Hello, I am relatively new to the cnc world.. well sort of.

I worked at a studio that did foam sculptural enlargements using a multitude of vertical cnc mills, horizontal mills, and a robotic arm to carve the foam but i strictly worked on molds.

For the past year i've assembled my own 3d scanner and acquired my own small arsenal of scanning methods and machines. I also refabbed 2 3d printers and have those working quite well.

I've been teaching myself a small amount about cnc and practiced making toolpaths etc.

I now want to move on to the next level.

I would like to make my own vertical foam mill. I would like the mill to be somewhat versatile but i would like to mill foam that is no larger than 8ft tall by 4 ft wide by 4 ft deep.

Right now, i am not too terribly concerned about backlash. I feel like this is strictly an exploratory build and if i would like to do more regarding backlash I can do it down the road.

I would like it to be a 4 axis mill.

I would like to spend in the neighborhood of 5000-7500.
I know how to weld.

I saw a similar system that seemed very unique and versatile. It was almost like a vertical foam lathe that used steel truss. The tool was extremely long and i couldn't figure out if the tool moved or the foam was moved.

I am looking for recommendations as where to start. I've read books and have been looking through the forum for a few weeks but those sources lead me to more questions as it seems that many people suggest quite different things. I am starting to be overwhelmed. Does anyone have plans for a machine similar to this? Would anyone like to offer suggestions or referrals? Any help would be greatly appreciated.