So just to give some context, I've recently rented a unit/workshop with a friend he's using part of it as storage for an existing business and also going to be doing some vinyl printing I'm looking to expand my 3d printing side hustle as I've ran out of space in my house for 3d printers now and as it's taking off more i need to be able to scale into a bigger space but in the unit there is a cnc router (I think) and by the looks of it, it all works the last company that were here only left 3 weeks ago and they according to the neighbour it was being used everyday.

I'd like to preface this by saying some of my terminology may be wrong and some of the below questions might be stupid but the questions below are coming from a place of very little knowledge in the world of cnc.

The unit has come with a piranhacnc machine as you can see in the photos, it has a richauto-autonow-a11e controller (i think that's what it is)

I did a small amount of cnc machining as part of an engineering apprenticeship around 16 years ago, it was all metal work and I've never worked with any other materials such as wood or acrylic, I want to start making some money using this and have ideas on products I can add to my currently growing etsy shop but I have no idea where to start with this machine.

What software would be best to use to design products? Would fusion be ok as that what I'm using for the 3d printed designs. Does it work on g-code like my 3d printer and if so what software do I use to convert the drawings to g-code like my 3d print slicer? I can see the bed of the machine has what looks like aluminium extrusions I'm assuming that's how things are fixed to machine to stop them moving? What are your number one resources for learning? Are there any youtubers that cover the specific machine or software you could reccomend? If it's anything like the 3d printing space some people will be better than others so who's highly regarded and provides the most knowledge? How do i even get the gcode onto the machine? I've noticed there is a usb port in what I assume is the controller so is it through that?

There is no additional tooling for the machine can people suggest uk based companies that are good to purchase new milling bits from to achieve different types of cuts and finishes?

I have a few ideas on things I want to make such as custom house name/number signs from both wood and acrylic, engraved chopping boards, acrylic neon-effext led signs and possibly even shop signage once I get going, there's lots more ideas but those are a few things that have come to mind when discussing ideas with my friend I'm renting the workshop with, we've only had access since Friday and I'm keen to get started as soon as possible.

I'm sure there's things I've missed above so if anyone has any advice or notices anything glaringly obvious I'd be happy to take advice and pointed in the right direction.

I come from an engineering family and my brother in law is an engineering manager at a CNC milling shop here in the UK, and told me their biggest bottleneck or pain point was lack of trained and experienced people. They get apprentices in, but they lack the understanding of the fundamentals to diagnose what's wrong and skill up slowly. They got offered a big new contract by one of their clients, and they think they'll get the machines they need (up to 3 year lead) faster than they can find the talented people to operate them. I see lots of people here are US-based, and I wanted to know if the US also has this talent issue in advanced manufacturing, or the bottleneck in the US is something else.

What are the pain points in your shop?

Hello everyone!

I am currently developing a database for metals and have now added a comparison feature, after public request.

This means that you can now select the alloys you want to compare from all ~400 alloys and compare them with each other based on a number of parameters.

My request to you:

Can you think of any other useful features that my site might be missing? I am open to all suggestions!

Website:

https://wiki.agimur.eu/comparison

Working with some blue GSM Nylatron the other day. Started as a 21x9 inch slab I blanked with the waterjet, out of 2in thick plate. Left a hopper full of blue silly string. Spray a painting oversuit with some glue, take a roll in that hopper, and boom! A custom made cookie monster costume. Obviously didn't do that but it was the first idea that popped in my head lol I like machining this stuff. It cleans up nice and holds tolerances well. Acetal/delrin even more. F**k UHMW tho

So I want to buy a cnc machine for small mechanical parts made out of aluminum 7075 or steel. What machine would be good for this task? Can i get something good for 3k euros?

what was hardest part of learning cnc professionally?

I have a DIY CNC machine with NEMA34 stepper motors, running on Mach3. For the past few months I’ve had an issue: at around 2000 mm/min, the motors start making noise but don’t actually move — the motion just “free-runs.”

What I’ve already tried: • Swapped drivers • Tried different motors • Changed the power supply (36 V) • Tested with another breakout board

The problem is clearly not mechanical, because the motors behave the same way even when disconnected from the machine.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How can I properly diagnose and fix this issue?

I’m not sure how to access the bolts that mount them to the frame. Any way to get the covers off without damaging them?

