist someone……

Is Aspire 3D then?

 

[James1979]

Is Aspire 3D then?

Yes

It’s made by the developer who was behind ancam or something. He went on his own.

 

[Agroshield]

Do ball screws cope with plasma type speeds?

I think the slenderness has something to do with it. If too long, spun too fast, they can try to whip about. And then a big fat ballscrew spinning fast takes a lot of energy to slow it down in order to reverse direction. And then a lot of energy to accelerate up to speed in the opposite direction. To some extent you can choose the pitch of the screw so it gives the desired feed rate at a sensible rpm. You can also change the mounting conditions: if it is tensioned, that can change its characteristics, but that needs a very rigid base structure to resist or maintain that tension.

I think you'd have to do some fag packet calculations: work out what the slowest useable feed on a plasma might be and see how that translates into a cutting speed. Then you could see at what rpm it would need to turn for a particular pitch. Are there finer nozzles available for a plasma that would allow you to turn down the amps and reduce the feed?

 

[hotponyshoes]

I think the slenderness has something to do with it. If too long, spun too fast, they can try to whip about. And then a big fat ballscrew spinning fast takes a lot of energy to slow it down in order to reverse direction. And then a lot of energy to accelerate up to speed in the opposite direction. To some extent you can choose the pitch of the screw so it gives the desired feed rate at a sensible rpm. You can also change the mounting conditions: if it is tensioned, that can change its characteristics, but that needs a very rigid base structure to resist or maintain that tension.

I think you'd have to do some fag packet calculations: work out what the slowest useable feed on a plasma might be and see how that translates into a cutting speed. Then you could see at what rpm it would need to turn for a particular pitch. Are there finer nozzles available for a plasma that would allow you to turn down the amps and reduce the feed?

I've not got a clue.
I suppose the first stage would be to have a look at the specs for various tables and make up a chart so you can see if there is a crossover point where, like you say, it's both slow and fast enough.

I'm still wondering if you could use a heavy ball screw for the router Y axis driving by a corresponding nut on the routers X axis.
Then, for plasma, keep the ball screw stationary and use it as a rack for a rack/pinion system for a lightweight plasma gantry with the motor mounted on the gantry.
I can kindly of imagine a drive wheel on the gantry that engaged with the threads of the ball screw to work as a rack and pinion but I can't quite work out how to draw up for a 3d printed test piece let alone come up with a way of making something durable!