Hi William - Remember to publish the Scope here. So by now you will have a lot of stuff floating around in your head and the ToDo list will be quite big. A warning... A machine has to have a purpose. If it doesn't then it sits in a corner corroding away loosing value and enthusiasm. If you build a big machine and only do small parts then you have wasted floor space and $$$ and you will wear the machine preferentially and you will kick yourself for having such a big machine to do little jobs. You have stated that its a GP mill. There are lots of commercial mills out there new and second hand that could do your stuff. You are about to spend a lot of time and effort and money on something that will have little resale value.

This is why I suggest you look at cloth cutters or a specialised machine that fulfills some external need. If you want this machine to make money then it has to have a client and a purpose. If it's just for hobby use then downsize it as a technology tester/prototype. A 300x300 milll will get a lot of stuff done and be significantly cheaper then the 400x600 spec at the moment. You should be near a tipping point from research to doing something soon. Now's the time to contemplate the bigger picture of where this machine sits.

Projects sit within projects, within projects, within projects. If you want a sponsor the machine has to sit within their picture which will be bigger then your picture. To get something to happen you need to frame the project within the bigger stuff. Then if the bigger project moves your project moves effortlessly. If your project is contained and personal its limited to your personal resources... and will stall. Peter