Thanks to everyone for the replies,

When i first started thinking of building a machine i was just going to build a 3d printer but then decided to add a simple laser system using a laser diode instead of a laser tube which removes the cost of most of the optics due to the fact they are now selling 10W laser diodes and i bet not far in the future they will start on 20 W plus diodes also if you use a diode system they are much better on power conversion.
All the machine is far is something to play with, i like building things

All i want to try is cutting with the laser is thin ply between 1/8" and 1/4" and foam board which is for model building and the router will just be for soft wood the spindle i got is only 300W so i doubt it will cut that much i just added it as the price was low and i thought it would do for a "toy"

when i started thinking about it i started off with a size 200x200x150 but when i was ordering the cost difference was almost nothing direct from china using AliExpress and i thought if they are to big i can always cut them down to a smaller size.

the reason i am building it in the kitchen is i have no access to any workshop now since i can hardly stand up or walk most days before i gave up working for a living 13 years ago i had a great workshop at the side of my house which was meant to be a garage it was 18'x38' and i had it fitted out with a lot of tools and equipment (boxford lathe, bandsaw, 20 ton press, stick,mig, tig, oxy acetylene welding systems plus electronics bench with most tools including a nice 4 trace oscilloscope, signal generator etc) then i had to get rid of the lot as i could not pay the mortgage so i sold the house bought a sail boat and went sailing for 11 years around the caribbean but as my disability has got worse i had to return to land as it was getting dangerous for me getting on and off the boat but i have wandered off topic a long way sorry for that, now i am in a small one bedroom bungalow with almost nil storage space in the kitchen i have covered 3/4 of the walls with shelves/cabinets and still have tools in my wardrobes to try to put them away i had more storage space on my sail boat Bear Necessities than i have in here. (if anyone wants to buy a 40 foot sail boat it is up for sale at a low price located in Puerto Rico which is a part of USA)

re Jazz about the thin profile the router part will only be very light work if at all i like to build things and have always done the same it is seldom i start off with a drawing due to my drawing ability is around 1 to 2% of what most people are able to do i get an idea in my head and go from there and then make the drawing to match, in the past i have done a lot of machine wiring systems for various things from re-wiring a land rover after removing every wire switch lamp motor ect to wirring 100 foot access platforms (cherry picker) plus many many boat rewires so i expect the electrical side to be easy for me to manage it is the software part that has me worried as i have not come across a PC based 3D printer and my programing skills are not so hot now a days due to brain is getting a little old its a pity we cannot upgrade our brain just like replacing a CPU in a desktop.

sorry for the long off topic post but when i start i forget to stop (I think it is due to not speaking to many people during the day as it is seldom i get to go out and even less often someone comes round to visit)

Regards Poppy Ann.