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Maker Feature – Jeff McLeid

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Today’s Maker Feature is about Jeff from Twisted Scenic. We’ve heard from Jeff before when he shared about his Bonnaroo sign build. Today, we get a look behind the scenes to hear more about his personal maker story and background. Q: Tell us a little about your background as a Maker. A few years ago I was a “flying director” for a performer flying FX company. My job was to build the fly systems, rig it to the building, and choreograph the flights. I mainly did musicals such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, Willy Wonka, etc. While onsite in Seoul, South Korea, I suffered an injury that forever changed my life. I developed a neurological disease called CRPS (Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome) in my dominate shoulder, arm, and hand. My brain fires to my pain receptors 24 hours a day, telling it that I’m in a level 6-8 pain. CRPS is one of the, if not the, most painful chronic pain ailments and there’s never a true moment of relief, and no cure. With that being said, I had to find a way to still maintain being creative and finding something financially lucrative. I started a

My MakerMade CNC Adventure: Kit Components

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Once my kit arrived, the first thing I did was make sure I had all the parts. There’s a sheet inside the box with a list, and a link to a great interactive image on the website showing all of the components. It took me a minute to figure out what was what. If you’re not ready to start building right away and don’t want to unwrap everything, here’s an image that shows what’s what. I’ve labeled each component just in case, like me, you don’t know your XY motor mounts from your ring carriage on sight. MakerMade CNC Kit Components NEXT STEP: WHAT’S IN THOSE HARDWARE BAGS? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A Great Project from JD Builds

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Last week we shared a great project from Justin DeBoer of JD Builds. This week he sent us an image of this sweet Cubs Marquee sign he made with his MakerMade CNC Kit. Here’s what he says about the process: This project was inspired after scrolling through the projects section of the Maslow Forums. The design is not my own, credit goes to @ScrumdyBum for the drawing file. This was one of the first projects that I cut out with my machine, and I must say it turned out very well! Let’s go through the steps really quickly: Since the file was already drawn and a CAM was already set up, it just needed to be opened in Ground Control! Make sure to secure your plywood very well with no clamps or screws in the way. For this project I used MDF because of how smooth it can be cut! The bit setup is critical with this sign because there are three different sized bits all trying to cut on the same plane. Each bit change needed to be done so that the bit was at the same height each time inside of the router so that the end cut

My MakerMade CNC Adventure: Unboxing

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Hi, I’m Rachel! I joined the MakerMade team about a month ago as a designer. I quickly decided that to turn out great, user friendly designs, I’d need to learn more about how the MakerMade CNC Kit works. I talked it over with the MakerMade team and they agreed that it would be awesome if I could take each project all the way through from design to gcode to cut and build. So they sent me a kit! Some of my goals are to: create designs that account for the size of the bit and other physical constraints create Gcode that’s as efficient as possible- no 3 day cutting odysseys create full tutorials with pictures of each and every project in our library add to the body of knowledge about CNC to make it accessible to an even wider audience I’ve always loved to make things, before “maker” was a thing. I have that stubborn “I can do that myself” outlook, whether it’s building garden beds and chicken coops, or refining my own beeswax. But for the past few years most of my “making” has been on the screen. I’m thrilled for this opportunity to bring my designs from pixel

A Highschool Student’s Review of the Maslow CNC

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“Is this really something I can do??” That’s a question we get a lot here at MakerMade when people first see the Maslow CNC. And it’s especially tough to answer because real, carpe diem, no-limits, “check this out!” makers come in all types, from all backgrounds, and definitely all ages. Case in point, a resourceful high school student named Cam. Cam’s experience is such a strong representation of the right maker attitude, we had to get him to tell his story. That said, here it is: Hello, my name is Cam. I am a Grade 12 student in Saskatchewan, Canada. I love working with wood. If you are a student with a limited income, like I am, it can be difficult to try out new hobbies. If you have an interest in CNC routers, your dreams and intentions can quickly end when you find out how much conventional CNC routers actually cost. I thought I would have to wait until I was middle aged to finally be able to afford a CNC. But then I found the Maslow! My dad and my construction teacher at school were skeptical but I really liked what I was learning about the Maslow. What

