The parts pictured are for a profile model airplane, made of dollar store foam board. Cuts were done with a 1/16" downcut end mill. I am interested in the drag knife setups for this material, though the end mill seems to do a good job with just a little fuzz on the backside. Upping the feed incrementally. Started around 40 ipm, up to 75, and will bump it up again on the next test.
Looking to cut some balsa, basswood and ply once I'm comfortable with the whole process. And, I would like to also use it for some furniture type projects.
On the topic of the base table, it does twist a little bit (@1/16" corner to corner) depending where on my uneven floor it sits. For the simple 2d contours this hasn't caused an issue. So far it hasn't moved around on the casters, we'll see what happens as I increase the feed more. I may get rid of the casters anyway,in favor of some larger fixed wheels on one end and a single drop foot on the other end. The idea being that with only 3 contact points, floor surface won't rack the table. The outer posts will still be there just off the floor slightly.
On the gantry riser cutouts, I have no idea. Maybe just to provide a visual cue to the new design?? I would say I wouldn't have put them there just because more material means more rigidity, but the machine seems plenty solid, so I'm not worried.
Brian