Quote Originally Posted by JAZZCNC View Post
Hi Ian,

Completely agree it's not neccesory to spend £800 to get the machine you want.

Regards your question of do they setup professional machines on site then yes they do and to a very high degree taking a great deal of time using very costly precision levels etc, also they are bolted to the floor more often than not on shock dampening feet.

Obviously good build quality is required but Setting up the machine while in situ is the key to an accurate machine, time taken here will make or break the machine.
The heavist machines built from quality cast iron still bend and twist requiring carefull leveling and setup so don't think for one second 80x80 is substantial and won't move or require setup.!. . . In real machine terms it's banna material.!!

Also regards Epoxy, Yes it will self level to a high degree but it still requires the machine to be fixed and levelled to high degree before application and will only be accurately level to that one spot.

Basicly what I'm saying is if you want good accurecy then Yes 80x80 will do what you want it to do and with good build quality and attention to detail will give the accurecy you require but the machine needs to be fixed down with adjustment built into the design.

If good strong design with carefull welding and attention to detail is used, mixed with very carefull setup then you will easily surpass the accurecy you desire without having to spend £800 on surfacing.

£800 would be far better spent on using quality components.!!
You have answered a fundamental question for me here. I always thought I could get away with having a meaty frame welded together, sent off to be milled and the linear rails attached to then come back to me on a lorry, into the workshop and straight to work without any further alignment required. You have basically told me that this is not possible, so I need to have a rethink.

I have read the MadVac web site on how he aligned his linear rails and it makes me weep as it seems such a laborious process that seems very hit and miss. I was hoping that I could just pay to have that part of the build done for me.