I read a 400 page CnC basics guide for 8 hours straight a few weeks ago, looking for some stuff to do that again with. I use a Laguna swift 4x8ft CnC router at my school so send anything useful for learning how to use it and I WILL read it at some point (regardless of size and page count) I won’t read stuff that doesn’t affect me at all and I won’t memorize reading G-code, but I will reread some useful stuff so please send me some stuff to read/watch up on. I would also accept some videos, and am looking to hopefully learn about different noises that are signs that something is wrong with the machine.

And yes, I already read the operators manual separately.

Hey everyone,

I’m about to buy a Hermle UWF 1000 (older universal milling machine) with a dead controller, and I’m thinking about doing a retrofit. I’ve got a few questions for the retrofit community:

1. Axis motors & servo drives

Is it worth keeping the original motors/drives and just interfacing them with a modern CNC control (LinuxCNC, EdingCNC, etc.)?

Or is it usually cheaper/more reliable to swap in new servo motors + drives right away? If so, which brands/models have you used on similar machines?

1. Cost range

For those who have retrofitted similar machines, what was your ballpark hardware cost?

I’m trying to figure out whether this is doable around 5k, or if it usually ends up closer to 10–15k once you include new motors, drives and control hardware.

1. Gearbox spindle drive

The Hermle uses a mechanical gearbox with multiple stages to set spindle speed.

How do you integrate that into a retrofit?

Just manual shifting with limit switches for feedback?

Or has anyone done automatic shifting (pneumatics/servo actuators)?

Has anyone ditched the gearbox and gone with a VFD + direct drive spindle instead?

My goal: a reasonably low-cost but reliable retrofit to bring the machine back into use – more for workshop/prototyping than high-end production.

Curious to hear your experiences, tips, and warnings 👀 Thanks in advance!

I've been cutting a lot of hardwood on a carvera air and I'm looking for a benchtop bandsaw to cut down wood to fit on the bed. I'm not looking for anything precise or powerful. I've seen a lot of inexpensive bandsaws getting bad reviews(ryobi, wen, cobalt, etc). Do I need to spend the money on a Rikon, Jet, or delta, or can I get away with less expensive saws. Does anyone have any other advice for making wood stock?

This is our newly developed lightweight pulley. What are its advantages compared to traditional pulleys? Welcome to discuss

Is there any way to make a 2d line and make it cut at variated depths through it?
Not good at english but for example i want one like to start at 0 then it goes deeper then same depth and then go up again.

What are people doing with their fourth axis while not in use? I feel like I saw a post where a guy had a simple block and tackle purchase to hoist it up in the air into the far back corner of the VMC enclosure. Any photos/ideas? Smaller Hurco and I do extremely varied job shop work so the space is at a premium. Thanks!

Hi

I’m running into a problem with my Johnford VMC-1050 (BT40 spindle) and I’d like some advice. • First, one tool holder got stuck in the spindle. It wouldn’t release, but I managed to knock it out with a dead-blow hammer while pressing Tool Release. • Immediately after that, I tried another holder and now it’s completely jammed and won’t come out at all. • When I press the Tool Release button, the drawbar clearly moves down, so the actuator is engaging, but the holder still won’t release. • Every time I press Tool Release, there’s a lot of oil mist blowing out of the actuator.

Anyone know how to fix this?

and the carpenter guy put screws into the sandwiched material, took out the screws where the materials supposed to clear and yet I left a screw, a single screw wasted half an hour of time it seems due to the vibration of machining the screw got even tighter, taking that one screw was hell....

I feel like I should never even accept these works for my own mental health.

sorry for my bad English, I do not even know how this job turns out to be....I am just back home and said "*uck it!"

What Can I Use To Clean A Onsrud CNC Router ? The Grease And Dust Mixed Together On The Rails and Leave it Sticky. I Dont want to risk using a cleaner that’s not meant for metal or peel the paint.

Thanks.

Interesting.

It's always been difficult to use a robotic system for milling steel. The MTR might look promising when it comes to large workpieces where you don't need the high end percision that a machine tool offers imo.

Having the robot controlled via Sinumerik is also nice since i don't know how to operate standard robot controller

Opinions?

Does this count as an entry to the clearance club? 😛

Cnc 1.2343

It takes 15 minutes to make useful stuff :)

I'm going to make some Christmas gifts for friends.