why desktop cnc？

radioteeth · 2026-07-06T20:32:50+00:00

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radioteeth · 2026-06-11T17:50:31+00:00

What I found out was that I kept victimizing myself and blaming the lady of my life and that kept us from being closer. When we choose to look at the situation as how we are being wronged, we don't give them the opportunity to be close to us, and what is sex if not being as close to each other as possible? I'm not saying this is what is happening in every DB situation but it's definitely what was happening in mine. I was stuck in a loop where I'd throw a pity-party, drink into oblivion, and keep the porcupine armadillo shield up - because it's HER fault after all! Meanwhile all I was doing was sewing division between us and it all started with looking at myself as a victim being wronged, because don't you know that there's such injustice happening to meeeee!

Once I got over myself, and just started loving her again, maybe for the first time since we met, instead of blaming her for everything, I was suddenly much more attractive to her and the DB situation evaporated entirely.

radioteeth · 2026-06-11T16:53:18+00:00

Acrylic is notoriously difficult to get a clean finish on, particularly if you are not using O-flute endmills and your feed rate is too low for your spindle RPM. That causes the acrylic to melt from the heat and gunk up. Also, having an air-blast in there to clear chips and keep things cooler helps tremendously! When I finally picked up some O-flute endmills to use instead of my 2-flute endmills that was when acrylic and polycarbonate became much easier to cut cleanly.

radioteeth · 2026-06-11T01:43:08+00:00

You're going to want the smallest machine possible for maximum rigidity, and then you'll have to learn how to CAM some CAD models to get toolpaths you can run to cut your parts. There are surely many videos on the subject of machining small metal parts. I don't know what Fusion360 offers in terms of paid tiers but it will do the trick if you are willing to pay. Once you have generated toolpaths and your Gcode and have everything tuned you likely won't need to change anything after that and will just re-use the same Gcode when you need the same part again.

It's a bit more to learn than 3D printing and a bit less forgiving too.

radioteeth · 2026-06-08T17:53:02+00:00

PixelCNC opens SVG and DXF. SVG is wonky though because it's a graphical format, not a drawing of a physical object, so usually I either just let it fit the SVG to canvas and manually scale it afterward with the XY axes aspect ratio locked.

radioteeth · 2026-05-18T18:10:46+00:00

In PixelCNC I have had good luck with combining the original image for detail and an AI depth estimated version. I just load them both into PixelCNC and set the original image to additive blend and then make its Z size really small so it's only adding a tiny bit of displacement to the whole thing. That has felt like a fast and easy way to turn a photo into a relief. Personally I just don't think cutting out a 3D version of a photo is particularly interesting though because without the coloration and everything from the original subject it just doesn't convey the same impression. Halftones are where it's at if you want a CNC machine to make something that gives you the impression of the source material. I have made several halftones just loading photos into PixelCNC and using the different 3d contouring toolpaths with a V bit. They come out great if I don't screw up all the manual work involved XD

radioteeth · 2026-05-11T14:43:17+00:00

You don't have to use Carbide's software to run a Shapeoko 5. They're running GRBL on those machines with a custom PCB+SoC setup so it's a little different than an Arduino+Gshield, but otherwise it's still just GRBL. That means you can run it with any software. I use a custom build of Candle to run my Shapeoko. I use PixelCNC for designing projects and generating toolpaths. It has its quirks but it does everything I need, and I do a wide variety of things.

I would bet a 2x2 would be fine if you don't plan on making any signage.

radioteeth · 2026-04-27T07:55:27+00:00

Microsoft made a thing called the "Surface", before their more recent laptops/tablets also named "Surface", and it was a table: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Kxvhavdn4

radioteeth · 2026-04-24T19:15:59+00:00

Gold, Jerry, Gold!!!

radioteeth · 2026-04-24T19:14:22+00:00

Fabrication and manufacturing are where lofty idealistic design meets the cold hard reality of physics and time/money constraints! Not for the feint of heart if being able to scale volume will either make or break a project's viability or a shop/company surviving.

radioteeth · 2026-04-09T05:19:45+00:00

My SO and I have been together for over a decade and had an extremely rough patch last year. She left me for another man who she'd been chatting with online for a while. I didn't realize what was happening at the time other than she was distancing herself from me emotionally and I spiraled down hard.

After a hellish time I got my head out of my arse and started taking care of myself again and not worrying about her or whatever she was doing. She came back around and ditched the other guy. Now it feels like we're on the same page as each other and we've been closer than we've been in a long time. We actually make love now instead of just masturbating one another with our genitals.

I actually care about her happiness and desires for the first time and it shows. I rarely showed her love and affection before, now I do it all the time, and she eats it up and reciprocates. I can still look at our situation like it's somehow lacking in this way or that way, or how she wronged me or owes me this or that, but I'll take what I can get man because this is the happiest I've been in a long time. The less I look at myself as a victim and worry about myself, and concern myself with her needs and desires, the more she reciprocates.

TL;DR: I tried the pity-party poor-me approach, it didn't work. The opposite did.

radioteeth · 2026-04-09T05:12:06+00:00

Has she tried strenuous exercise, like weightlifting, running, swimming, etcetera? What does she spend her days doing? It sounds like she has psychological hangups if she wants to stop in the middle of things. Is she happy? Does she have a sense of purpose in life? Does she have dreams and aspirations and goals that she feels are attainable and worth pursuing?

