Short Summary

• We're HackRVA - We make great things with a community of inspiring people!
•  HackRVA members will be able to use this awesome tool for creative design, rapid prototyping, open hardware projects, or whatever their heart's desire.
  
• We'll also be able to make our own furniture, work benches, equipment, and signs for the space.
• Support our initiative to crowdfund this 4'x4' CNC Router. It will complete HackRVA's  "tri-fecta of maker tools" (3D Printer, Laser Cutter, CNC Router).
  
• Check out some more videos of the tool in action.

• HackRVA and Richmond take another step in joining the digital design revolution!
  

What We Need & What You Get

• We need to raise $1200 to make this happen. We'd like to get to $1700 to cover an upgraded spindle, tooling, and near term maintenance costs.

• $25 contributors and up will have their names CNC'd into a glorious mantel that will be fitted to the the machine's superstructure for all to revel in!
  
• $100 contributors will be invited to our initial training events to learn the mysterious ways of creating with CNC!
• All contributors receive a cool memento made on the CNC, we just have to figure out what that's going to be. Possibly a stylized HackRVA mini-sign for the home. (We're not mailing them out, so whatever it is, come to the space to get it. Or even better, we give you the design file and material, you make the machine go.)

• All HackRVA members regardless of contribution get access to a great tool with tech support and training for a fraction of the tool's cost.
  

Impact

HackRVA members will have a greater ability to make new things. Things which can be designed with digital tools such as CAD software and brought to reality with much more ease than traditional methods.

We will also be able to contribute back to the maker community at large across the web with greater impact. With the power of a CNC router we can create open source objects for a wide range of applications. 

Everyday objects, artistic endeavors, and technological artifacts (like quadcopter frames) can be cut out of materials like plastic, wood, cardboard, carbon-fiber, and even some light metals like aluminum.

And they can be shared and re-made by other hobbyists, makers, and makerspaces wherever they may be by downloading our designs. Design it once, and anyone with a CNC will be able to make as many copies as they want to use or improve upon.

Below are some websites for open source design with CNC routers, many of which allow anyone to create or download files to start cutting right away (kinda like Thingiverse does for 3D printing):

http://www.sketchchair.cc/
http://www.wikihouse.cc/
http://grabcad.com/
AtFAB
Thingiverse (tag: lasercut- many laser-able things can be CNC routed)
Ponoko
Skethup 3D Warehouse

Using the Tool

There are 3 basic workflows for using the tool:

• Download a G-Code file. Run it in the CNC Router.
  
• Download a CAD or vector design file. Convert the file to G-Code using a G-Code converter.
• Draw your own design file using a CAD program or a vector drawing program like Inkscape, then run that through a G-Code converter.

If you know 3D printing, it's a similar workflow. Sometimes you just put a file straight into the Makerbot, other times you design something yourself and run that through.

There's a few added things to learn about CNC routing such as tool diameter, feeds &speeds, and cut depth. But any of our savvy folks at the space can learn the basics of this tool in an about hour or less.

We're also in the process of creating a Digital Design Workstation at the space so that all the needed software for CNC, Lasercutting, and 3D printing will be on a single maintained computer and at the ready.

The CNC itself will live in the back of our FabLab  (aka Tool Room). We've already constructed much of the wooden platform it will be mounted too as well as the rolling storage units that will go under it.

Training for this tool will be required to ensure it's longevity. It's possible to damage a CNC router without the proper know-how.

Risks & Challenges

• We have tested the tool to ensure it works. But like all complex tools it's possible that the machine will have issues from time to time, break down, or eventually die on us. 
  
• That being said, we view the CNC Mogul as an affordable option for a much requested item to add to the HackRVA arsenal of makery tools. From our research at places like CNC zone, people who've owned the CNC Mogul are satisfied with it's performance/size/cost ratio.