Home
Calendar
Log In

CNC Hands-on Training

02/22/2025 11:00 AM - 02:00 PM ET

Admission

  • Free

Description

Mandatory Equipment Safety Training to access the CNC. Please also attend a Woodshop Orientation to gain familiarity with shop safety, as well as the filter and dust collection systems.

  • Please be prompt so we can start on time. There's a lot of information to cover and each of you will have hands-on time on the CNC machine. We'll meet for the software training in the little classroom in the upstairs loft. If you're going to be delayed, please send a message on the CNC Slack channel. 
  • Cancellation:  If you know you won't be able to attend the class, please comment in the CNC Slack channel and tag @Lorraine Kowalski so that another member can participate. There is a waiting list for most classes.
  • Software: We will be designing a simple engraving project using VCarve Pro (version 12) using the teaching laptops at the space. If you want to get started with VCarve on your personal computer (Windows only), see the canvas instructions for how to download and install the VCarve Pro Trial Edition. The current version is 12.013.
    • Once you have successfully completed the hands-on training, you will be sent an email "invitation" to create an account at Vectric so that you can link your local copy of VCarve Pro to the Decatur Makers license. More on this during the class. 
    • Here's a link to a VCarve beginner video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooTRI9rHydw&t=1s  
  • Safety First: Please wear close-toed shoes as we will be working in the wood shop. Hearing and eye protection are available at the space.
  • Check out the CNC channel on the Decatur Makers Slack workspace. It's usually quite active and this is a great place to post questions you may have about a project you're working on and to follow the questions and responses from other users. The "canvas" pinned to the top-right of the CNC channel contains background information to review before class and has instructions for how to download and install the Trial version of VCarve Pro.