Cnc Milling for Makers ― Basics, Techniques, Applications

Until fairly recently, machining has been a high-cost manufacturing technique available only to large corporations and specialist machine shops. With today's cheaper and more powerful computers, CNC milling and 3D printing technology has become practical, affordable, and accessible to just about anyone.

Tabletop CNC machines are every hobbyist's dream, providing the tools needed to cut and shape materials such as glass, wood, plastics, and aluminum.

In CNC Milling for Makers, author Christian Rattat explains how CNC technology works and he walks you through the entire milling process: starting with a blank piece of material, Rattat takes you step by step through to a finished product.

Rattat offers advice on selecting and purchasing the best machine for your own particular needs. He also demonstrates how to assemble a machine from a kit and explains all the steps required to mill your first project. Moving past the basics, Rattat introduces a variety of cutting tools and provides hands-on examples of how to use them to mill a wide variety of materials.

Christian Rattat began his career on a Commodore Amiga 2000 in the 1980s and has been developing software ever since. He works for large corporations in Microsoft and Unix environments, and also builds and implements software for microcontroller-based applications. In his free time, he builds and flies multicopters—a hobby that gives him plenty of excuses to experiment with CNC routers and 3D printers.