New Design

[murray]

Hello all,
I have started to design a new cnc machine. It is going to be made out of mdf. It is based on the FireBall CNC. It will have a working area of roughly 12 by 12. The sides and bottoms will be held together with length of threaded rod. I have designed the gantry so far in sketch-up. I plan on cutting it out on the large cnc router at my school.

I have attached a few images below and will upload the sketchup file.

Please tell me where it needs improvement/strength.

Thanks

[jsheerin]

It looks like you're planning on using unsupported linear rails for the Y axis? If so, be aware that these will deflect more than if they were supported. How much and whether or not the deflection is acceptable for your design depends on all the details.

[abomb55076]

Make sure you get the gantry as rigid as you can. The more robust it is, the more accurate it will be and the better cuts you will get.