Getting Ready for a Fabber

Everyone needs to know a little about CNC before they start...

The magic of digital fabrication is the computer file that contains the instructions for the digital fab tool to make your part or project. This "Part File" (sometimes also called a "cutting file" or a "toolpath file") tells the cutting tool exactly how to move in 3 dimensions, taking into account the size and shape of the cutter and the choices that have been made about how the part will be cut -- speeds, directions, and so forth. Here's just a brief list of things you probably need to be aware of when working with digital fabrication.

Getting started with your own design...

 Before you can create this toolpath file you'll need to define the shape of all the bits and pieces that will go into your project. You can start with something as simple as a sketch on a napkin and most Fabbers can help you with the process of turning your vision into real bits and pieces. If you want to work on the design yourself you'll generally use either a CAD program or a graphics program like Corel to get it into some sort of digital form that your Fabber can use to create their part file. If your project is more specialized, though, like a boat design or a 3d carvings for a sign, you may want to use specialty software created for just that application or find some that's already proficient with that kind of software. To help get you started, here are some thoughts on the design and drawing process in general, and an example of how a project's drawings might be created in a CAD program.

Selecting Materials...

Material selection can be very important from both an aesthetic and a practical perspective. Although 100kGarages is working on ways of making standard and reliable materials available to all Fabbers, given the geography their shops are covering this is likely to always be a work in progress. The information provided on each fabricator can include a notes about any unusual materials that they are familiar with, but if you have need for a specific or unusual material you may have a more limited selection of fabricators to choose from. In that case you may want to post your project on the 100kGarages Job Board

You're ready to go...making your design drawings fabricator ready...

If you've decided to work directly with a fabricator there's one more step after creating your design drawings...creating the toolpath files that tell the CNC machine what to do. There are 2 ways to get the toolpath files, depending on how much work you want to do and how much control you need over the process.

   1) Let the Fabber Do It. With this option you select a fabricator, consult with them about your job, and have the fabricator include the cost of creating the necessary Part Files from your drawing into their estimate for the project. All fabricators in the system have the same excellent CAM capabilities in their PartWorks software . Here is some more information on this process and instructions on preparing your files for the fabricator.

   2) Full DIY. The option is for those who want full control of the part-production process and have the skills, or would like to learn them, to do the full toolpathing portion of the job and send ready-to-cut files to the fabricator. This gives you the most control over the fabrication process which may be important if you're interested in the manufacturing process or have an engineering orientation, but requires the most work on your part. It also may require modifications based on the fabricator selected, so we HIGHLY recommend selecting your fabricator before creating the toolpath files. You will also need some more sophisticated software for this work.