JD Build’s Awesome Cubs Logo

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Justin DeBoer of JD Builds has hit the ground running with his Maker CNC kit! He writes: I was originally drawn to Maslow CNC after watching many videos on YouTube about all the different types of CNC machines out there. I was watching a top 5 CNC machine video when I came across the Maslow. I could not believe how big it was for the price I was paying. Within that week I purchased my Maslow kit eagerly awaiting its arrival! I have had experience with CNC before, my High School had a Laser Cutter that I was quite good friends with. Cubs Plaques This project was inspired by the large Cubs Marquee that I completed just previously to this project. I first designed the normal cub’s logo using a picture and AutoCad to trace that picture. I cut one out and liked it a lot so I cut a handful more of them out. I then decided to draw up the Cub’s bear version of the sign. This one turned out much better that I first expected! Here are the steps: I first drew up the logos using AutoCad as well as MakerCam to create the g-code file. The

Behind the Scenes at Our CNC Motor Factory!

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If you didn’t know, the team here at MakerMade is pretty serious about ensuring the consistent quality and ongoing improvement of all our parts and kits. This month, Patrick (Co-Founder) and TJ (Operations Manager and general “Sourcing Wizard”) got the chance to meet with our CNC motor factory in Shenzhen, China. With Maker’s dedicated office just down the street and TJ at the helm, it was a quick ride over to the factory to see how the motors, which are at the heart of the Maslow kit, come to life.The factory team was incredibly welcoming, with Charles (lead motor engineer) and Angela (our sales representative) giving us a full tour of the production facility to see how the motors are made. While some key internal components are sourced from specialty suppliers across the globe, others, like the gears, are custom-milled on-site. It is seriously impressive to see these enormous machines and several workers bring such intricate components to life! After reviewing production, we spent the next few hours with Charles and Angela combing through current motor designs, discussing ways to address the thoughts, requests, and insights we get from our customers every day: speed, torque, size, design, weight – all

What Comes in Your Maslow CNC Kit from MakerMade

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You have seen the tool in action and you might’ve seen the components that come in the box. But how do those components work together to make the awesome projects you see from makers around the world? The following video should help those new to the product learn a little more about how the Maslow CNC kit comes together to create this amazing tool. What other questions do you have about that kit that we can answer? Place your comments below!

Choosing the Best Router Bit for Your CNC Project

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When it comes to successful CNC cutting, choosing the best router bit for your project is similar to choosing the best tires to put on a car. There are situations when summer tread will work great, but you’d never want to get stuck in a blizzard with them on. For a sportscar, you might upgrade to a high-performance tire, but that would be overboard if you’re just hauling lumber in the back of a truck. The same thing applies to choosing the right router bits- what you’re planning to do with them tells you everything about which ones you’ll need. To make sure you’re choosing the best router bit for your project (and not buying race tires for boulevard cruising), we’ve created a handy, easy-to-follow table of bit types, and a short description of each: Downcut Spiral Bits are best used for thinner materials, or when a high-quality cut finish is required on the top surface of cut parts. The trade-off for this cleaner cut is that waste material (sawdust, etc) is pushed down into the machine bed rather than being lifted out, the way it is with an upcut spiral. Downward spiral tools often require reduced cutting speeds because

John’s Killer CNC Punisher Logo

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There’s no question about it, one of John’s first projects on the Maker CNC kit is a hit, and took just 45 minutes to cut! As a retired Air Force veteran, John started woodworking 2 years ago. Now that he’s creating custom works like this one for sale, the MakerMade CNC kit seems to fit the bill for his production needs. Here’s John’s own words about the project: “I used common ¾” plywood with a .25in end mill bit. I painted the item white then burned around the edges.” “It took about 45 min. to cut. I had the pattern already and just needed to scale it up.” Regarding the his CNC frame layout- “I built the ‘bolt together frame’ and put it on wheels. As you can see in the enclosed photos space in my shop is limited so I am able to easily move it when needed. I was able to position the cut in the corner of my material keeping wasted material at a minimum.” John was even kind enough to include the finished gCode file, which you can download HERE in our totally free drive of ready-t0-go projects. Look for “DECOR Punisher.gcode“ To follow what John is

Maker BLOG

Maker Feature – Jeff McLeid

My MakerMade CNC Adventure: Kit Components

A Great Project from JD Builds

My MakerMade CNC Adventure: Unboxing

A Highschool Student’s Review of the Maslow CNC

JD Build’s Awesome Cubs Logo

Behind the Scenes at Our CNC Motor Factory!

What Comes in Your Maslow CNC Kit from MakerMade

Choosing the Best Router Bit for Your CNC Project

John’s Killer CNC Punisher Logo

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