Gantry design question

[D.C.]

MASS makes a great deal of difference to the quality and depth of cut machine can make.!
The Mass dampens vibration better and vib's transfer to the finish so again better finish.

Thanks for the reply, I was looking at carbon fibre precisely because of concerns about vibration, CF is insanely good at dampening that and a CF honeycomb panel won't flex at all until you stress it enough to induce catastrophic failure like when an F1 car meets concrete at 200 mph or the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride into town after a bad day at the office. It's why the 'budget no limit' aerospace & motor sport guys use it.

Is the extra mass adding momentum that helps the cutting process, or is it just eliminating vibration? Given the number of minute and rapid changes in direction a CNC machine must go through it seems counter-intuitive to add mass but I really do know nothing about CNC... (Damn it, where is the 'clueless dimwit' emoticon when you need it!) I kept coming back to that design direction especially after reading papers like this:

http://www.iaeng.org/publication/WCE...p1941-1947.pdf