Some more pictures.
The 'Place to go' photo is where the machine will eventually reside, bolted to the wall where the noticeboard is currently. If you look closely there are four, very old, model aircraft plans on the board - an indication as to where my interests lie. Also you can see the current one and only CNC machine the school possesses - a 300 x 250 x 90 Isel machine from Unimatic - OK but very limited in size.
The other three pictures are of the X axis rails and blocks. THK recommended these GSR rails and they are quite interesting in that the blocks can be removed by rotating them round the axis of the outside ball race. When both rails are used and the top plate bolted down, the whole arrangement is very rigid.
The plate shown in the photo is MDF. I am using MDF to verify the design concept before going on to produce the whole carriage in composite materials i.e. carbon fibre. My other interest is in composites and I am convinced they are more than adequate for the job - much less differential expansion between carbon and steel than aluminium and steel.
I teach composites to A level students and have built an oven for pre-preg production.
Lots of work yet to do.