Can anyone please explain which is better? Using screws or belts for CNC axis driving?
Shapeoko uses both. Is that the best solution? I read here in the forum that GRBLshield is not good being used with the mixed way( screws and belts).Is it really so?
Thank you for the reply
GRBLshield and screw driven vs.belt driven CNC
From the original Synthetos forum (2011–2025)
Using belts or screw is a trade off.
Belts: Fast, inexpensive, less precise than screws, not much cutting power (if you need that - 3d printers do not)
Screws: Slower, more expensive but a lot of power and much more positional accuracy.
Grbl/grblshield works fine with mixed belt/screw designs, but it does have some limitations. Grbl/grblshield has a single maximum velocity for all 3 axes. If the Z axis can't move as fast as the X and Y the machine must be limited to the speed of he Z axis.
-- Alden
Alden,thanks for the reply.
And what is you opinion of the ShapeOko CNC? It has a mixed driving and it seems to be quite popular these days.
I think Shapeoko is a great option, and thank Edward Ford, Bart Dring, and the rest of the community for all the hard work. I have a number of 3 axis tables, mostly commercial. Each one is better at doing something than the others, but none are as good as Shapeoko for pure flexibility and hackability. Given that it's based on Makerslide you can pretty much turn it into anything. I have some interesting projects up my sleeve that I wouldn't try to do on any of the other machines. It's also quite inexpensive.
--Alden
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