Re: Looking for sound advice
You don't need to fear using aluminium and steel. I bought a sheet of 20mm thick aluminium, some 100x50x6 aluminium box section, 50x50x3 steel box section, 50x100x3 box section, 30x6mm steel bar, 50x10mm steel bar and various small pi6ces of 3 to 6mm aluminium plate.
The steel was cut with a small angle grinder and these disks Toolstation > Power Tool Accessories > Cutting Discs > Multi Purpose Disc
The aluminium was rough cut with a saw like this Amazon.com: Hitachi CR13V2 10-Amp Reciprocating Saw: Home Improvement then it was cut to size on a woodworking bandsaw with a metal cutting blade.
Welding can be done with a small machine and all other tasks with a drill press.
So in reality you do not require a huge array of expensive tools to get the job done in house.
Re: Looking for sound advice
Well I'll have to take another serious look at the Mech-Mate again and make a couple of calls around on pricing because really the only difference between the MDF or Corian build and steel is the cost of the material because I'm planning on a 49"x97"x6" working envelope hence the mechanics and electronics are the same irregardless of the material the machine body. I really appreciate the input and information I've received.
Re: Looking for sound advice
You might want to look at a kit from CNCRouterParts
A lot easier to build then a Mechmate, and still a huge improvement over your mdf machine.
Re: Looking for sound advice
I'm very seriously looking at the MechMate DIY CNC router, I'm really impressed in it's structure.