Re: [Emc-users] linear motors on a waterjet

[Jon E. <el...@pi...>]

Stuart Stevenson wrote:
>     I believe my personal choice of a low maintenance drive system for
> a waterjet would be a cog belt. You would be able to minimize, if not
> eliminate, belt whip by using a wider belt than the drive requires and
> supporting along the length of the axis travel.
There is never going to be belt whip with waterjet, unless you 
are cutting shim stock.  Normally, a water jet cuts quite 
slowly.  I suppose there could be some whipping at the end of a 
rapid traverse, but the CNC control should slow things down as 
the head approaches the next place to start cutting.
  Restoring original
> drive specs 'could' then be as simple as replacing the belt.
>     I think cleanliness will be just as much of a problem with linear
> drives as any other drive system. If the abrasive and dross are
> anything like chips it will be IMPOSSIBLE to keep them out of
> everything.
Actually, waterjet seems fairly clean.  A big tank of water 
catches the jet after it punches through, and they use a rubber 
sheet to trap the backspray off the work surface while punching 
through.
I'm no expert, by far, but I did attend a couple hour demo our 
shop took when they were thinking about getting one.  The 
machine had a fair bit of time on it, but everything above the 
head (where the X-Y axes were) was clean.  Everything below was 
pretty messy.

Jon