Thanks Clive, cad is the easy bit for me lol, I have a reasonable budget, im not looking for bare bones cheap, as this will be used for production. from a design point, the table is not a big issue to design, ive read a lot of very helpful threads and different views, which were all very informative. One thing that puzzles me is the way to go in options for movement of parts, ive read a fair few threads in regards to ball screw single and double motor options, belts, gears etc but not many seem to use rack and pinion, on a few machines (non diy) a lot opt for rack and pinion. is this due to complexity's to build, or just ott. Which would best suit my needs for a wood cutting cnc, Mainly Baltic birch ply. simple sheets cutting and rebating to a depth of 5mm.... Im looking for a quick machine, full 3d carving etc I would like to have a go, but my main use is for the machine to help speed up, what I currently do, which is build and design speaker cabinets, the occasional logos route'd into boxes etc..