Belt Compliance Measurement
Introduction
The purpose of this page is to propose a standardized, easily replicable test stand and procedure to obtain belt compliance data. Currently, real performance data for the tiny belts used in 3d printers is difficult to find and this makes engineering the system difficult. A standard test method could help the community generate data to fill this information gap and to compare belt suppliers, brands, and models quantitatively. The bill of materials, construction details, theory, and use are covered in this page.
Background
The engineering of industrial mechatronic systems requires some key pieces of data. The amount of compliance (spring-back) of the belts is one such critical piece of data. During acceleration force is applied against the belts creating position error. Position error is the difference between where the motor should have moved the load and the actual position of the load. Finding belts with the minimum compliance (stretchiness) and maximum stiffness will create a system with the best positioning accuracy and most faithful reproduction of the model being printed.
