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Smooth idler pulley vs. normal pulley

Posted by Yaro

Yaro

Smooth idler pulley vs. normal pulley
July 19, 2014 08:30AM

Registered: 9 years ago
Posts: 26

Hi, i've recently bought smooth idler pulleys for my cnc, but i've readed that smooth idler pulley is a mechanical weakness compared to normal pulley and may affect precision or create vibrations. Is that true? and how much it can influence? I don't really want to spend other moneys to buy normal pulleys.

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Re: Smooth idler pulley vs. normal pulley
July 19, 2014 10:04AM

Registered: 10 years ago
Posts: 1,381

The backside of the belt can run against a smooth pulley, the tooth side should run over a tooted pulley. That said a lot of printers to save money run the tooth side of the belt over smooth bearings. If you're trying to build a robust machine then do it the proper way. If you have limited funds then do it the cheap way, and replace the smooth pulleys when you're able too.