Drives

At FastCut CNC we prefer geared timing belts above any other means of power transmission. We have tested all of the other drive options available from ball screws to rack and pinion and have concluded that the geared timing belt is the best form of driving a plasma cutting table. The fine, metallic dust generated from plasma cutting will work its way into ball screws and racks & pinion drives, rendering them inaccurate and producing poor quality cuts. The belts are steel lined - you never have to worry about them breaking, stretching or wearing or any backlash.

FastCut CNC tables now utilize inteligent servo motors for all drive systems. The servo motors use closed-loop accuracy confirmation which means that the controller is checking all the time to see if the motor has moved to where it has been instructed to. This allows for superior accuracy and repeatability over stepper motors. Attached to these servo motors are stainless steel gearheads which amplifies the motors torque and allows for greater resolution and accuracy.

The motor on the X axis turns a driveshaft which is connected to the geared timing belt on each end of the gantry. This creates a dual side drive system for accurate and square gantry movement across the table.

Linear guides are the "final link" between the drawing and the part being cut. FastCut CNC has done a lot of research and development to get the best drive results for plasma cutting, at a practical price. The x-axis uses four aluminum v-groove wheels with double row bearings that travel on a laser aligned rail. These v-groove wheels are machined on a CNC mill and lathe which garantee excpectional accuracy. The y-axis uses anodized aliminum rails with four ploymer bearing slides.