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We have a larger version (table 2 x 2m) at school and whilst it is great for wood, plastics and engraving it is not suitable for ali or steel. To cut metal you need to use a end mill or slot drill and these put a lot of stress on the head which is not ridgid enough on these machines unless they are of industrial design and standard. My mill head is mounted on a 300 x 150 x 25mm thick reinforced box section cast iron pillar and even this will flex under load. The mill head alone also weighs 42 kg which helps absorb vibration and this is essential if you want clean cuts (the heavier the better). These CNC machines also run at very high RPM which means you need to flood the work piece with lots of soluble oil as a coolant or the bits will dull quickly (even carbide). The table is not setup for such a volume and you would end up with coolant all over yourself and the walls. We tried to cut ali with the router at school and it ended up being more trouble then it was worth with poor cuts (rough and stepped) and accuracy. Wood and engraving with small cutters yes, metal no.
Mark
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