[steve123]

Congratulations on having a machine! I'm one of the ones without one yet. I'm working for the last year on a (probably crazy) plan for a 3' x 4' table with a 12" tall x 6" deep gantry. The gantry sits right down on raised X rails, so it will have a tiny sideways wiggle. Z clearance is 6", total Z travel is 12" (!). My calculations so far show a .001" deflection with a 100 lb load at the tool tip (adding up several .0003 deflections). That stiffness will probably cost me $1000 more than otherwise (Big gantry, HIWIN rails instead of Glacern, heavier gantry needs larger steppers with better drivers and bigger power supply). My 1st quote on just the metal was $1500. I then decided to actually do the deflection calculations and lighten it up a bit where I could. I ended up adding T-beam stiffeners to the Z. With lots of sweat and luck we will see what stiffness my virtual machine actually has in about a year. Enjoy your real machine!

Cheers,

Steve