CNC / Computer Driven Equipment

"CNC" stands for "computer numeric control". Generally, CNC machinery use computers to drive a piece of equipment as it makes a part. Routers, mills, lathes, and plasma torches are all examples of equipment that was originally designed to be operated manually and only later retrofitted with controls to make the process automatic. While such things as laser engravers, vinyl cutters, and 3D printers aren't traditional pieces of CNC equipment, they have been placed on this page since each requires the creation of an electronic design file before the process can be completed.

There are numerous software programs that are used with the various pieces of CNC equipment in the shop. When a piece of software is updated, there may be a delay before the instructions posted on these pages are modified to reflect the current software version being used. Be sure to check the software version noted on the instructions with the actual version of the software you are using to know whether or not to expect discrepancies. Instructions will be updated as quickly as possible when necessary, but it will not be instantaneous.