SHOP HACKS
  • Home
  • Improve your Workspace
    • Dust Collection and Air Filtration >
      • Table Saw Dust Collection
      • All About Cyclone Separators
      • Dust Deputy and Dustopper Review and Comprehensive Scientific Testing
      • Dust Sheriff Cyclone Separator
      • Dust Collection System Options
      • Air Filtration System Options
      • Why clean air matters
      • Is your shop air safe???
      • How to maintain healthy air in your shop
      • Dust Collection Resources and Links
      • Why I became obsessed with dust collection and air filtration
    • Storage, Organization, Efficiency >
      • How to organize your tools and materials
      • Workbench Build and Restoration Options
    • Improve your workshop floors and lighting >
      • Improve your floors
      • Improve your lighting
  • Improve Your Tools
    • CNC Routing / Milling >
      • What you can make with a CNC router
      • What are your options?
      • Getting Started with a CNC
      • CNC Enclosures
      • My Journey to CNC Machines
      • CNC Router Resources and Links
    • Laser Cutting / Engraving >
      • What you can make with a laser
      • Types of Laser Cutters
      • Laser Cutting Resources and Links
    • 3D Printing >
      • What you can make with a 3D Printer
      • Which 3D Printer Should I Buy?
      • 3D Printing Tips and Tricks
      • 3D Printing Resources and Links
      • My Journey to 3D Printing
      • Modified Makergear M2 with Heated Build Chamber
    • Vinyl Cutting / Graphics
  • Shop
    • The Ultimate Air Filtration System
    • Dust Sheriff Cyclone Dust Collector
    • Shop Vac Hose Connector
    • Drill Organizer with Easy Access Charger Shelf
    • Quik Cleat Organization System
    • Ultimate Flip Top Workbench Plans
    • DIY Hydraulic Lift Mobile Tool Base
    • Chop Stop
  • Community
    • Social Media Channels
    • The Shop Hacks Story
    • Blog
    • Shop Hacks Innovators Program

My Journey into CNC Machines

My Journey

As a mechanical engineer and project manager I have designed thousands of parts to be manufactured by CNC mills and lathes.  I've worked next to machinists while they made my parts and was always wondering what all the button pushing was all about.  Even though I had been around these machines most of my life, I was still intimidated by them.  I always assumed that it took years to become proficient at using a CNC so I never took the opportunity to learn.  In 2015 I saw a simple little YouTube video of an incredibly detailed figurine cut out with a hobby grade CNC router and it totally captured my imagination.  
Picture
I couldn't stop thinking about all the things I could make myself if I had one of those machines.  I bought a Nomad883 Pro and when it arrived I spent two hours unsuccessfully trying to make my first cut using the program that came with it.  The program was not very intuitive and it was also somewhat buggy so I gave up.  I was a little demoralized because I had hoped I would be making cool parts right away.  I stepped away from it and didn't turn it on again for six months.  The software learning curve was steep enough that I just didn't feel like diving in.
Picture
Six months later I was designing a system that I needed a CNC'd part to finish.  Sending the part out to a machine shop would have cost at least $500 and I wasn't willing to pay that much.  So, I fired up my little CNC router and forced myself to watch enough YouTube videos to get past that initial learning curve.  After I got started I was pretty excited to have this new capability and I started making all kinds of parts just to see what it could do.  It didn't take long before I wanted a machine that could make much larger parts and make them much faster.  The Nomad883 was perfect for small detailed parts that needed super high resolution and could be cut with a 1/8" or smaller bit.  It is capable of holding +/-0.003" tolerances and your parts will be nearly perfect when they are done.  However, it was way too underpowered to make anything larger than a few inches on any side very quickly.  So, I bought a Shapeoko3 XXL CNC router and that's where the fun began.  The SO3 can make parts up to 33"x33"x3" and its 1.25 hp router is almost 20x more powerful than the toy spindle (0.07 hp) on the Nomad883 Pro.
Picture
After several projects I became functional with the software that came with the Nomad883 but I never really understood what all of the settings meant.  It had a lot of issues that frustrated me so I broke down and bought a copy of Vectric VCarvePro.  I think VCarvePro cost around $700 at the time but it was the thing I needed to take off with CNC routing without wasting time and without unnecessary frustration.  VCarvePro is a rock solid software and Vectric's YouTube tutorials are really thorough and easy to follow.  They don't sponsor this site so you can rest assured that my comments are unbiased.  If you do a search online you will see that this sentiment is echoed everywhere.  VCarve makes CNC projects so much easier.  I've found that it works great for generating vector files for my laser and vinyl cutters also.

After using the SO3 for just a little while it became evident that it needed dust collection to catch the huge amount of dust that it generates and an enclosure to make working in the shop tolerable while its making parts.  CNC routers are very noisy if you are making very heavy cuts at all.  To remedy these issues I built an enclosure with an integrated dust collection port to connect to the dust shoe that I designed and made for it.  
Picture
Picture
To be continued...

Under Construction...
Get weekly blog articles and early bird discounts for new products
through the Shop Hacks Newsletter.  Every Friday at 3:30 Eastern Time.

SUBSCRIBE to the weekly Shop Hacks Newsletter

Site Map

Improve the feel and efficiency of your shop...
  1. Organization and Efficiency
  2. Floors, Walls, Lighting
  3. Dust Collection and Air Filtration​
Improve your Tools...
  1. CNC Routing and Milling
  2. Laser Cutting and Engraving
  3. 3D Printing
  4. Vinyl Cutting and Graphics
Shop Hacks Products...
​Build Your Space
© Copyright, Shop Hacks 2019
  • Home
  • Improve your Workspace
    • Dust Collection and Air Filtration >
      • Table Saw Dust Collection
      • All About Cyclone Separators
      • Dust Deputy and Dustopper Review and Comprehensive Scientific Testing
      • Dust Sheriff Cyclone Separator
      • Dust Collection System Options
      • Air Filtration System Options
      • Why clean air matters
      • Is your shop air safe???
      • How to maintain healthy air in your shop
      • Dust Collection Resources and Links
      • Why I became obsessed with dust collection and air filtration
    • Storage, Organization, Efficiency >
      • How to organize your tools and materials
      • Workbench Build and Restoration Options
    • Improve your workshop floors and lighting >
      • Improve your floors
      • Improve your lighting
  • Improve Your Tools
    • CNC Routing / Milling >
      • What you can make with a CNC router
      • What are your options?
      • Getting Started with a CNC
      • CNC Enclosures
      • My Journey to CNC Machines
      • CNC Router Resources and Links
    • Laser Cutting / Engraving >
      • What you can make with a laser
      • Types of Laser Cutters
      • Laser Cutting Resources and Links
    • 3D Printing >
      • What you can make with a 3D Printer
      • Which 3D Printer Should I Buy?
      • 3D Printing Tips and Tricks
      • 3D Printing Resources and Links
      • My Journey to 3D Printing
      • Modified Makergear M2 with Heated Build Chamber
    • Vinyl Cutting / Graphics
  • Shop
    • The Ultimate Air Filtration System
    • Dust Sheriff Cyclone Dust Collector
    • Shop Vac Hose Connector
    • Drill Organizer with Easy Access Charger Shelf
    • Quik Cleat Organization System
    • Ultimate Flip Top Workbench Plans
    • DIY Hydraulic Lift Mobile Tool Base
    • Chop Stop
  • Community
    • Social Media Channels
    • The Shop Hacks Story
    • Blog
    • Shop Hacks Innovators Program