Precision Mill

Jan 27 2014

Night at the Museum DIY Dinosaur Skeletons

Growing up, the natural history museum was definitely one of our favorite places to visit. Even as adults, the fascination with poised skeletons of magnificent creatures lives on and continues to spark the imagination.

With the help of our Full Spectrum laser cutter, Shapeoko 2 precision mill (for small to medium size) or our blackFoot CNC router (for larger ones), you can actually make your own models. Relive your childhood dream of spending a night at the museum and what better way to do it than to make a T-Rex, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, Velociraptor, or “Whatever”saur skeleton—as a gift for a little one or as an unique piece of decor for your office or home.

Jan 04 2014

Design and Mill Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)

We found a great Wiki page that holds your hand in a step by step, Dummy’s Guide style manual to milling your own PCBs. The maker who wrote up the Wiki lists the software and hardware used, all of which can be commonly acquired for free or at relative low cost. Those tools are Eagle CAD, pcb-gcode, pcb-probe, Mach 3 CNC, Zen Toolworks 30deg V Shaped Engraving Bit, random surplus carbide PCB drill bits and Guido for doing the milling.

Of course, the same can be accomplished using the Shapeoko, as you can see in this process video by Wilhelm Duembeg using a V-shape bit. The design and print process remains more or less the same regardless of the precision mill you choose to use.

The biggest plus in trying this out is that you won’t have to wait for days or even weeks for the board to ship from a custom PCB service business. So if you are looking for that quick turnaround for a project or if you are just really impatient, this is the way to go!

Jan 04 2014

Precision Milling Signs of the Times

Need an eye-catching way to promote your business? Maybe a commemorative plaque to celebrate a milestone event? How about just a thoughtful gift to a special someone?

Take a look at these gorgeous signs that people have designed and made on the Shapeoko Precision Mill, using a cutting dremel mount. You don’t need to spend a small fortune on custom signs and you don’t need to spend countless hours of your life painstakingly hand-carving (though we’d always keep a secret, of course.)

1. Shapeoko sign generated by Paul Kaplan’s snowflake generator

2. A sign milled for Maker Faire Detroit 2013

3. Business signs milled by Inventables user Brandon Fischer as Father’s Day presents.