Hey Tiller, the gantry is 2.5 inches thick, and a quick FEA in Fusion shows around 4 tenths of deflection in the gantry with a 300lb load. This is what my steppers could in theory produce with 100% efficiency. If it proves to be an issue I can always put a piece of 2x2 HSS behind it. I won't be pushing this machine too hard for the next year or so since I'll be limited to a 1.5kw spindle on 110v power.

Updates:

I assembled the rest of the X-axis and Z-axis, and began the arduous process of wiring everything.



The Z-axis motor mounts like the Y-axis, and drives the ballscrew with a pulley. A single homing switch on the Z along with a soft limit will keep it in bounds.



I tried to keep things relatively neat, and printed some cable holders, seen below on the upright in the bottom right of the image, and screwed down to the back of the plywood table.



The electronics enclosure isn't exactly glorious cable management , but turned our fairly neat. All driver, and signal wires are shielded, with the shielding grounded to earth through the aluminum back plate everything mounts to, or the plug panel. I was careful to not to loop any of the shielding or grounds, and will hopefully avoid any EMI issues. A 24V pc fan pulls in cool air and blows it across the stepper drivers. Two separate plugs are used for 110VAC in, with one being dedicated for the VFD. This should prevent any breaker trips, as I'd be at the top end of one 20A circuit. One of my first projects will hopefully be to engrave a plug plate.




I have the spindle and VFD all wired up, but am waiting on a new spindle mount to arrive, since I wasn't overly satisfied with the one provided in the Chinese kit. If anyone has any recommendations I'd be open to suggestions!. I like the RoverCNC 80mm mount, but the bolts holding it to the plate sit behind the spindle. I have to imagine that would make tramming it in pretty difficult, as you'd have to remove the spindle for every adjustment. Anywho, this week I plan to get the spindle mounted, and start making chips!