Workshop

MyDIYCNC

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Desktop CNC machine

I’m just getting into desktop CNC. It’s the essential element in scaling up from 3D printing to injection molding. The tools are five years (or more) behind 3D printing in ease of use (in part because CNC is an order of magnitude more complex) but it’s a field on the brink of a consumer reinvention, just like 3D printing was in 2007.

I use a MyDIYCNC, with MeshCAM software. It’s small but a cheap way to start, $795 fully assembled.

The previously reviewed Shopbot CNC has a much bigger build area than the MyDIYCNC. We use our little one for things like making Warhammer battlefields (carved out of foam) based on downloaded videogame maps. Mostly just silly stuff for now, while we’re learning how to use it.

-- Chris Anderson 10/3/13

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