Mach CNC software

CNC Control Software is one of the fundamental things you will need to do CNC. The control software is what interprets the G-Code line by line and sends off commands to your machine controller.

Probably the standard in the hobby market is Mach. There are different versions: Mach1, Mach2 and Mach3. Mach is created by a company called Artsoft and has an excellent reputation in the marketplace. The software is easy to use and very powerful. The company also provides great service and is always working on the next generation of product.

I have used a couple other control software packages as well like CNC Pro, TurboCNC and Master. They seem a bit outdated compared to Mach, but serve their purpose and work well.

CNC Water Jet

CNC Water Jet cutting is one way of cutting metals, glass or fabric. It is actually an abrasive cutting process where the cutting happens by eroding the material away. A stream of high-pressure water is focused on the material to make the cut. This jet is positioned and moved using CNC. An abrasive mixture is added to this high-pressure stream of water. The abrasive in the water jet does most of the cutting of the material.

I have found CNC Water Jet cutting to be an interesting process. As soon as you are done you need to dry or protect the recently cut edges. These edges will rust quickly in not handled properly. Before welding these edges usually need to be ground to prevent porosity in the weld.