- #1
- 3
- 0
- TL;DR Summary
- I want to create a belt driven Z axis for my 3D printer and need to know the required gear size and/or stepper motor torque.
I hope to explore mechanical engineering one day so I can answer these kinds of questions on my own, but until then, I appeal to anyone that knows how to do this to help me.
I am building a core xy 3D Printer and I want to use a belt driven Z axis. I will have 3 or 4 stepper motors to drive the belts, depending on the requirments to lift the bed. My current idea is to use a system similar to the one below, but mine would have a 20 tooth pulley on the stepper motors and 60 tooth to drive the belt that moves the print bed up and down. Honestly, this is strictly a cost saving measure, but I'd hate to waste the money and then find out I have to have an 80t or 100t pulley instead of the 60. The bed will be riding on mgn12 linear rails.
The weight of my bed is why I have this question.
I am using a cast aluminum bed and the carriage it is attached to is made of extruded aluminum profiles. The bed itself is around 1.7kg, so all together, I'm thinking I need to be able to lift at least 7kg, maybe 7.5 just to make sure it can lift any large prints in the future. I'm not entirely sure what is used in the picture, but I believe its a 20 tooth to 100 tooth that is attached to another 20 tooth pulley, with a 20 tooth idler pulley at the other side of the belt. I think the strongest Nema 17 motors I can get are 84oz in. (I'm not sure what the actual torque is, pretty sure that's just the holding torque)
Will a 60 and 20 tooth work for this on 3 points, or should I use 4, or should I use bigger pulleys?
Thank you for any help!
EDIT: I forgot to mention it doesn't require a lot of speed. The z axis really just needs to be able to move, but it doesn't need to move quickly. I think something like 5mm/s is sufficient, and probably doesn't even need to be that fast.
I am building a core xy 3D Printer and I want to use a belt driven Z axis. I will have 3 or 4 stepper motors to drive the belts, depending on the requirments to lift the bed. My current idea is to use a system similar to the one below, but mine would have a 20 tooth pulley on the stepper motors and 60 tooth to drive the belt that moves the print bed up and down. Honestly, this is strictly a cost saving measure, but I'd hate to waste the money and then find out I have to have an 80t or 100t pulley instead of the 60. The bed will be riding on mgn12 linear rails.
The weight of my bed is why I have this question.
I am using a cast aluminum bed and the carriage it is attached to is made of extruded aluminum profiles. The bed itself is around 1.7kg, so all together, I'm thinking I need to be able to lift at least 7kg, maybe 7.5 just to make sure it can lift any large prints in the future. I'm not entirely sure what is used in the picture, but I believe its a 20 tooth to 100 tooth that is attached to another 20 tooth pulley, with a 20 tooth idler pulley at the other side of the belt. I think the strongest Nema 17 motors I can get are 84oz in. (I'm not sure what the actual torque is, pretty sure that's just the holding torque)
Will a 60 and 20 tooth work for this on 3 points, or should I use 4, or should I use bigger pulleys?
Thank you for any help!
EDIT: I forgot to mention it doesn't require a lot of speed. The z axis really just needs to be able to move, but it doesn't need to move quickly. I think something like 5mm/s is sufficient, and probably doesn't even need to be that fast.