I still remember the hum of the first CNC machine I ever saw, it was in a small garage workshop belonging to a friend of mine in rural Ohio. He wasn’t a full-time machinist or engineer. He just loved making things, from custom wooden signs to aluminum parts for his dirt bike. What caught my … Read more
When I first heard the term “CNC machine,” I imagined something only massive factories could afford—robotic arms cutting steel with sparks flying everywhere. I never thought it had anything to do with people like me, who just wanted to build, create, or maybe start a small business from the garage. That was until a neighbor … Read more
I still remember the first time I saw a CNC machine in action. It was in a friend’s garage—he had a small desktop CNC router set up, quietly cutting a custom wooden sign for a local coffee shop. At first, I didn’t think much of it. I assumed it was just another fancy tool for … Read more
I will never forget the first time I stumbled into a garage workshop where a friend of mine was using a machine that seemed like something out of a sci-fi movie. It buzzed and whirred as it precisely carved a wooden sign with someone’s last name, each letter cut cleaner than anything I could have … Read more
I remember the exact moment I first encountered a CNC machine. I was visiting a friend’s garage where he had a small CNC router set up on a workbench. It was busy carving a beautifully detailed logo into a piece of walnut, and I couldn’t stop watching. To be honest, I had no idea what … Read more
A few years back, I stood in a small machine shop somewhere outside Milwaukee, watching a block of aluminum slowly transform into a precision component for a prototype drone. It was mesmerizing—the smooth motion, the steady hum, and the fact that no hands were directly involved. That was my first real exposure to CNC machining, … Read more
Introduction: Why CNC Milling Still Matters in 2025 A few years ago, I walked into a Midwest machine shop where an old-school machinist named Tom had just retired. He’d spent over 30 years hand-operating mills and lathes. The guy could practically eyeball a thousandth of an inch. But what really stuck with me was what … Read more
A few years ago, I was working on a project for a medical equipment manufacturer in Ohio. We needed to produce hundreds of titanium shafts—each with intricate threads, tight tolerances, and a surface finish that had to be nearly flawless. We tried a few setups manually, but even with our most experienced machinist on the … Read more
I remember the first time I tried to “speed up” a CNC job. I bumped up the feed rate in the code, hit start, and stepped back. About 20 seconds later, the bit snapped, the spindle groaned, and I stood there wishing I’d stuck to the original settings. But that’s the thing about CNC programming—it’s … Read more
When I first set up my small woodworking shop, I was overwhelmed by all the possibilities—and honestly, the fear of investing in a CNC router was real. Would I really use it enough? Could I justify the space? Fast forward a couple of years, and my CNC router has become one of my most reliable … Read more
