Plans, projects and How-to's for Home Machinists and Other Makers
StickFont v1.1 is a free Windows program you can use to create single-stroke text for engraving. It’s very similar to another free program we’ve written about called DeskEngrave. Both programs will take a line of text and generate the g-code you’ll need to engrave it using a CNC mill, router or similar machine.… Read the rest
DeskEngrave is a free Windows program that makes it easy to add engraving to your parts if you have a CNC mill, router or similar machine. It will create text using any TrueType font installed on your PC, make it the height or width that you specify and put it on a straight line or wrapped around a radius. … Read the rest
This is a quick review of DeltaCAD, an inexpensive and easy-to-use 2D CAD program with a short learning curve. I highly recommend it, unless you need to design and draw complex parts or make 3D drawings. If you’ve been looking for a simple CAD program then invest a few minutes and take a look at this one. … Read the rest
Model Engineers’ Utilities is a free, easy-to-use Windows program that has a very useful suite of calculators for machinists and engineers. There is too much to list here, but it includes one of the best cutting speed and feed calculator I’ve seen. It also includes thread cutting data, a spring designer, a unit converter, information for setting up tapers, a sine bar and gauge block calculator, sheet metal bending information and calculator, a gear cutting calculator, and much more.… Read the rest