New build, small plasma that got to be very complicated build.

thefabricator03 wrote: Tom,

Are those rails 35's? Do you think you could of gotten away with 25's?

That is HiWin HGR25 and i am pretty sure even the 15 is overkill, but that is the smallest linear rail i have.
I do have plenty of supported round ones from 16 to 30mm, but they are for the bigger machines.
I could have done it with round unsupported ones, but it would not look that nice. Just had an idea, stay tuned.
Thank you.

Photos look deceiving, I thought they were 35's,

Have you ever used the chinese knock off copy of the Hiwin rails? I am very tempted to buy some and try it out. Its penny on the dollar price wise to the genuine stuff I have used in the past.

thefabricator03 wrote: Photos look deceiving, I thought they were 35's,

Have you ever used the chinese knock off copy of the Hiwin rails? I am very tempted to buy some and try it out. Its penny on the dollar price wise to the genuine stuff I have used in the past.

that's what i bought for my build and the supplier i use is not bad to deal with.the only down side is the freight costs on the longer ones. i think the max length was 2800 mm on a 20mm rail. if i remember right i think the 20's can carry something like 6,000 lbs for a load but don't hold me to that.

i think i paid just under $1,200 for my rails and screws for my build. i got two bearing blocks per rail so i had 6 rails and 12 bearing blocks. my rail lengths were 700 mm , 1500 mm and 2800 mm. the 700 mm set got swapped out to a 400 mm set i already have and the 700 mm set is going on a Z axis for the milling machine i am building. but i got ball screws and nuts with the end bearing blocks and shaft coupling for all 3 sets for that price. shipping was over $500 and all the hardware was over $600 but all to my door for under $1,200

thefabricator03 wrote: Photos look deceiving, I thought they were 35's,

Have you ever used the chinese knock off copy of the Hiwin rails? I am very tempted to buy some and try it out. Its penny on the dollar price wise to the genuine stuff I have used in the past.

Not yet, i did buy some 25mm ballscrews and they are just rusting in the shop, the one with a single nut has to much play for my taste, the one with the double nut is ok when testing by hand, but i got wary of them. Maybe on a project for myself, but not selling that to anyone.

i think i would avoid any seller that is not specialized and has a little bit of everything. the supplier i went with specializes in CNC router parts and when i checked my single nut screws by hand they felt pretty good. i'm sure there is some junk out there no doubt but i had bought a set from this supplier that was smaller and much cheaper before i bought this last set so i had an idea what i was getting before i had it in hand.

machinedude wrote: i think i paid just under $1,200 for my rails and screws for my build. i got two bearing blocks per rail so i had 6 rails and 12 bearing blocks. my rail lengths were 700 mm , 1500 mm and 2800 mm. the 700 mm set got swapped out to a 400 mm set i already have and the 700 mm set is going on a Z axis for the milling machine i am building. but i got ball screws and nuts with the end bearing blocks and shaft coupling for all 3 sets for that price. shipping was over $500 and all the hardware was over $600 but all to my door for under $1,200

Thats pretty good, I paid $1375 AUD for two 4000mm long HGR25 rails and $880 AUD for two 2500 long HGR25 rails for my build.

And then $600 for six HG25 blocks.

I dont think I would use fake blocks but I am thinking of using the rail for my next robotic track build.

Tom the Plasma produces alot of dust this will be a nightmare on your timingbelt
is this a G2
why dont you use a GT or simply a T modell that gas a Teflon advanced to cover this kind of dust
costs are slightly higher the precicio also better under the tight strength
G2 are only rated up to 500mm length to rotation points

i would get a short set complete for something like a Z axis just to evaluate price vs quality. if i went with name brand stuff the price point would be out of my reach so the supplier i went with fit my needs best. i think i paid like $12 each on bearing blocks if one ever feels bad i will just grab another and toss one if need be

It Moves !!!

music was a nice touch cool to see things move around regardless. your like the MacGyver of Plama no doubt