Using steel instead of wood for construction

[ChristianW]

What would happen if you took, say one of the medium size Solsylva-machines. And constructed the whole thing out of steel instead of wood? Using the same templates and dimensions etc.

If I find a local metalworkshop with a lasercutter, I guess they could fabricate the parts for me without problems.

Would you get a more solid machine, one that you could use for milling harder materials than a wood-built one? Or would you just end up with a heavier version of the same "weak" machine?

Christian W.

[Guldberg]

Heavier version of a weak machine:-) Imagine the weight of this thing if you used the excact dimensions!! The gantry alone would proberly weigh atleast 100kilos:-) Steel is by no way a bad thing, im doing one made of lasercut parts myself at the moment, but the solsylva plans are for a machine easy to make using wood and common tools. If you want to make one of steel, make your own plans or look at the free mechmate, thats a sweet (and big) machine made up (mostly) of lasercut and bended plates.

If you by harder materíal mean aluminium, proberly a steel one would be better, but dont count on milling things like steel or similar, there is a reason a real mill weighs as much as it does:-D If this is what you want, instead look at converting a small mill like the x3