The world of machining hasn’t made major leaps and bounds in advancements for some time. Controllers are getting progressively better and/or more intuitive, tools are being developed with better coatings and precise geometries, and machines have been getting faster and more robust, but there haven’t been any major advancements in quite a while.

"We're really talking about two different developments which have combined to bring useful 3D machining within reach of the average Joe," says Mike Ko, Senior Product Development Engineer of KFx Medical Corporation. "Both the hardware and the software have been dropping in price and rising in capability, ease-of-use, and quality. On the hardware side, the development of the Tormach PCNC machine is one of the first capable and affordable CNC machines."