New and in need of wisdom

[Washout]

Ah thanks Jonathan - that makes sense and gives a lot more clearance under the gantry. Questions though:

I thought having a narrow Y axis rail spacing wasn't desirable due to the leverage that can be applied when under x axis cutting motion? Sorry - I see you already addressed this in your reply....

Also, how do you mount the setpper motor on that design - between the rails on the back of the plate?

@ Jazz - no worries, forums aren't the best medium for communicating or understanding design concepts - shame there isn't a fag packet app built into vbulletin ;) If/when you have time to explain I'd be more than grateful for a longer explanation and I'm happy enough to work in the 3d virtual world (it's cheaper) whilst I learn the concepts.

Given that I've hoovered up many supplier links from various threads on this forum, this build is coming in well under my initial budget, which means I think Option 3 (DIY) from my original post is now looking like my decision thanks, to you guys.

Oh and is there a place for discussing 3D Printing on this forum I haven't seen yet?

Cheers


Chris