Linear positioning

Hello,

ik would like to build somthing like this:

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many off-the-shelf stuff works only straight and I would like to build a cheap version myself. If there is a good off-the-shelf product I would very much like to know about it!

Controlling a stepper trough a computer is no problem and I have programming experience. Just absolutely no engineering experience :) Can anyone point me in the right direction or answer questions like:

- is connecting a stepper the right way to go?

- what kind of wheels should I mount on the stepper?

- what kind of rails should I use?

- are any of these components easy to find?

any information you could give me would be welcome!

many thanks,

Ive

Reply to
Ive
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Have a look here:

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Driven ring & circular track systems, may be appropriate or not. Not cheap though!

Peter

Reply to
Peter Neill

That's exactly the information I was looking for! And yes, it is rather expensive :) I'm a student, I would rather build it myself.

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so if i'm not mistaken I can either:

- use a rail and wheels, connect a belt to a motor and the platform... this is not an easy solution i think..

- a rail with teeth and mount the computer controlled motor (and cogwheel) on the moving platform.. this is seems like the way to go.

where would I find rails with teeth on them?

Ive

Reply to
Ive

Errr,..... Hepco?

If you need something cheap and it's not taking much load, than how about some model railway track instead?

Peter

Reply to
Peter Neill

Shouldn't your first question or information be what kind of accurac do you need? And a second being whether the system is limited to that arc or othe things. is it a CNC tool or train that you hope to build?

If you are limited to the arc, then a solution might be to drive swinging arm by a pinion, belt drive or other appropriately geare system rather than a mechanically accurate track

If its a train, you might get away with a simple servo wheel driven b the track, rather than a precise and expensive mechanical system, o even a pair of position calculators (think sonar or laser or even a se of those wire DRO's) that can work out the position.

Robi

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