
Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting - VBprogrammer
http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/gcnc/
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pvarangot
This guide (or book?) couldn't be upvoted enough. With his comprehensive work
I believe Michal has done more for home manufacturing and high quality
hobbyist robotics than all 3d printing "revolutionary" and "disruptive"
companies _combined_.

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lifeisstillgood
Is there a co-operative movement in the maker movement - one where the
mysterious "Well equipped machine shop" is a co-op or subscription approach -
it strikes me as very similar to airplane ownership - very few pilots own a
whole aeroplane, and why should every maker own all they need

As an aside I have often felt this would be a fantastic Mythbusters franchise

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shabble
There's at least one US company I know of called TechShop[1] who have 5 or 6
places around the US with pretty well equipped workshops, along with
instruction/safety classes etc.

On the more DIY front, Hackerspaces[2] are a sort of community/timeshare
approach to various equipment, and are much more widely spread,[3] but since
they're largely community-driven, the range of stuff available varies widely.

[1] <http://www.techshop.ws/>

[2] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackerspace>

[3] <http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces>

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jackfoxy
I was a member of TechShop in the Bay area for a while. Unfortunately all
their locations are just too far from my home and they have no plans to open a
shop in the East Bay, but if you are a member of one, you are a member of all
the locations. Two thumbs up.

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noonespecial
Some people make you wonder if they're not like Shakespeare is rumored to have
been; so phenomenally productive that they might be a myth, an amalgamation of
the work of several brilliant people, piled up behind one convenient name.

Michal Zalewski is that kind of guy.

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OldSchool
There is -something- very appealing to engineers about fixing or making
physical stuff as a hobby after spending your work life in a virtual world
where words create things.

I always thought it was my working class roots showing through but I've
managed to collect a fairly complete set of metalworking, woodworking,
automotive, electrical and HVAC tools over the years. The excuse at the time?
I could learn it and do it myself and keep the tools forever for what it costs
to pay someone hourly once. (note: if you're in the midst of a one-in-a-
lifetime cash cow, just hire out this stuff and kick the hobby down the road.)

I have however run across certain trades that require developed skill not just
a knack for learning quickly - among them: drywall floating, window tinting,
body and paint. Others are highly scalable big jobs that just aren't suited to
a one-man attack.

There is an element of burnout in that most of this physical work is a lot
harder than what we all do for work!

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mtdev
Great article, I am glad MSDS was touched on before machining cast parts. The
only thing I would add is that users should check MSDS before machining ANY
material. There are a few exotic metal alloys whose dust can cause severe
respiratory trauma.

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hollerith
As the son of an engineer who built milling machines and died from lung
disease caused by inhaling beryllium dust, I agree.

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dkhenry
I bought a used CNC mill off e-bay a while back and this is exactly the kind
of resource I have been looking for to really get some use out of it. Still
what we need is a really good open source CAM program. Most of them are
proprietary, slow, or just useless on complex projects.

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delinka
CNC machining is exactly the hobby I've wanted to develop. A well-timed post
indeed. My eternal gratitude for your efforts to provide this information.

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ChuckMcM
Patience is important. I bought a Sherline mill and converted it to a 4 axis
CNC setup. The challenge with these small mills is rigidity vs material. So if
you're making something in Aluminum for example you still need to make a lot
of really fine cuts rather than just plowing in and throwing chips like you
can on a 'real' mill. That said if you are willing to wait for it (and with a
CNC setup its really a time tradeoff) you can get good results.

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kdsudac
Great guide! I've often thought about trying some DIY resin castings and this
is by clearer and more thorough than anything else I've found online.

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gravitronic
Dang. This is an amazing guide. This could have saved me so much time and
money if I read it before buying a crappy mill and having to rebuild most of
it from scratch.

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noonespecial
On the other hand, I had a great time and learned lots by buying one of those
cheap chinese "mini-mills" and slowly replacing all of the awful sand-cast pot
metal parts with self-made machined steel parts.

It was kind of a rite of passage like assembling my own light sabre.

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omegant
This link is awesome!, you need to browse forums and pages for weeks or months
to get all that info on your own!. Thank you!

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juanre
I became a mechanical engineer because I was fascinated by machine tools, but
ended up writing software and devising printing algorithms for a living. This
article is a treasure. Just the kind of field guide that people like me need
to go back to the world of atoms and build stuff.

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guavaroo
Wow, this is really great. I never knew about Creo Elements/Express going to
give it a try.

If you use SolidWorks then check out HSMXpress, it's a great free CAM package.

[1] <http://www.hsmworks.com/hsmxpress/>

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madlag
Very impressive compilation of information for the robot hobbyist (among other
stuff) !

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justinschuh
As a general rule, I never browse to any links from Michal Zalewski. If he's
gonna pwn me, I'd like him to have to work for it a bit more. ;)

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gbeeson
About this guide - wow and wow. Incredible work; good read for beginners and
beyond. Very complete bit of writing here!

