Forty years ago, in the wonderful world of big corporate manufacturing, computers started making their way in to the factories. Computer Numeric Controlled (or CNC) machines, that ran off a collection of punch cards with intricate patterns of holes punched into them, ran huge milling machines and lathes. They were cumbersome, but fast, and each machine cost greater than a nice house.
Fortunately, for you, the house craftsman, those days are gone. It is now entirely possible, practical, and affordable to possess your personal CNC router, CNC mill, CNC lathe, CNC laser cutter, or CNC plasma cutter. With only the standard PC computer, several hundred dollars worth of software, an identical investment in hardware and electronics, as well as your own ingenuity, You could have a CNC machine in your home workshop.
A CNC machine can be a great supplement to a spare time activity that you already have... like building model airplanes, model railroads, or woodworking. For anyone who is into electronics, a small CNC router can etch and drill printed circuit boards. When you have kids at home, a CNC machine can be a terrific way to help them with science fair projects, robotics projects, or making arts and crafts projects.
CNC machines can cut or machine intricate detail, and take action very quickly. You've probably admired some of those intricate wall hangings which are cut with a jig saw.... where in fact the craftsman spent literally thousands of hours drilling through the workpiece, detaching the saw blade, threading the blade by way of a hole, reattaching the blade, making the cut, and repeating the procedure. A CNC router can perform the same work in a fraction of that time period, and many more accurately.
A CNC Router is just about the most versatile kind of machine. It could make heavy cuts and do sculpting in three dimensions, or you can put a swivel knife cutter in to the router chuck, and do vinyl sign and graphics cutting. With the proper software, you can digitize (or "Reverse Engineer" a part) using a probe mounted in the router chuck to "trace" the contours of a component. The computer will "Remember" the form of your original, and let you duplicate the spend the the router, cutting it from the block of wood or other material.
And a CNC router could possibly be the start of a part-time.. and even full time business. You can 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. Perhaps you have admired wooden clocks ? A CNC router is a fantastic way to make one... or dozens. If CNC Cutting Monmouth 're a frustrated inventor, you can cut mechanical parts for prototypes, from the range of materials including wood, plastics, aluminum, composite materials like carbon fiber laminate, or printed circuit board material.
So how can you get started? A great place to begin has been the ABC's of CNC video. This two hour long DVD goes through the whole CNC workflow... starting with the fundamentals of machine designs, G Code, CAD and CAM software, and finally 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 the actual cutting paths to help make the part are created. The output from the CAM program then goes to the actual machine controller, which converts the digital information into actual motion... to slice the part.
You certainly do not need to be an electronics whiz... nor some type of computer programmer... nor a machinist. The ABC's of CNC video will show you where to start, where to search for parts and resources, and how to put it all together.. to make your OWN CNC machine. It's fun and rewarding. It will open up a whole new world of precision, speed, and repeatability.