Lately I’ve taken to using my CNC router in sort of a weird way. I use the stepper motors to lock down the router in two dimensions (typically X and Z), but I leave Y floating. This allows me to move the router in a straight line by hand, which both frees me from having to program the CNC when all I want to do is route a groove and lets me use audible and visual feedback to speed up or slow down the cut based on how the router is behaving. I call it “Hybrid CNC Routing”, as it’s a mix of CNC and manual.
Is it kind of weird? Yes. Yes it is. Does it work? Yes. Mostly. Usually. I had a bit of trouble on this particular run, as you can see if you care to watch the video. But hey, if you want videos of people that get everything right and never make mistakes, you’re going to want to find a different content producer.
Enjoy!
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