Menu
What's new

CNC Resources

Darren Wright

Darren Wright

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
20,142
Location
Springfield, Missouri
I'll be updating this thread as things get added, so post any resources you've used and would recommend for CNC. I was looking for some cutters I've purchased before (at Leo's recommendation), found them and didn't want to lose the link again. I'd like to make this a sticky.

CNC Kits:
Inventables
Shapeoko
http://www.cncrouterparts.com/index.php

Parts:
Openbuilds Part Store
Inventables

Cutters:
SGS cutters (uncoated)- http://www.carbidedepot.com/sgs.aspx
Drillman1 on ebay
MLCS

TINY special bits - down to .001 diameter (yes I do):
http://bitsbits.com/

Tapered Ball Nose cutters:
http://www.bqtool.com/

CNC Control software:
Mach3 - http://www.machsupport.com/
Universal Gcode Sender

CAM/Design Sofware:
VCarve - http://www.vectric.com/products/vcarve.htm
SketchUp/SketchUcam (SUcam actually works pretty good, but I'm dealing with them about an error that's fairly small, unless you have parts that have to fit!)
http://www.artcam.com/
http://www.enroutesoftware.com/default

CAM Software:
MakerCAM
DiyCAM

Design Software:
Inkscape

3D models and clipart:
http://www.vectorart3d.com/
https://www.vectorclip3d.com/
http://www.3dmodelclub.com/cmsj15/

Materials:

CAD software:
https://www.3ds.com/products-service...-cad-software/ (this is FREE)
http://sketchup.com


Metallic Paints:
http://www.modernmasters.com/


Inspirational followings/blogs:
http://www.enrouteadventures.blogspot.com/
http://www.imaginationcorporation.com/journal/


Tutorials:
http://www.precisebits.com/tutorials/calibrating_feeds_n_speeds.htm


Chinese Machines: (these are ones I know have good reputation)
http://www.salecnc.com/catalog/
http://www.qcrouter.net/ contact: Annie Chen
 
Last edited:
Great Idea

I find these threads make a lot of duplicates and some get lost on the shuffle.

2D sign forum has a dedicated resources library that I thought was a great idea and I use it often.

It would be nice if - rather than a lengthy thread of resources - we could have a "managed" resources library - categorized

Cutters:

Software/CAM & CAD

Models and Clip Art.

Workholding

so - on

I think it would need to be managed - but I don't know how to do that stuff

****************************

TINY special bits - down to .001 diameter (yes I do):
http://bitsbits.com/

Tapered Ball Nose cutters:
http://www.precisebits.com/
http://www.bqtool.com/


3D models and clipart:
http://www.vectorart3d.com/
https://www.vectorclip3d.com/
http://www.3dmodelclub.com/cmsj15/


CAM software:
http://www.vectric.com/
http://www.artcam.com/
http://www.enroutesoftware.com/default

CAD software:
https://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/ (this is FREE)


Metallic Paints:
http://www.modernmasters.com/


Inspirational followings/blogs:
http://www.enrouteadventures.blogspot.com/
http://www.imaginationcorporation.com/journal/


Chinese Machines: (these are ones I know have good reputation)
http://www.salecnc.com/catalog/
http://www.qcrouter.net/ contact: Annie Chen
 
Leo and others but specifically Leo thanks for those Chinese links. The Salecnc site makes me want to start a whole factory at those prices. I would really love to own and know how to program a CNC Lathe http://salecnc.com/catalog/12-CNC-Lathe-Turning-Hydraulic-Clamp-CK6136i Price seems pretty sureal to me for a machine like that, of course there is shipping and handling and duties and sales taxes involved that probably take a machine like that to $20K still not bad inmo.

Since my first working days i always had a fascination for this kind of part making and my first exposure was to a bunch of Swiss autoturn machines which used cams to cut the parts from solid stock. There is an art in making those machines work but good ol CNC is just a program fine tuned and setup to go. When one sees one of these in action and just what can be made on them in one go its amazing and it so suites the modern day small run approach. Oh the woes of a wanna be toolmaker.
 
Rob
You want CNC from China by "reputable" sellers here in north America..

One is http://www.tormach.com/

To see some of these at work one of your Canadian users on you tube..
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SC-01ZKmzTIa2Usn6fexQ

Has a couple of videos on his new lathe... Hasn't been posting much lately but usually posts weekly..

One from the US
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe0IyK4ntgdPTTjsxjvyHPg

Has several lathe videos in the last month...
This guy literally started in his bedroom... Shop is now at family farm back in Ohio..
 
Rob,

A standard lathe is about as simple as you can get. They are just 2 axis machines "X" and "Z", with one cutter cutting at a time. Still very very cool.

I am a swiss turn guy and have bought and been in front of many Citizens, Traub, Tsugami, Maier swiss CNC machines. They are mostly multiaxis machines with live tooling. My Maier is a 4 channel swiss with 2 spindles, two turrets and a rack. I can load up to 48 tools in that machine. I programmed a family of parts program in the Maier that runs over 100 part numbers just by changing one variable. ALL hand coded.

I also have bought and been in front of a few Nakamura Tome mill-turn multi channel and multi axis machines

I also do 3-4 axis horizontal and vertical machining centers.

I also do CNC surface grinders and cylindrical grinders. Last year I bought a CNC Chevalier surface grinder. This years project is a $450,000 Studer S33 grinder - grinding to under 10 millionths of an inch. The grinding wheel is 20" diameter and 2" wide, but I can grind a diameter of .230 and get it to within 10 millionths.

I have even worked with GE-Fanuc fully articulated robots.

I have done some pretty complex programming. My specialty is parametric CNC programming. These are programs that make decisions based on as few inputs as possible - I shoot for one input - but sometimes end up with as many as 3 inputs.

I get a major kick out of changing ONE variable, pressing cycle start and a different part comes out.

I can honestly say - I have enjoyed my career - it has been a wonderful ride - lots of great memories.

The routers at home are toys to me. I can do that in my sleep.

Still - I just cannot get enough of it.
 
Thanks all, I've updated the top post with your contributions, I'm a little short on time so I'll refine it later.

Leo I like the idea of the dedicated resources, I'll see what I can come up with, but would like to have it integrated with the forum software if possible. Have you seen another site that does such a feature?
 
Thanks Gary for the links and Leo you have had the career i dreamed of but ended up having my hobby at the time become my career (electronics).
So Leo you should not be short on custom parts you might need at home ;)

@Darren i have always wished we had a resources page for our forum kind of like a members directory of recommended vendors for various bits and pieces. Would be cool.
Why stop at just CNC.
Yeah i know we can bookmark our own but....

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top