CNC Power to the People!

It was the early 1980s and I knew something significant was afoot when I began to use the new and highly coveted Apple Laserwriter printer. My department within a large aerospace company had diligently worked to justify the purchase of this printer, which as I recall cost in the neighborhood of $5-6K. Suddenly I was no longer dependent on the department secretary and her IBM Selectric typewriter to create a professional looking document. In fact, the output quality of a Selectric became sub-standard in comparison to the near typeset quality of the Laserwriter. I was joining the Desktop Publishing revolution. The result of this technology shift was the creation of way too many bad newsletters by empowered, but sometimes un-artful, individuals. But today hardly a thought is given to how much power we have to create sometimes amazing printed material with common and affordable tools.

During the 1990s another computer-driven revolution was underway - CNC (Computer Numerical Control) for the individual! Increasingly one could build or otherwise acquire the tools needed to design an item and manufacture it using CNC. Capability that in the past was reserved for only well capitalized manufacturing businesses was becoming available on a personal scale.

I have dabbled with the prospect of adding CNC capability to my shop arsenal for years, but now the time has come and I have much to learn. This blog is about my process of learning about, planning for, acquiring, building and using my own CNC Router system - from CAD to chips. Let the transformation from CNC 'Newbie' to 'not-so-Newbie' begin!