Greetings, I am new to the diy cnc scene as well as this forum. I will include a bit about myself at the end but for now down to business.

I am looking to build a machine with a 30" x 30" ( 762mm x 762mm ) -ish work envelope for cutting wood, plastic and aluminum. Most metal cutting will be engraving or light shaping. Heavy stock removal I can do at work.

I am pretty lost at what size and kind of linear guides, ball/lead screw, and steppers I would need for this size and workload. I know some of this comes down to machine design but I'm not looking to re invent the wheel. I would appreciate any links to relevent designs/drawings so I can start to design correctly. Gantry style seems to be the way to go.

Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to working with and learning from you all.

About me: I live across the pond in the US and work as a tool and die maker. I run a Kuraki 160. Our shop specializes in 10,000 to 100,000+ pound components. Programming and machining I understand. Machine design not so much.