wendtmk - Thanks for the feedback. While there may be some difference in 3060 resisting twist (the primary issue we deal with after a certain cross sectional density is exceeded and surpasses what is need to carry the tooling load) I believe that the amount the one piece exceeds two 3030's is miniscule. So that left only one variable of any importance - the two 3030 pieces cost me $40 whereas a 36" section of 3060 costs $120.

In the end, as long as cheaper will do the job, it's all about economics.

My existing machine is a Shapeoko. While it has allowed me to learn, I've never been happy with how flexible the gantry is and how I could see it twist with any tooling load. I believe one 3030 would have been good enough for this 36" span, I KNOW two will be. I talked with some of the staff at 8020 as I was planning this build and asked them what the real difference would be. Their response was that I'd never see any difference. I also checked their design specs for myself and while I no longer recall the exact numbers, the load carrying ability of 3030 x 2 was mere tens of pounds of difference out of tons of ability.