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This article is really cool structurally, beyond the content itself. What I mean is that it's formatted somewhat like a programming tutorial (build X with Y in Z minutes) except that it's perfectly readable to people like me with very little hardware background. Most of the specific implementation details are abstracted out into links. I think that this kind of writing can be very effective for technical people trying to reach a broader but still technical audience.

Regarding the content itself, I think it's really cool that the author made a sound-absorbing box for the CNC machine, and I'm surprised that it is safe to totally enclose the machine like that. After spending last summer working at a 3D printing company that makes metal printers, I wonder how a 3D printer would compare to the CNC mill in terms of time to create that many small parts, I imagine it would only take one print-wash-sinter cycle, under 48 hours, about 1/4 of the article's reported machine time. That said the CNC mill used was very small.




The 3D printers you were using probably cost in the $100k-250k range. I think you can get tiny bench-top mills like that for something like $200.


And a CNC mill at a fraction of that $100k price point would probably be much more than 4x faster (due to spindle power and liquid cooling of the parts).

edit: Also since it looks like 2d work you can also use a fiber laser to cut it out which would probably be faster and less messy than a CNC but more expensive of a machine.




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