My 2nd version of a 2.5D CNC milling machine

[tribbles]

pavlo:

I think I've got about 230mm of travel (will need to measure it properly tomorrow when I work out how high it needs to go).

It'll be cutting 100mm tall foam to start off with (using a 100mm long tool), so that's the minimum movement I wanted; however, I may be using cutting heads with different lengths, so I wanted the option of going between 40mm and 100mm long cutting heads, which means 160mm travel. I've got the option of even longer tools if I find more suitable ones at a later date.

As Lee said, it's better to have too much than too little (although I don't have the full length of travel for the ballscrew [at this moment in time]).

Kip:

My original plans were to use profile rail for all of the axes, but I didn't want to spend "flipping great wodges of cash" Although I did want to spend more than the minimal amount I wanted on the first version.

The router isn't that heavy (with its base-plate, it's about 6.3Kg; without it I've no idea since I don't have a set of scales in the workshop), and the width of the whole Z-axis mechanism isn't that important (the rails are 1600mm long, the Z-carrier is 160mm wide, so movement is a maximum of 1440mm; 1200mm is the minimum I waned).

The X-axis will be using rails (with a pair of carriages on each side), but that's mainly because the Y-axis mechanism is very heavy (I can see an aluminium version being created at some point in time).

Oh, and I quite liked your thought of a train-wreck - why the edit?

Lee:

I think mine's a bit more "agricultural" than yours (which isn't surprising as it's being built in a workshop where they make crop sprayers).