Dear All.
I guess you could call this a luxury problem.
I have a functioning router table, of a gantry type. It's all driven by 3-phase steppers 3.1Nm
The gantry (Y-axis) is driven by 2 motors one for each "leg" and the linkage is 5mm pitch ballscrews.
So, the Y travel speed max. out at approx 4500-5000 mm/min (~180~200 IPM) where one of the steppers loose the steps and comes to a halt.
Currently i run it at max. 4000 (~160 IPM) to be on the safe side.
I guess that around the motor speed of 1000 RPM (5000 mm/min / 5mm pitch = 1000 RPM) the stepper greatly is reduced in torque.
Options to increase speed:
1) Looking into AC Servos. I'm a bit scared of them, never used, setup, tuned or what so ever with a motor and drive. Still I think this could be fun.
Any recomendation for an "easy to install" kind of thing. Is there any preferred brand to look for, do I need software or can I get a turnkey preset system
2) Change ballscrews, this would be rather "cheap", as I can get a 10mm pitch ballscrew, that fits directly into my current setup. No modification at all to the table, or electronics.
3) Hybrid steppers, a stepmotor with a feedback encoder. But how can that be faster if it simply max. out and looses steps like the regular stepper
4) Shut up,be Happy, go to the garage, grab a beer, get those chips flying
Best Regards, Bo Andersen