CNC MakerZone

Will post finished pics, but here are the hangers in the rough...

In this video I show a few examples of how you can program a 5 axis plasma cutter using BobCAD CAM V28 5 Axis Mill Standard

Anyone done a ATC for a spindle motor? I have a CNC Router and been looking at adding a ATC.

Just curious is anyone has installed and is using Mach4 on their CNC and how do you like it?

HSMExpress is a free CAM software package that fully integrates into Solidworks. Continue reading...

Haas DM-1 Price is built for a quick ROI. Read on for more details. Continue reading...

Pierson Workholding recently updated SmartVac 2 series of vacuum pumps to a cleaner design. The newly redesigned Vacuum Control Unit (VCU) still boasts performance vacuum power of 28″ Hg with extremely efficient air consumption of only 0.8 SCFM. The unit creates this deep vacuum from compressed air entering at 85psi… yes, magical, we know, but [...] Continue reading...

Look at this uber organized setup cart. If you’re tired of tool drawers looking like a rats nest made of steel you’ll appreciate this shop tip. Unfortunately, it kind of trumps our previous tip of using a lot of magnetic mounts. However, we’re willing to admit that Kaizen Foam from Fastcap is the best choice [...] Continue reading...

The new TRT100 dual-axis rotary table from Haas Automation provides high-speed, accurate, 3+2 positioning and full 5-axis machining of small, complex parts. The unit’s compact size and light weight make the TRT100 the perfect dual-axis solution for small machining centers. Fast indexing speeds ensure short cycle times, and powerful brakes on both axes guarantee extreme [...] Continue reading...

We sell direct for two reasons: Better Pricing Better Service Better Pricing For some reason the industry has followed the same old distribution pattern – make a product, sell it to manufacturer reps, sell it to distributors, sell it to the end user. The entire time every one of those middlemen are taking a little (or a lot) off the top. By the time the product gets into the hands of the user its price has been artificially inflated beyond its actual value. On the service side of things, the application knowledge of the product gets diminished each time it is handed down until you finally have an order taker at a distribution house trying to BS his way through application advice. I recently had a good conversation with a customer about this distribution model. They had a job that they had previously passed up on because it required a vacuum chuck for manufacturing. They had their eyes on a competing product and decided to make the purchase in order to complete the job. When they called up their local distributor they were shocked to find out that the manufacturer of the vacuum chuck had aligned themselves with a large manufacturer’s rep and that the price had risen by 80% overnight. The product didn’t get any better, and it was still purchased from the same local distributor, but the simple fact that a middleman was added caused the price to skyrocket. Irritated, the customer walked away and the sale was lost. Better Service A few months later the job came back around for quoting and by then we were in full production of our SmartVac II. Our price was unbeatable, but our detailed application support, something that a local distributor could not offer, sealed the deal. We were able to walk them though some very tricky workholding and get the job dialed in so their purchase paid for itself in a matter of weeks....