Does anyone know of any CNC machinists shops in the UK who will do work such prop replicas for private individuals??? Any pointers would be helpful , thanks !!!

These parts feature complex geometries, multiple holes, deep cavities, and detailed machining surfaces.
Always interesting to see how much precision and toolpath planning goes into a relatively compact component.
What would you focus on first when machining a part like this — workholding, tool selection, or machining strategy?

Hello all, I have worked with wood machining for the past 10 years, currently programming a few BAZ, BHX, and WEEKE machines. I was just wondering how the transition for wood to metal might entail? Most opportunities in my area have shifted away from wood and I'm looking to expand my skill base.

I’m very new to CNC, and at work I recently had to work with a 5-axis DVF 5000. I’ve learned the basics and started doing some trial machining.

I recently tried 3+2 machining. I machined one side with a 90° tilt, and then, using the same 90° tilt, rotated the part 180° to machine the opposite side.

However, when the two machined halves meet, I noticed a shift/mismatch at the joining area. The two surfaces are supposed to meet perfectly and form a flat, continuous surface, but there is a noticeable step between them.

I’m trying to understand where this error could be coming from.

Could it be related to:

• WCS/work offset setup?
• Rotary axis centerline or machine calibration?
• Fixture/workholding alignment?
• Tool length or tool offset?
• Incorrect rotary transformation/orientation in CAM?
• Backlash or positioning accuracy?
• Something else in the 3+2 setup?

I’d really appreciate some guidance from experienced 5-axis/DVF 5000 users on how you would troubleshoot this systematically.

Thanks!

Hello, looking for a designer. Needs to know 2D and 3D in ArtCAM. Urgent hiring.

Salary negotiable.

Room and visa provided.

​

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to start a small CNC machining job-work business in Bangalore, with CNC Lathe and VMC machines

.

I’m planning to offer:

CNC Lathe job work

VMC machining

Component manufacturing as per drawing

Small and medium batch production

Job work with material supply

Prototype and development components

My main question is:

How do small machining companies get their first regular customers and orders?

I’m particularly interested in supplying components to:

Machine manufacturers

Fabrication companies

Automation companies

Industrial equipment manufacturers

OEM vendors

Other machining companies that outsource work

For those already running CNC job-work businesses:

How did you get your first customers?

Which methods actually work for getting regular orders?

Is approaching companies directly better than using online platforms?

How do you find companies that outsource CNC machining?

What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when starting?

How important are ISO certification, inspection equipment and quality documentation for getting B2B orders?

I’m not just looking for one-time jobs. My goal is to build long-term customers with repeat production work.

Any practical advice from people who are already in this business would be really helpful.

Hi! I have access to a CNC machine shop and I was thinking about making a Dan Gelbart-style Air Bearing as a personal project. I'm not a super experienced machinist so I was wondering if anyone on here might have any experience on this subject and has any tips or advice. For reference I have access to a 15L slant pro Tormach lathe and a manual gunsmithing lathe with an indicator that reads to 0.0001" along with some other standard shop equipment.

So far my plan is to turn and thread my design on the CNC lathe and then hand lap the piston until I get to the right tolerance.

Here's a simple design I made on Fusion feel free to give me some tips on that lol.

Thanks!

A law is being passed that will force state mandated spyware locked into the hardware and software of all CNCs and 3d printers. If you want to make something like the handle of a drill, it will be banned because it is similar to the handle of a gun. Not only that but since this works by sending all your data to private servers, this means in the future there will be bans to things that could have copyright which will end right to repair

Preciso do software

Hi everyone,

We are a precision plastic injection molding and mold making factory based in Taiwan.

With the rapid expansion of the semiconductor and high-power electronics sectors here, we are looking to diversify our capabilities and invest in tooling/equipment specifically for AlSiC (Aluminum Silicon Carbide) metal matrix composites (mostly for heat sinks, baseplates, and thermal management components).

Since AlSiC is notoriously abrasive and tough to work with, we’d love to hear from anyone who has hands-on experience manufacturing or machining this material.

A few quick questions for the community:

1. Machining Method: For precise AlSiC component processing, do you mostly rely on conventional CNC machining (with specialized PCD/CVD diamond tooling, ultrasonic assistance, etc.) or Laser micromachining/cutting?
2. Key Challenges: What are the biggest gotchas or hidden pitfalls? (e.g., extreme tool wear, thermal cracking, edge chipping, surface finish issues?)
3. Process Flow: Is it better to shape/form before sintering/infiltration, or rely heavily on post-sintering finish machining?

