Hello Everyone For the machine that I am currently building, I need two long and narrow tracks for a carriage assembly to slide back and forth in, which is similar to a sliding glass door, but on a miniature scale. I am currently machining these tracks out of some black Acetal, however, since I will be casting several parts for this machine anyway, I am curious whether or not it is possible to cast some fairly accurate tracks using lost foam casting or traditional green sand casts. I realize they would have to be fine tuned with an end mill, but I would only want to mill the actual 5 MM runner. Besides that, they would have to be straight and true.
I had the same problem; I built a simple duplicating machine called a Copycarver. It requires being moved back and forth to work.. I found drawer slides to be fairly accurate and suited my needs quite well.. I changed the mounting board a little different than shown on their site.. It now moves back and forth to better follow any under cuts.. It also can lock at any angle.. You can't get much more basic.. Here are some of the things it can be used for.. Copycarver.com
It is funny that you mention that, because the first two versions of my machine used drawer slides After very extended trials, I discovered that they required periodic maintenance to keep them moving smoothly. In my situation, re-lubricating the drawer slides required partial disassembly of the machine. Considering that my intended market is for people from all walks of life, many of which will not be mechanically inclined, I decided to attempt a maintenance free version, using sealed bearings and tracks. I may not be successful, because version #3 has not been tested extensively, but I at least have to try, because I certainly do not want to be service all the sold machines under warranty. Besides that, there are a couple other reasons for changing design, such as the cost of smooth running drawer slides and that the drawer slides required modification.
