V-Slot Belt & Pinion Example Build

V-Slot Belt & Pinion Linear Drive System

OpenBuilds has discovered a new way of making a V-Slot linear drive, named the belt & pinion system.

With this dive, the concept is really as simple as attaching a motor to a gantry carriage and threading the timing belt over the timing pulley and under the v wheels (which act as idler pulleys)
In this system the motor goes along for the ride with the carriage. This does add weight to the over all design of the carriage but in some applications this is not a problem. For example when the gantry does not need to make sudden starts and stops at high acceleration values.
Some of the features of this drive system are:

• Lower build cost (half the belt - no clamps - no idler pulleys)
• Quick assembly (fewer parts)
• Easily modified/adapted (belt is out of the way)
• No special belt clamping required (tee nuts)
• Sleek design and protected belt (contained belt in track)
• Multiple independent gantry's

There are probably more features to this style drive but this should give a good idea.

Overview Intro Video:

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Build Video:

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Quick example build mock-ups



Exploded view connecting a Motor mount plate to a V-Slot gantry plate with a Double tee nut.

Example custom plate that could be made for a cnc system


More example pictures to reference (click to enlarge)


NOTE: Since the belt & pinion system works with so many different OpenBuilds linear gantry setups and because there are many different ways to build this system.
We are going to list the parts list of the one shown in the build video above:
(The parts list for all the others can easily be obtained though looking at the SketchUp models)

Parts List is available in the tab at the top of this build.

You will also need to decide on how long and how wide you want your actuator to be, so you will need to get some V-Slot and GT2 belt (NOTE: You will need extra belt to loop the belt over the pulley as well as enough to leave on one end to pull tight so remember to get a little extra on the belt, about a foot or so longer)
NOTE: You may notice a little fraying on the sides of your belt where the belt comes up out of the track to go around the v wheel. This is normal and will stop once the belt centers itself. Its a very little amount of edge-wear and does not affect the performance at all.


For the best examples please download the SketchUp models available in the Files tab at the top of this build.
Hope this helps to spark a few ideas where you can use the V-Slot belt & pinion in your own builds. Have fun with it!
-OpenBuilds