Hello All,

I've looked for quite a while at commercial fabric cutting machines and can't justify the cost of the machine. I see most do use a t-slotted extrusion for the bed and table so I'm confident that it will work. I'm looking to create a table that can cut 48" wide x 96" tall. I'd like to be able to add on to the 96" direction if I need to. I do not need any Z travel - it will be a laser cutter because I cut exclusively ripstop and other thin nylons. I'm leaning toward the rack and pinon design just because I'm more familiar with it and the precision that I need is not more than +/- ".01. I'm hoping for more precision but I will take what I can get. Are there any good build threads that have tables this size? And what would a machine this size cost? Ballpark estimates are welcome.


Currently I use CNC routed masonite templates with a cobbled together roller that follows the edge and the laser is stationary. I've started to gather way too many templates for storage and masonite isn't cheap, especially for one off runs. With a CNC cutter I'd just need my CAD file and the fabric and I could do much more custom work and have more flexibility.

Thanks for tolerating all these questions from a newbie.