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cozmicray
Neat design.
So how many tons of tension will be necessary to straighten the leadscrews?
Are there thrust bearings or taper bearings at top and bottom?
This requires tension or very straight leadscrews?
Do they tension leadscrews at the factory to straighten them?
I don't understand how the nuts and fixtures on the leadscrew are prevented from rotation?
Does the geometry of the center spider make it manageable?
:S
You are right about requiring a lot of tension. In fact, it requires infinite tension to theoretically straighten a curved rod. I am going to shoot for something a lot less than that. The R6 bearings I am using will support around 75lbf of axial load. In reality, I will tighten until the screw is noticeably harder to turn. Bottom line: the screw better be straight to begin with or this won't really work. The tension in the screw will only reduce any bends by a fraction. I have currently decided against thrust bearings or taper bearings for the time being. If 75lbf isn't enough then this design probably needs to be scrapped.
I am not sure how they manufacture the lead screws?
Theoretically, the youtube animation would be self-supporting. The nuts on each side of the plates will square the design. If all the parts are perfectly rigid then no other supports would be needed. I think in reality this would only work for large screws. (larger screws then we want to turn with NEMA17 steppers) However, I am planning on using PVC pressure columns that will more than square the design.