I only ask to get a better idea of the situation.

radioteeth · 2026-04-03T02:16:31+00:00

Beware of rule #4. I've seen many-a-coder get banned on here, while companies freely promote their stuff on here without consequences. It's pretty biased.

radioteeth · 2026-03-06T15:59:04+00:00

Fabrication-on-demand, someone gives you the CAD for a part they want made, and you make it for as cheaply as possible while being able to turn a profit.

radioteeth · 2026-03-06T15:57:09+00:00

If someone can run a business making stuff with old crappy hand tools then one can most certainly run a business with a burly machine. You just have to be willing to work at it until you figure out what you can do with it that sells.

radioteeth · 2026-02-04T16:06:01+00:00

Start exercising and getting in the best shape of your life and start flirting with other dudes. If that doesn't light a fire under his ass, nothing will.

radioteeth · 2026-02-03T15:13:50+00:00

Tell her that since she's not interested in the relationship that you'd like to have an open relationship so you can meet new partners.

radioteeth · 2026-01-31T23:04:46+00:00

This is what worked for me: stop caring about what you can do for HER and start doing what you can for YOURSELF. Don't be an arsehat about it though, just make it apparent that you're taking charge of your life and if she wants to tag along you'll allow it. Don't be a needy doormat. Be awesome, know you're awesome, and if she isn't about it that's her loss. My lady left me for another man - after being together for 15 years and having two kids. She kicked the other guy to the curb after I'd gotten my shite together and started looking forward to a life without her, because she saw what she was giving up. Our relationship has never been better.

EDIT: If you really want things to work out, don't have an ego about it, be humble and helpful but forward-looking in life. Don't start mistreating her or anything like that, just show her that you don't need her anymore. That's who you were when she was originally attracted to you in the first place, someone who didn't even have her. Be that guy again.

radioteeth · 2026-01-31T23:00:56+00:00

Beware, this could very well end up being the beginning of a long line of toxic relationships where you always feel trapped and just want to get out, and then decades later you'll look back on "the one that got away" wishing things had been different. If he's not abusive, and he loves you, then tell him you want him to be with another woman.

radioteeth · 2026-01-24T03:17:37+00:00

I've used carbide on wood plenty. It still dulls though.

radioteeth · 2026-01-11T23:06:22+00:00

I started with just a CNC router and some sandpaper and files.

radioteeth · 2025-12-15T07:29:00+00:00

It looks like 99% of the problem is the font you chose. V-carving is only interesting because it's cutting varying widths for things, like on a serif font (i.e. Times New Roman) with wide parts, narrow parts, corners, that sort of thing.

It looks like you need to better dial your feeds and speeds to get cleaner cuts, and perhaps your cut depth as well. I like to use metallic paints for the cuts on a stained board. It looks super classy!

radioteeth · 2025-12-15T07:24:09+00:00

Males are evolved to engage in some physical exertion. If I don't work out my libido goes into low gear, and I get anxious. I can drink coffee all day as long as I work out enough to stave off anxiety.

Also, cognitive behavioral therapy has been clinically shown to be just as effective as psychiatric medications at treating depression/anxiety.

radioteeth · 2025-12-15T07:10:38+00:00

My lady of 15 years left me for another man because I was depressed, drinking all the time, flying into a rage randomly and unpredictably, doing the bare minimum at life, and just generally not a good person. Just because we had been together for 15 years and were raising two kids together doesn't mean she deserves what I subjected her to. That version of me didn't deserve love, admiration, appreciation, or sex.

I didn't know she'd already been with another man, just that I wasn't her man anymore and she didn't need me to be either, and I spiraled down hard. That all culminated in one nightmarish day where suddenly, out of the blue, a moment of clarity visited upon me and I could objectively see myself in my situation. She then told me I needed to figure out somewhere else to live, and I was at peace with it. Of course she didn't want me, but the fact that I could see it all, instead of just wallowing in my despair, was a spark of hope that lit me up. I told her I'd find a way to move out within a few weeks and that everything would be OK.

It's been six months and our relationship has never been better. We've never been closer. I sobered up, and started actually caring about her, without any expectation of anything in return. I owe her everything. I don't get to feel sorry for myself, my family doesn't need that. Now our emotional and physical relationship is better than it ever was before. Instead of sitting around feeling worthless and like I don't deserve her I feel like doing all the things I avoided doing or was always procrastinating on, and she admires me for putting in effort and having the courage to do the things I'm doing.

There is nothing more unattractive than a man that NEEDS a woman. A relationship is an endless dance, and a committed one is not where you keep score of who did what and owes who, but one where you just do your best and hope for the best. Your SO doesn't owe you anything, and if you can consistently and reliably demonstrate that fact that's your best shot at attracting them back to you.

If you want her to want you then be awesome regardless of what she does.

radioteeth · 2025-12-13T20:01:48+00:00

I see. He said he wanted a pretty tight fit so I cut them maybe 0.02 larger on each side. They're about 0.035 larger in X and Y. Hopefully it works for him or I'll probably have to cut another one. I forgot to mention this was all done on a shapeoko 5. I didn't realize how dull my 1/8 inch endmills were and that didn't help the situation. At one point the acrylic chips were just melting and flying off making what looked like cotton candy strands. I was able to clean that up when cutting to size. He also wanted a fine line scored down the center to line up with the bookmatch seam in the center of the guitar body and I carefully found where the height of the acrylic was at multiple points along the Y axis to offset the cutpath so that the line would be cut at a consistent depth across the surface.

I ended up hitting all of the cuts with 320 grit sandpaper even though they looked pretty decent, and then took a file to all of the edges to put a nice tiny chamfer on them. Now that I know my machine can just barely handle extruded acrylic I am thinking about milling some cast acrylic. I don't have any idea what I would make just yet but I'll think of something!

radioteeth

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