by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops
I got a nice note from G-Wizard Customer Wiley Davis, who has a Kickstarter project underway to create a product for the photography market. Wiley tells me he used G-Wizard extensively to calculate feeds and speeds while developing his project. We ran an earlier...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops, CNC Projects, Tools and Techniques
These are difficult and crazy times. We’re all wondering when things will go back to normal and what it will mean to each of us and our families. Reflecting on the situation, I was reminded of something I learned a long time ago. My biggest successes have all...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Projects
Robotic Bartenders, Cocktail Machines, Bionic Bars, whatever you want to call them, I am fascinated by Barbots. You know, completely automated machines that can mix cocktails for you. I’m interested for two reasons. First, I like to entertain,...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Basics, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops, CNC Projects
Dude, have you seen what these CNC machines cost? CNC is one of my favorite things in the world, and it is amazing that an individual these days can actually have a full-blown CNC machine that’s more powerful than the machines used to put men on the moon right...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Projects
Spinning Pocket Lint Fidgeters of Doom! That’s sort of what this latest installment in my CNC gift idea series is about. We started out with jewelry, moved to outdoor gifts, and for something really unusual. The non-tactical EDC-thing is a nod to the...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Basics, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops, CNC Projects, Tools and Techniques
Why should we be excited about Makers and Hobby CNC’ers? I just saw this great quote from Anthony Bourdain on Food Trucks over on Scott Johnson’s blog, and it really hit home for me as a CNC’er and Small Business Entrepreneur: “Why should you be...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Basics, CNC Projects, CNC Router
What’s An Entry Level CNC Machine Capable Of? I often say that with a CNC machine, there’s hardly anything you can’t fabricate, especially since I have the use of some superior hardware. People often inquire about the cost of a CNC machine and what...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops
The tide is starting to turn and we’re actually beginning to see some manufacturing being “reshored”–it’s coming back from having been “offshored.” There are a number of disadvantages to offshoring that it has taken hard-won...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, DIY CNC
If you’d asked me up until very recently whether 5 axis was practical for the CNC DIY’ers and Makers, I would’ve said “No!” without hesitation. Not only is the hardware complex, but 5 Axis CAM was expensive. Much of this has now changed...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Projects
We sent men to the Moon with it and much more, but CNC can also be such a decadent luxury. No matter what you make with CNC, it takes on that certain look of mechanical perfection. Nature is filled with organic curves, so when we see CNC’d objects,...
Details
by Bob Warfield | Blog, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops
Recently I had a chance to catch up with Robert Grzesek, one of the founders of Carbide and also of the easy to use MeshCam CAM software. I wanted to get an update on the Nomad as well as some idea of what he’d learned from the whole Kickstarter process and...
Details
by Bob Warfield | 3D Printing, Blog, CNC Manufacturing & Job Shops, CNC Projects, Tools and Techniques
A significant drawback of 3D printing at a hobbyist scale is the incapacity to print metal. There are indeed commercial 3D printers capable of printing metals, including unique types like Inconel. However, the expense of these 3D printers only allows for usage in the...
Details