New Y Axis Carriages Episode 133

I designed this back in 2012 and never got around to building it.
I honestly don't know if it will work as I hope but I do know one way of finding out. The one thing I know for sure is if I don't give it a try I will forever wonder if it would have worked.

Back in 2012 I designed a new Y Axis carriage for my machine partly because I could, but I also wanted to design something that could be built easily with limited tools and no specialist equipment.
I wanted to use steel and aluminum rather than wood or MDF for a rigid machine and I wanted it to be simple I kow if at least 1 machine that uses only 1 V-Bering on the bottom so I see no reason why this will not work in my design.
The steel parts are made from 12mm (1/2") steel strap and angle iron.
To date I have only designed the Y carriages but I prefer to build one piece and see how it goes before advancing to the next part. I have in mind some ideas for a X rail and X / Z carriage but I need the ensure that the part I have already designed works before forging ahead building other parts.
This will be a slow and cautious build and I will keep in mind that it needs to be made using readily available materials so that anyone can make it at home using what is available in most countries. For example in New Zealand I cannot get 8020 but have used an extrusion that is very similar to the 1530 extrusion that 8020 make in the USA. By moving 1 or 2 holes on some of the pieces to accomadate the slightly different slot positions am imperial version could be built.
The Rack and pinion drive system I will be taking from my existing machine and is one of the parts I believe are really needed to make a decent drive system. The Rack & pinion drive are an off the shelf part I purchased from the USA along with the rack and are well worth the investment. It turned a slow troublesome leadscrew machine I could stop with one hand into a speed demon which could push me backwards without a second thought. Rack and pinion is the way to go in my opinion and is one of the reason that large commercial machines use them for their X & Y axis. Suprisingly they are not as expensive as most people think and unlike leadscrew can be joined and don't whip at high speed.

Above is the original concept drawing I made all those years ago and while I have made a couple of changes it has kept the basic idea alive. I honestly don't know if it will work as I hope but I do know one way of finding out. The one thing I know for sure is if I don't give it a try I will forever wonder if it would have worked.

At this time there will be no plans for this build but in the future should it be successful I will look to drawing plans the various parts for those that wish to make their own.

As noted in the vide this project will be slow but it will eventually evolve to a full rebuild so don;t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel so you can keep up with developments. Also sign up using the link above for and you will be emailed updates as they are made available.

Thanks for taking the time to view and feel free to comment.

Cheers
Peter

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