[Mwmx54]

I am planning to build a new cnc mill, and started designing one, but started thinking there’s gotta be a better way than the typical base and tower type machine, if I’m gonna build a custom machine, why not cherry pick the good stuff for the size I want, which is mainly small parts, but still want a large capacity, like X 30” travel(42”is table” Y 18-20”, and Z 24ish”. A little backstory, I have a heavily modified zx45(rf45 clone), that I keep modifying to make better, but at this point I’m thinking just start fresh.
So the questions I pose to the hive mind,
Gantry or tower?
Horizontal(better chip evac) vertical (easier setup)
Body(castings) epoxy granite(EG), EG filled steel tube, aluminum?
Table, steel(expensive and difficult to build) aluminum(cheaper, easy to build) EG(not very familiar with it, but easy to build and cheaper-est, plus super cool..) rectangular or more square?
That’s all to start, here’s some pics of my current machine, and the initial drawing. And my current project, a switchblade. I have some videos of the build here, mind you I’m not pro video’er.
https://youtube.com/@mwmxcnc?si=8toZuGJoHcuQstCr