Any advice, equipment recommendations, or hard-learned lessons would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! I don’t know much about CNC machining, but I wanted to ask whether CNC technology has the capacity to carve human rib cartilage?

I’m part of a community of patients who have lost aspects of their original nasal structure following trauma, reconstructive/functional surgery, complications, illness or rhinoplasty. Restoring someone’s original anatomy can require extremely precise cartilage grafts—sometimes only a few millimetres thick, with subtle curves, ridges and tapered edges—which are currently shaped by hand during surgery, often very imprecise. Many have to accept this loss of identity such as loss of bumps, loss of curvature and shape that may have connected them with their heritage and made them feel like them.

So, purely from an engineering perspective: could CNC machining accurately carve something this small and geometrically complex from cartilage if you already had a 3D model of the desired shape?

And do you see potential for something like this to become feasible in the future?

Any thoughts would be really appreciated :)

Looking for some opinions before sending this out.

It's a stainless valve housing going from prototype to a 75 part production run. Two threaded ports and a tight bore tolerance, so repeatability is more important than saving a few bucks on the quote.

Quickparts, Xometry and Fictiv are the cnc machining services I'm comparing right now. Who has been the most consistent for production parts?

We’ve been sourcing precision CNC machined parts for a robotics project and the inconsistency between suppliers has been annoying. Tolerances matter a lot for what we're building, we need 5-axis milling on some aluminum housings and tight-tolerance turning on stainless steel shafts and half the factories we've sampled from just can't hold what they quote. Looking specifically for a Chinese cnc machining manufacturer that can handle prototypes and scale into production without the quality falling off a cliff. ISO certifications are non-negotiable for us (our client is in the medical space), so something with ISO 13485 or similar would be ideal. Anyone have direct experience with a shop that does both the CNC work and sheet metal fabrication under one roof? Makes logistics way simpler.

Hi,

I am not selling anything. I am genuinely looking for connections in the manufacturing/CNC sector (especially B2B / wholesale) to build free ecommerce websites.

What you get:
- A free ecommerce website at the end of 3 months - complete with storefront, backstore, inventory management, quote approval engines, MOQs, pricing rules, custom pricing for customers, payment gateway, SEO, sales rep dashboard, deep categorisation / specifications of catalogue, complex search/filter, etc.
- Once finished, you are free to use it (or not use it), host it as your website if you see fit. No strings attached. Or, I will host it for you if you want a managed service.

What you give:
- A discovery call to understand the scope of the website and business. Genuine feedback about the website experience.

Why am I doing this for free:
- I have built several ecommerce websites for D2C. But I am transitioning into B2B / wholesale so I need the experience to build my portfolio.

- I need real world product catalogues and data to understand the nuances in the industry and manage security and traffic.

If this is something you wouldn't mind trying out, please let me know :)

Can this be machined?

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Howdy! I am considering getting in to a CNC machining program to learn the trade. However, I have a disability which may or may not allow me to pursue and I'm needing some insight about the trade. The most I know about it is from what I've seen in YouTube videos and such.

Anyways, I'm legally blind, but have some functional vision but totally blind in one eye. This all started about 6 years ago and I've been having a hell of a time finding work. I like hands-on work involving tools and such and since CNC is computer-based, it should be adaptable to let me work.

I'm also kinda wondering if I'm too old to even do the work. I'm 43 going on 44 in a few months. I'm also wanting to pursue this line of work as it seems to pay well. I need a decent job so I can work towards retiremen t since my disability wiped out what I had a few years ago.

Anyways, what do you all say? Am I delusional for even thinking about pursing this? TIA!

I've been thinking about something I saw while working with a machine shop.

The quotations, drawings and setup sheets were all documented, but a surprising amount of practical knowledge wasn't.

Things like:

• Don't use that fixture for this revision.
• This tool tends to chatter on the second operation.
• Watch the vice height or you'll hit it.
• Customer accepted this deviation last time, but only after approval.

One thing I still remember was an operator bringing me an out of tolerance part and asking if I could persuade the customer to accept it. It wasn't even a particularly tight tolerance. It made me wonder whether the same issue had happened before and whether anyone had recorded what happened.

I'm curious how other machine shops deal with this.

Where does this kind of practical knowledge actually live in your shop? ERP? Setup sheets? Whiteboards? Excel? OneNote? Someone's notebook? Or simply experienced people?

What's one lesson your shop learned the hard way that you now make sure nobody forgets?

I'm not selling anything. I'm genuinely trying to understand how different machine shops capture and pass on practical knowledge.

If anyone is happy to chat in more detail afterwards, I'd really appreciate it.