design choices when the budget will not stretch?

[JAZZCNC]

i'll give my answer from a noobies perspective.

welded steel framed gantry... i dont know if i'm understanding this wrong, but i see plenty of alu profile gantries even on here there are people using profile frames

Big cost saving advantage IE: 50mm x 3mm box section 7.5mtr length priced today £28 VS 60x60 Profile £25 per/mtr = £187.50 per 7.5mtr length.!! Then you'll need about the same again for the correct fixings to make best use of the profile.!

water cooled 2.2kw spindle and vfd, personally i've not dug deep enough yet to find the answer to the power needed for most operations, but my understanding is if you dont start water cooled then you will end up here anyway, but as i said the power at 2.2kw is something i feel might be something you can compromise on, personally i'd been looking at 1.5kw

If small machine using small cutters then 1.5Kww will be fine, larger machine cutting harder materials or larger cutters desired then 2.2KW much better option.

m542 drivers and 50v power supply are both things i feel come down to your personal preference. your desire for speed will have alot to do with how much you want to spend on drivers and psu... me personally i keep telling myself i'm going to keep cost down by staying with cheap drivers.. the reality is that i will more than likely want to upgrade to better motors once i realise what i should have bought.. hey i might even get to the stage before i even buy my first motors..

Personal preference regards Drives/PSU doesn't really come into it regards speed.? . . Speed should not be thought about has been got from drives or motors but from the correct choice of screw pitch. Yes to get best performance from motors then voltage and therefore drives/PSU play a part but it's the screws and the relation ship with running motors in the right RPM range in conjunction with machine size and intended purpose or goals that make the difference between getting it right or wrong.
Cutting corners regards drive quality or PSU size is THE most common mistake new CNC'rs make.!! . .. . . unfortunately it's mostly after weeks or months head banging they find out.!

1610 ballscrews, now personally with loads of reading i'd already decided ballscrews were going to replace that original thought of using threaded rod.. however i'm not sure what the difference is between 1605 and 1610 yet and how they will apply to myself

Simple really 1605 16=Diameter 05= pitch or distance traveled per rev. The net affect 1610 can go twice has fast for the same RPM but with less resolution per rev.
You decide the best most suited for your intended purpose. With carefull screw choice to make best use of motor's Ideal working RPM range then you can tailor the machine to give the speeds and torque you require.