The shipping for all Fine Line Automation parts is calculated by weight and what region you are in. This is the best method possible because of the size of the parts, in particular the rails, makes it impossible to use flat rate packaging. All shipping is through UPS.

I do ship internationally and the website will calculate shipping prices. The website however only shows UPS shipping options.  If you wish to use another shipment method, just fill out the contact form with your order and the postal code and country you want to ship to. I will promptly get back to you with estimate for the order.

Note that items that are longer than 48” can not be shipped USPS to many countries and must go UPS or UPS freight. If you are ordering rails and/or racks, please contact us first for a shipping quote before placing the order.

We are located in Myerstown, PA in the USA.

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We accept all major credit cards.  When you check out, you will be directed to PayPal.  You can pay with a credit/debit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) — all without having a PayPal account.

The short answer is that both are good for different applications. Each has its pluses and minuses:

Price

ACME is typically less expensive, even in multiple start systems.

Maximum Travel

R&P is required for longer axes. The main reason for this is that screw-driven systems are susceptible to “screw whip”, which is an off-axis motion that worsens the faster a screw rotates. For ½” screws (even multiple start screws, which fare much better due to their higher ratio of linear travel per rotation), the critical speed of rotation makes axes much over 4’ in length impractical. Larger diameter screws can be used, but since rotational inertia is a function of diameter squared, much larger motors are then required to achieve acceptable speeds.

This is where R&P really shines. The system can be used to create axes of arbitrary length, limited only by the length of the linear rail guiding the system. Racks are typically available in 6’ and 12’ sections, and if necessary can be spliced to create extremely long travels. The fixed cost of the drive system and the relatively low cost of cold rolled steel and gear rack make the cost per foot of travel highly competitive for larger travels.

Accuracy

Many people assume ACME is more accurate than R&P, as a screw drive typically has more resolution than our R&P units. Indeed, in theory, a ½-10 single start ACME screw paired with a 10x microstep driver will have an effective resolution of 0.0001”, whereas our Nema 23 R&P with the same driver has an effective resolution of around 0.0005”. However, both of these resolutions are more than adequate for large format cutting, and inaccuracies at other points in the system (such as screw lead error and backlash) make these differences more or less irrelevant.

Speed

There is an appreciable difference in speed between the systems due to gearing. The R&P is geared more aggressively to better utilize the low-end torque of stepper motors, and is also more mechanically efficient than ACME screw systems. Because of this, it is capable of much higher top speeds (rapids of 600 IPM+ for some Nema 23 systems and 1000 IPM+ for Nema 34 systems) than even multi-start ACME. That being said, for shorter travels, this higher speed is rarely realized, as there is insufficient room to accelerate to these speeds, so in this case, ACME can be a good and economical choice.

Other Considerations

R&P systems do have a moving motor, and hence require more cable management than an ACME axis, which typically can have at least one stationary motor. Another consideration is that it is difficult (albeit not impossible) to do a center mount R&P unit, so most R&P systems are dual drive on the long axis. Lastly, for z axes, R&P is not really appropriate, as it can be easily back-driven when the power is off, and can cause the axis to fall in an uncontrolled fashion. This can be controlled with a gas spring or other apparatus, but the cost and complexity is rarely worth it.

Summary

Choose R&P for axes that are 4’ or greater in length, or for an axis you might want to upgrade in length later on — it will be faster and will alleviate trouble with whip. For shorter axes, choose multi-start ACME to save cost.

You will need to provide both the spindle and the mount for your machine. They are not included with the kit. We offer a mount for 80mm spindles. Also, any mount from K2CNC will work with our system if you want to use a standard router. If you are buying a new router for the machine, I recommend either the Hitachi M12VC or the Porter Cable 690 series. You can also mount a milling headstock from an X2 or Sherline mill on the machine, though you will need the appropriate adapter plate.

There is no defined weight limit on the spindle, but I would not go above 50 lbs. If you go above 25 lbs, you will need to get the Z-Axis with a single start leadscrew to prevent it from back driving.

The difference between the leadscrews in the number of turns per inch. The single start is 10 turns per inch while the 5 start is 2 turns per inch. This makes the 5 start 5x faster than the single start. The single start is 5 times more accurate than the 5 start (.00005” vs. .00025” resolution), but the total system backlash of all of our kits is .001”-.003” so you never actually realize the accuracy increase. The single start is necessary for spindles > 30 lbs. because the 5 start screw will back drive under those weights. The 5 start is the recommended choice for almost everyone.

The base kits come with all of the pieces that you need for the mechanical assembly. Once you are done with the assembly you will just need to hook your electronics to it and off you go. We provide mounting screws for the electronics.

We offer the electronics as an option for the kits. The electronics include the motors, controller, power supply, and cabling. In addition to the electronics option, you will need the following:

• Male to Male Parallel Port Cable
• wiring and terminal connectors (recommended) to hook the power supply to the controller and any additional pieces like an E-Stop you may want.
• 110 AC Replacement cord to hook the Power Supply to the wall.

We offer the Mach 3 controller software as an option for the kits. This software will take a GCode file and control the machine. What it will not do is create the GCode file for you from a CAD model. You will need to provide any CAD/CAM software.

In addition to the above, you will need to provide:

• router/router mount or other spindle. We don’t stock router mounts as people use many different types of routers for the system. Any of the router mounts from K2CNC will work with our system. You can also use a true milling headstock from a Sherline or X2 with the system.
• Table Top for the router – You need to have a table top to protect the aluminum frame from the cutting bit when you cut through a material. Most people use MDF because it surfaces easily and is relatively in expensive.
• For the FLA100, and FLA400, you should consider a table or workbench to place the router on.