New Plasma build in OZ

I have the the 150x150x6 left over from another job.
Im also going to thermdrill the rail holes before tapping.

One of the reasons for mounting the rails first. I drill and tap them on the mill this way. If I do it later would have to use a mag drill and a mag tap stand

As for going big I'd rater go big than flimsy on the bed, but thats just me. Legs will have leveling casters. Gantry will be all alloy though

I mostly cut 8, 10, 12 and 20mm plate. One of my products is 1280 mm wide from 10mm sheet. A real pain on 1200x2400 sheets which im limited to now. Hence the reason for being able to cut 3000x1800 sheets. I cant justify going to the full 6m table. Not setup for that in my shop.

With a 150x150 rail, you may be able to mount the rails on the top side and design a sheet metal splash guard to keep the water out. Might be easier...

Easier yes but I want to keep the table flat for loading and more protected from damage.

I think under is easier for alignment as compared to side mounting. Yes under more hassle than over but less than side mount.
Just my thinking might be wrong

I guess im trying to build out things I dont like and build in things I do like.
Lots learned about that from my current table (out of action) and using a samson 510 over the last few months.

On my next table I will mount the rails out of the way, I found that water and grime splash out of my water table and cover the linear bearings and gum them up. I solved that issue by enclosing the bearing and running scrapers on the linear bearings.

My table is 4000x2500 cutting area but not all of that is usable with the gantry. I can load a 3000x1500 sheet easily with a forklift and have plenty of room on top to move around when unloading the sheets.
 

My thinking as well on the slides.

For some reason I though your was for 6m sheet, so I will be simular size.

Toyed with downdraft but after modeling in solidworks could not get the results I was after. Well could do it but did not want the investment in the fans needed so went back to water table.

I planning to have a gutter between the table and slats (50mm) all around.
So the cutting area will be 1900x3200 with and extra 500mm for the parking area. I will locate a sump under the parking area for the fill and drain connections.

Like you we dont really have the tools to move the large 6m sheets around easily. 3000x1500 is plenty big for our workshop.

For a large table the fans needed do become rather expensive. I am pretty happy with my water table.

I have made removable slat holders so the slats can be lifted out in sections which for a large machine that get used a fair bit saved a lot of time.
   


Make sure you size your tank according to your water pan volume and add a bit more volume, I did not size my first tank correctly and had to make a new one.