Greetings, I'm new here, and trying to ascertain the validity of OpenBuilds for creating a two-axis 'gantry' system (XZ). I'm looking for 2-3m of travel on X (depth axis) and 2m of travel on the Z (height axis). The system would be ceiling mounted and hold a camera and pan/tilt head on the Z column (~2kg). Max speed requirement would be 4cm/second. The motion must be continuous/simultaneous on both axes and start and stop smoothly as the camera will record during motion. Acceleration requirements are low as every motion would ease in and out. Jitter must be minimal. Accuracy below 1cm is sufficient. We'd ideally communicate with the controller via USB or TCPIP. I've contacted many vendors of similar systems and find pricing to fall within the $12k-$30k USD range for a system like this. Their accuracy is much greater than we require. Their pricing is much higher than any of the actuators and controllers available on OpenBuilds. As a community with experience in these matters, can you help guide me as to whether OpenBuilds seems appropriate for a system of this scale and why the glaring price difference between the commercial solutions. What might I be sacrificing with an OpenBuild? If you think it's doable, what OB components (actuators in particular) should I consider for the build? Thank you and happy holidays!
yes, OB parts can do this. I recommend buying 2 of the ~1.5 meter belt drive actuators, power supply and Blackbox and get something going. Once you have some experience and a working system, you can easily make it bigger by adding more rails as needed. Ah, I see they are now offered at 2m length... NEMA 23 Belt & Pinion Actuator So you can do a 2m for the Z and a 1.5 for the X and add another 1.5 length of bare extrusion to the X later to give you 3m. The store has connectors etc. The Blackbox takes USB input in the form of text Gcode commands. These are short bits of text that tell it where to go to, and how fast, and which axes to move. G1 X1000 F1000 would move X from where it is now to the 1000mm point, at a speed of 1000mm/minute G1 X0 F1000 would move back to 0, taking 1 minute at 1000mm/minute Acceleration and deceleration at start and stop are defined in the controller setup. G1 X1000 Z-1000 F2000 would move X and Z simulatenously so they both arrive at the end point at the same time. The end of Z will move at 2000mm/min since this is a diagonal move. (Z coming down is always negative movement)
Thanks David. This is helpful. I'll plan on the 2m belt-and-pinion you reference for the Z axis. ChatGPT suggests a screw-driven actuator for the X-axis that's bearing the full weight of the Z-axis since my speed requirements (4cm/second) aren't as high. It claims a screw-driven 2m solution exists from OpenBuilds--that's incorrect, right? I already have 8 feet of 8020 T-slot (only 1030 width) and a NEMA 34. If I go with the belt-driven recommendation, is there a compatible solution where I buy just the belt,cart,wheels, etc? Or is the 1030 too narrow and the NEMA 34 too big for stock OB parts? Thank you again.
As usual yes, AI fails. Max 1500mm (C-Beam Tension XL Linear Actuator) for our leadscrews, longer just whips too much and can't be tensioned correctly Over 1500, its belts Our plates are NEMA17 or 23 only
80/20 T-slot is not compatible with OpenBuilds wheels and gantry systems. V-slot was created to remedy the wallowing problem that wheels have in T-slot. The wheels ride in a beveled groove in the extrusion which helps them run true along the rail. But it only works if you use the inter-compatible parts of the V-slot system (extrusion, V-wheels, gantry carts, etc.). There is no compatibility with 80/20 T-slot.
