I am looking at getting my first CNC. I have quite a bit of history in traditional wood working, and this would complement the traditional approach instead of replacing it.
Unfortunately I am limited in my available workshop space, so only a Shapeoko 3 would be feasible.
I know that when milling projects larger than the size of your CNC you can separate it into separate tiles. What I am not clear on is whether you need to cut up the stock so it fits in your machine, or whether you are able to put the CNC on top of the stock and mill below the level of the feet.
A contrived example of this would be adding an inlay to an existing hardwood floor.
The Shapeoko needs the factory base plate mdf for stability. Additionally t he newer Z-Plus Z axis does not have the same amount of travel as a belt Z or an HDZ. The tiling is done with software which is usually Vetric. Others may support tiling but Carbide Create does not. However you can make registration marks and if you are good at lining up the registration marks you can tile on Carbide Create. In Vetric tiling is built in. The Shapeoko 3 standard is open front and back for longer stock to fit through. With a standard you would be limited to 16 inches of cutting width and maybe a few more inches of uncuttable width. The Y axis gantry plates could hit the material if wider than 16 inches.
Removing the factory base plate helps keep the frame square. Plus if you remove it you would need to anchor the frame to keep it from moving due to cutting forces. There is a lot of force while cutting and a base less machine would tent to move around.
