Dual shaft stepper motors for Mendel?

I'm trying to get all the parts to do a Mendel build (my first). Does anyone know if it is okay to use dual shaft stepper motors for Mendel? Are there any mechanical interference or other issues that might be of concern?

I wasn't able to come to a conclusive answer from the WiKi or the forum posts that I searched.

Thanks!

TC

I have used dual shaft motors on mine without any issues.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I notice that the build documentation recommends using dual shaft motors, but I don't understand why? What is the second shaft used for? Is there plans to incorporate rotary encoders on the steppers at some point in the development?

CrawlerLogger Wrote:
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> Is there
> plans to incorporate rotary encoders on the
> steppers at some point in the development?


not to my knowledge. I see on the stepper-motor page what you refer to. Below that is a list of acceptable motors, both dual and single shaft. It must have been an oversight.

... the second shaft is really good for ataching knobs for manual moving the motors out of the end-switches or other faults too

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Viktor
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One of the other reasons for using dual-shaft motors is if you need to modify them (eg: splining, flats on shafts, etc).

With a dual shaft, you can put one shaft in the a vice, and the other can be worked on without the shaft rotating. Always remember to cover up the shaft entry with tape/blu-tac so that filings and scarp do NOT end up in the motor bearings.

That said, if you're using pulleys/gears like the ones on the Issac or made by Nophead (with a grubscrew to lock it in place), this isn't so much of an issue, or if the steppers have a D-shaft (already has a flat), then you can easily get away with single shaft steppers in many cases.