[goaty]

If your movement on your plotting machine was purely magnetic, wouldn't it be more accurate than say with belts, cogs, and worms?

My machine planned is going to brush up against a nichrome wire to get its absolute position - but other than that, if it was just purely arriving at the destination via a solenoid it would have no other machine in the chain to get to the position.

So, can you make solenoids that go over a space of 50cm?   but even if that's not the case,  getting 10cm would already be enough if you were going to be making a ram chip or cpu with it.

[Korrelan]

So, can you make solenoids that go over a space of 50cm?

Yes, its called a stepper motor.

 

[HS]

As long as you gear down, (not necessarily with gears), you can get great precision with a mule-drawn cpu making device. 

[HS]

But stepper motors seem quite good.

[Korrelan]

A stepper motor is basically a rotary solenoid.

 

[goaty]

Thanks for the replys.

So stepper motors can already step a nanometre?     I spose that's how they make standard micrometres… 
 (as in mechanically, with cogs,  not just purely magnetic.)

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