I am considering making a 4x4 CNC that I will use occasionally to cut 4x8 material.
The idea is I would just slide the panel through and take a second cut. Is this practical as far as software and matching the cuts is concerned. I make a lot of stuff, the application I see for the 4x8 is boat building. In that case huge efficiencies would arise from doing the cuts on a CNC, But the cuts are mostly just a few shallow arcs per sheet and some dovetails to join pieces. Other than that I can't imagine too many uses that would require me to have a machine larger than 2x3.
Is 4x4 the right option for this kind of thing, would 4x5 be a lot better, and then one gets to the point where one asks what is another 3 feet... The approach I intend to take would not really make it that much harder to expand to a machine that is 4x8 if I decided to go that route.