Quote Originally Posted by NordicCnc View Post
Thats a good point with the tool length. Although I am struggling to think of any kind of tool with that length other than some extremely long drill.
I've built a lot of machines that are used for mold or model making for wind tunnels etc in blocks of high-density foam or modeling clay and they use long tapered endmills that are 100mm or longer so, in this case, the rails on front plate design won't work as it cannot lift the tool clear of a tall block of foam.

These machines are designed at the outset for a specific purpose to do a specific job or jobs using similar materials within a known size range. The problem is that if you want an all-round machine to cut all materials and with larger material size range then there will always have to be some kind of compromise unless you take a radical approach and design outside the box so to speak.!

If you are using conventional build designs, which you are, then the machine will be compromised in some area it's as simple as that and there's no getting around it.!

If you want to explore outside the box then you can have a machine that will cut the complete range of materials without any compromises on cut quality and material size range other than the cutting area will be a little less in long-axis direction for the same size machine. I can be done but it's a completely different design that will cost more money.?