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« on: January 07, 2021, 05:36:21 AM »
Hi Strikermed,
"Now the question is, will this be enough to machine aluminum? Primarily boring out holes so I can upgrade this thing down the road! I would love to replace the gantry with a 3x6 80/20 product, and make custom uprights so they are stiffer than the plywood setup I have now. Also, I would like to upgrade how I've mounted the ball screw on the gantry. All future projects, but for now, I need to learn some more CAD, CAM and G-Code."
To increase the stiffness of the X axis, you can add a piece or two of plywood 90 degrees to the current uprights. It looks like you have enough room in the pictures. It should be widest near the linear bearing and can taper to almost nothing at the top. Right now you are flexing the plywood across it smallest dimension (3/4") and the new stiffener will be 2" minimum.
HTH
Mike