So, this may be a dumb question, but has anyone tried to use the steel v-wheels with standard aluminum v-slot? I don't really want opinions here, but hard facts, data from people who have actually tried it. What is the issue? Excessive track wear? Is this actually an issue? Or does everyone just say it won't work so no one has tried it...
I have Openbuilds Metal wheels for the X and Z on a X-carve. Eliminated the torsional flex on the Z axis. I have about 130 hours of run time with the wheels and no signs of wear. Of course I am a fool and I'm going to destroy my rails. Just waiting for it to happen. I cut 6061 and 7075 AL so I do not have high feed rates.
Thanks Gary! I would think they would be fine for the Z axis at least, which does not move far or fast, but can benefit a lot from the increased stiffness. I think I am going to try it on my C-Beam Machine, and see if it makes a big difference on the X axis as well. And, you don't sound like a fool! We are all going to destroy our rails eventually, if they last 20% less because of steel wheels I can live with that...
Aluminum is a horrible choice for a wear surface for metal on metal contact. Even aluminum on aluminum doesn't work well. It galls up and eats into itself. It's a very malleable metal. Sticky too. Here's an example with openrail Strong OX With V-slot the wear may be a little faster because of the minute deflection of the rail that's not present with the solid openrail. It adds another microscopic force vector at the interface. I'd tread lightly with tightening the eccentrics. Joe
