Forty years ago, in the world of big corporate manufacturing, computers started making their way into the factories. Computer Numeric Controlled (or CNC) machines, that ran off a stack of punch cards with intricate patterns of holes punched into them, ran huge milling machines and lathes. These were cumbersome, but fast, and each machine cost more than a nice house.
Fortunately, for you, the home craftsman, those days have died. It is now possible, practical, and affordable to possess your personal CNC router, CNC mill, CNC lathe, CNC laser cutter, or CNC plasma cutter. With only Click for source , a number of hundred dollars worth of software, an identical investment in hardware and electronics, and your own ingenuity, You might have a CNC machine in your house workshop.
A CNC machine can be quite a great supplement to a hobby that you curently have... like building model airplanes, model railroads, or woodworking. If you are into electronics, a little CNC router can etch and drill printed circuit boards. When you have kids at home, a CNC machine could be a terrific solution to help them with science fair projects, robotics projects, or making arts and crafts projects.
CNC machines can cut or machine intricate detail, and do it very quickly. You might have admired some of these intricate wall hangings which are cut with a jig saw.... where the craftsman spent literally thousands of hours drilling through the workpiece, detaching the saw blade, threading the blade through a hole, reattaching the blade, making the cut, and repeating the process. A CNC router can perform the same work in a fraction of that time period, and much more accurately.
A CNC Router is probably the most versatile type of machine. It could make heavy cuts and do sculpting in three dimensions, or it is possible to put a swivel knife cutter in to the router chuck, and do vinyl sign and graphics cutting. With the correct software, it is possible to digitize (or "Reverse Engineer" a part) utilizing a probe mounted in the router chuck to "trace" the contours of a part. The computer will "Remember" the form of your original, and then enable you to duplicate the spend the the router, cutting it from the block of wood or other material.
And a CNC router can be the start of a part-time.. as well as full time business. It is possible to carve beautiful wooden signs, cut out wooden toys, or model airplane or railroad components. You can carve original patterns, and make molds from their website, to produce figurines, plaques, picture frames or other cast parts. Have you admired wooden clocks ? A CNC router is a fantastic way to make one... or dozens. If you are a frustrated inventor, you can cut mechanical parts for prototypes, from the selection of materials including wood, plastics, aluminum, composite materials like carbon fiber laminate, or printed circuit board material.
So how can you get started? An excellent place to begin is with the ABC's of CNC video. This two hour long DVD goes through the whole CNC workflow... you start with the basics of machine designs, G Code, CAD and CAM software, and lastly through the specific cutting process. You'll see sample parts start as a design, sketched on a napkin, taken through CAD software, and on to the Computer Assisted Machining (CAM) software where in fact the actual cutting paths to help make the part are manufactured. The output from the CAM program then would go to the actual machine controller, which converts the digital information into actual motion... to cut the part.
You certainly do not need to be an electronics whiz... nor a computer programmer... nor a machinist. The ABC's of CNC video will show you where to start, where you can search for parts and resources, and how exactly to put it all together.. to make your personal CNC machine. It's fun and rewarding. It will open up a whole new world of precision, speed, and repeatability.