Getting Started with CNC: Personal Digital Fabrication with Shapeoko and Other Computer-Controlled Routers (Make)

A really nice small reference book that covers topics for beginners I haven't seen elsewhere

Ford does an excellent job on this book. Originally I rated this book lower because I read it so fast. I had expected that this would be more of a text book. Now that I have read a few more books on the topic, I have found that this is the most comprehensive overview for beginners available today.Note: As a company founder myself, I wanted to hear more of the story regarding the maker community, what motivated Ford, and the detailed steps and mistakes he learned.. Perhaps that is a different book.I think it was arrogant of me to judge the book before reading others to compre it with.CNC noob apology job complete.

I am thinking of purchasing a CNC machine, and this book gave me a great overview of the subject. I am much more confident that I can learn to use a CNC after having read this book.

In this book you will find a lot of information about what a CNC machine is, how it works. It also explains in detail about milling cutters, dust removal, and other important things you should know.If you want to spend $3000 on a CNC router and have no previous CNC experience before, read this book first. It covers all of the steps of a CNC project from design though completion. The author correctly states that climb milling is dangerous to do by hand, but then states it is safe to do with a CNC machine.After reading this book I felt more comfortable working with the CNC and software and much more likely to implement my own ideas. This book is not for a veteran CNC maker, but good for beginners like me.

I'm looking to add a CNC machine to my woodshop. When adding any new tool to the shop you have to be able to justify the cost. This book gave me a better understanding of the CNC process. I'm now confident that I can get consistent, quality results out of a Shapeoko or any other "DIY" CNC machine at a justifiable price.Being new to CNC, one of the biggest worries is how to easily transfer my vision into a finished product. This book will give you a better understanding of that process.

I bought this soon after buying my Sainsmart CNC system. It is quite light reading and if one is totally clueless it provides a remedial understanding of what one needs to learn. It is not an in depth essay as one should expect just by the title. There are some pretty fantastic articles on line such as Bob@CNCCookbook which provides much more. It is easy to sign up and it is free. Just a heads up, CNC routing understanding is easily gained especially for woodworkers. What is a "hill climb" is the front end stuff i.e. how does one get to a point where they can submit a g-code file to the machine. Start reading all the information provided in the above reference. That is what one has to master.

I just got a simple, desktop CNC router/mill for soft materials, even soft metals. Even though I had used non-CNC mills, I realized quickly that I had no idea how to set up a part for cutting, and this book got me started.If you're already doing desktop CNC routing, this is probably not the book for you.

Good book to get started. I have zero experience with cnc. And just built my first mini cnc router. And information out there has a focus on building your own and maybe a page or 2 on software. The author covers every aspect on a big topic in a balanced way to give you a direction to head in and good keywords for google. Its not a feed you with a spoon type book but thats ok because in order to use a cnc router you need patience and a pinch of smartness.