Hi everyone, this is my first post on cnczone. I've read many of the build threads and have had been on the learning curve towards building my own cnc router.
Great respect for all you guys here for sharing your expertise and experience. I thank you in advance for all the help you can provide.
I'm in the final planning stages and currently building a list of the materials I will need.

My working goals are :

3 axis 5' x 10' cutting area
8" z travel
200ipm cutting speed
accuracy and repeatability (even at tradeoff of speed)
space at end for vertical clamped work
option to add second z axis in future (either side by side or front to back)

Primary use will be for cutting wood sheet products, but it would be nice to have ability for cutting aluminum even at slower speed.
I do realize one machine can't be an all-in-one solution and cutting aluminum may not be an option.
So I may build a smaller more rigid machine for aluminum in the future.
My design is based on the Avid 60x120 Pro.

So far my design is as follows:
Overall table is 5'x12'
Main frame is 40mm x 120mm x 3620mm t-slot 8020.net
Gantry is 80mm x 160mm x 1850mm t-slot 8020.net
Hiwin 20mm linear rails for all axis motion constrained
rack & pinion rails Avid cnc
3:1 pinion drive kits Avid cnc
proximity sensor kit Avid cnc

I'll use Fusion 360 for CAD/CAM

question 1:
For the z axis, I'm leaning towards purchasing from Avid cnc at 689.00. Any advise for alternate suppliers or a design I could build with standard shop tools would be welcome.

question 2:
The electronics is where I'm currently stuck, there are sooo many options available.
I've looked over the Avid nema34 plug and play kit at 2800.00 and wonder for same or less money I could have a better system (human nature).
Other than Avid, my second choice is the acorn cnc controller from Centroid.

I'm also still undecided between stepper vs. servo. I've read about the tradeoffs of each. I worry about setting up and tuning servos for my first build, but also like the fact that the servo motors don't draw power and heat up while at rest vs. steppers which are more easily setup but waste energy and create heat.

I need help to choose all the components I need for the controller / motors
what components and suppliers would you suggest best for my setup
1. controller
2. servos or steppers
3. drivers
3. power supplies
etc
All recommendations are welcome and appreciated