Hi all I'm very new to the open builds system and very much still learning about all the options. I'm looking at building at 2000mm x 1000mm cnc router. Due to the 20000mm length I'm worried about the flex. What is the best way to support the mid section? Should I be using a lead screw or a gear system, I wish to do some pretty fine detail work on the router. Thanks for your help.
Welcome to the forum @3D Cast - you have come to the right place! It isn't just the flex you need to worry about with a length of 2,000 mm. Above 1,000 mm the "standard" 8 mm diameter leadscrews used on most extrusion based machines whip too much to be useable and you would need to either use belt drive or use a larger diameter leadscrew. You could combine a larger leadscrew with linear rails and deal with the flex issue as well. Look at the builds section for people who have done something similar. First, though, do you really need that 2,000 mm? - there is a technique called "tiling" which lets you split longer jobs into sections which may be a better approach. There are lots of posts on this forum from people having problems with machines bigger than 1,000 x 1,000 mm using aluminium extrusions for the framework. Follow @Kevon Ritter's advice and let us know more about what you are hoping to do with the machine and we can provide better advice. Alex.
