Algodoo

Very nicely done! You obviously spent a lot of time paying attention to detail. I'm impressed.

Question: There are two rods, one attached to each nut with an axle, and the other end of each rod appears to be attached with an axle to the cutaway surface of the main gimbal structure (sorry, I don't know the names of each component). How would those rods be attached without a cutaway surface in an actual (real life) gimbal assembly?

Q: How would those rods be attached without a cutaway surface in an actual (real life) gimbal assembly?
A: There could be (2) holes or a slot thru the slider body above the nuts. The nuts would have tapped holes in at least one of the facets. Standoffs would be screwed into the nuts and extend beyond the top surface of the slider. A small connecting rod or wire would connect the end of the standoffs to the slider body.

Interesting. I've used precision equipment that had positioning slides, but I didn't know how they work (because the important parts were hidden). Now I do! Thanks.

Don't believe everything I say. This scene is how I might make a positioning slide. I don't know how they are typically made, but I suspect you would want them to have zero free play, be not over-constrained, and to accommodate slight variations in nut centering and perpendicularity. An example of over-constraint is a slider with (2) rods and (4) close fitting bushings. If the rod parallelism varies more than the bushing clearance, then there is high friction. If (2) bushings on one rod are close fitting and the (2) on the other rod have elongated holes (slots) so they act like guide forks, then the original over-constraint is eliminated.

I have no reason to NOT believe what you say, especially when it concerns mechanical engineering. YOU DA MAN!


MORE: I like how you made the coupling on the stepper motor shaft. It looks and moves like the real thing.

Thanks.