CNC Machining Resources & Guides

3D Printing Healthcare News: 5 Breakthroughs, Machined

Five 3D printing healthcare breakthroughs, and the CNC steps behind them: patient-matched implants, surgical instruments, shunts, guides.

3D Printing Helps Save a Newborn With a Cranial Defect

How 3D printing helps save newborns with cranial defects: imaging to STL, anatomical models, surgical guides, implant fit, and material choices for medical devices.

3D Printing Helps USS Cod Submarine Recreate Its Old Glory

How 3D printing helps USS Cod volunteers make missing parts, from torpedo propellers to battery cells, and when CNC machining is the better route.

3D Printing High Performance Composites and Flame-Retardant Parts

How to choose high performance 3D printing materials: carbon-filled composites, PEEK, PEI and flame-retardant grades, plus when CNC machining wins.

3D Printing Holes: 5 Simple Tips for Tight Tolerances

Five practical tips for 3D printing holes that fit pins, bolts and bearings. Covers hole orientation, shrink compensation, drill undersize and when to switch to CNC.

3D Printing in Defense: 5 Proven Roles After RAPID + TCT 2025

3D printing in defense, explained for engineers: which parts go additive, which stay CNC, and how to read a RAPID + TCT 2025 defense claim.

3D Printing In Electric Vehicles: 7 Proven Uses

How 3D printing in electric vehicles works: 7 proven applications, material choices, and step-by-step rules for brackets, busbars, and thermal parts.

3D Printing in Future Manufacturing: Where It Fits

A shop-floor view of 3D printing in future manufacturing: what additive does well, where it fails, and how it pairs with CNC machining.

3D Printing in Protecting the Oceans: 5 Essential Basics

The role of 3D printing in protecting the oceans explained: materials, tolerances, seawater limits, and when CNC machining fits better.

3D Printing in the Aerospace Industry: 6 Proven Facts

3D printing in the aerospace industry is worth 1.6 billion. See where the money goes, which parts fit additive, and when CNC wins.

3D Printing in the Automobile Industry: Where It Fits

How 3D printing is used in automobile development and low-volume production, where it falls short, and when CNC machining is the better route.

3D Printing in Titanium: 7 Proven Basics for Engineers

3D printing in titanium explained: how laser powder bed fusion works, when the process beats CNC, and the real design limits.

3D Printing in Wind Energy: Parts, Materials, Limits

How 3D printing is used in wind energy: which turbine parts suit additive, which need CNC, and how to pick the process. From an ISO 9001 shop.

3D Printing in Wood: 5 Proven Basics for Craft Objects

3D printing in wood explained for engineers: how wood-filled filament prints, where layer lines and binder content matter, and when CNC is the better route.

3D Printing Infill Density: 7 Essential Basics to Know

3D printing infill density controls part stiffness, weight and print time. An essential 7-point guide to shell-to-infill load paths and when density matters.

3D Printing Infill: The Strongest Pattern for Load-Bearing Parts

Compare infill patterns and densities for FDM parts. Learn which pattern is strongest in compression, shear, and impact, and when infill stops mattering.

3D Printing Injection Molding Elastic Parts: 8 Proven Checks

3D printing injection molding elastic parts compared: 8 proven checks on tooling, TPE grades, wall thickness, finish, and cost, with a clear pick per run size.

3D Printing Injection Molds: A Practical Guide

A shop-floor guide to 3D printing injection molds: which resins and metals to use, cycle limits, draft and gate rules, and when to switch to CNC steel.

3D Printing Instructions for Better Results

Practical 3D printing instructions for better results: orientation, wall count, tolerance, and when to switch a prototype to CNC machining.

3D Printing Language Code T: 6 Proven Control Layers

3D printing language Code T splits motion from function into two tracks. Learn 6 proven control layers, where it helps, and when machining still wins.

3D Printing Large-Scale Copper Components: 5 Proven Green Laser Basics

Green laser 3D printing large-scale copper components explained: why 515 nm works, where it stops, and what to machine after. Read the 5 proven basics.

3D Printing Lattice Structures: 5 Essential Design Rules

A working guide to 3D printing lattice structures: how struts carry load, when to use them, and when a machined solid part wins.

3D Printing Layer Height: How Much Does It Matter?

How 3D printing layer height changes surface finish, build time and part strength, plus how to pick a value for prototypes and functional parts.

3D Printing Leads Lighter Antennas: RF Part Design

How 3D printing leads lighter antennas for 5G, 6G and aerospace hardware, plus when CNC machining still wins and how to specify the part.