Building a simple XY CNC Stage

[shahzad]

Hi,
I want to build a simple XY stage (No Z axis) for a kinetic sculpture. The horizontal load will not be more than 15 lbs/7 Kgs. I’ll appreciate help with selecting the parts I need.

[SupraGuy (Dan)]

I don’t know if a ZenXY is up to a 7kg load. Maybe if you are willing to have a low acceleration.

Other than that, it really depends on what you are willing to have visible, and what you need to have hidden. Then how large you want the platform to be.

[shahzad]

The platform size is 4’x4’ and the speed could be as slow as 1ft/min, very slow speed is required but for 1 hr continuous operation cycle. If there’s any other product that might work, please advise.
Thanks

[jeffeb3]

Are the X and Y horizontal? It isn’t on a wall, is it?

[shahzad]

It’s horizontal. It’s not on the wall.

[jeffeb3]

@vicious1 would know better than me. He has a dining room table sized ZenXY. But I am not confident the ZenXY would work well with a 15lb load. Unless I am not understanding the spec.

Do you mean it has a 15lb mass on the middle? Or it has to push with 15lb of force? I’m assuming you mean the second. The ZenXY has almost zero force and the tool is an ounce or so of a magnet.

@mrehorst has a design for a sand table using servo motors. His machine draws at insane speeds. He would know more about the feasibility of that kind of load though.

A large, fast sand table by Mark Rehorst

In 2018 I built a corexy sand table that approximately 1m x 2m with drawable area of 715 x 1600 mm. It uses 45 mm square t-slot picked up at a local scrap yard for the frame, and as the Y axis guide rails. The X axis is a 16 mm square aluminum tube on which the magnet carriage rides. The magnet is a 1" cube neodymium N52 magnet. The sand box has a 1/2" plywood bottom (yeah, I know, too thick…). The table started out cable driven, then went to belts and finally stacked belts. Bearing blocks, …

[shahzad]

Your assumption is right. It has to push with a 15lbs of force.

[vicious1 (Ryan)]

@shahzad

It has to push with a 15lbs of force.

That is a lot. I think the LowRider can do it reliably but it was designed for a bit less. Since sub millimeter accuracy is not your goal I would say Low Rider or possibly the MPCNC Primo.

[robertbu (Robert Bunney)]

Hi Shahzad. Welcome to the forum. This forum focuses on the V1 designs: (ZenXY, Primo, LowRider), so most of the advice will be with respect to those machines. There is a universe of designs beyond the V1 machines. In making suggestions, there is a lot of unknowns here:

• What is the budget?
• What is the lifespan of this sculpture? A show? Years? Proof of concept?
• Is noise an issue?
• Is the size of the infrastructure beyond the working area an issue?
• Is there an accuracy goal wrt to the sculpture?
• What environment will the sculpture live in? In particular, can the environment get hot?
• What are your design talents? In particular, do you have the 3D modeling experience to modify existing parts to fit your goal design or are you looking for a design you can “simply” assemble?
• What is the nature of the load? In particular, a taller or off-balanced load will put leverage stress on the design that would not occur with a balanced, compact load. And you have to consider how the load is mounted to the core of the machine.
• Does the machine need to run for long periods of time without oversight?

As mentioned by other posters, the ZenXY design (which is the area of the forum you are posting your question), does not seem to be a good fit for your goals. There are MPCNC Primo machines with 1.5KW, water-cooled spindles. The weight of the spindle plus the weight of the Z axis (which you don’t need), is around 12 pounds, so that is approaching your design goal of 15 lbs.