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genteryesterday at 11:37 PM5 repliesview on HN

A CNC mill that's worth the cast iron it's made from weighs at least 2000 lbs, not to mention it takes a lot of skill to use (workholding, toolholding, setting up feeds and speeds, coolant, etc). It's very easy and very expensive to crash if you don't know what you're doing. A g-code program has to be modified to fit your machine, where the origin is, the dimensions of your rough stock, what tools it expects to have, how much material your machine can hog off.

In contrast, a pretty good 3d printer costs $500, can sit on a table, and the inevitable mistakes you will make while learning how to use it are comparatively cheap.


Replies

AngryDatatoday at 12:39 AM

This isn't the 80s anymore, desktop CNC machines have existed for decades and have gottwn incredibly cheap.

twallayesterday at 11:51 PM

You can buy jigs to complete what are called 80% receivers with a drill press (and (optionally a router) - could do it on your kitchen table in an evening for a couple hundred bucks.

the_fallyesterday at 11:48 PM

Gun frames can be made out of plastic or aluminum, and there are fixtures for benchtop CNC machines that can be used to make them. This is not nearly as complicated as you make it sound. I think Cody Wilson was basically selling a turnkey solution for that, maybe still is.

iancmceachernyesterday at 11:55 PM

Not uh

I have one on my desk...