Basical Elements to a CNC Project

There are basically five elements to a CNC Project:

Design - thinking and planning what you want to build

CAD - translating it into the computer

CAM - converting it into machine language

Controlling - directing your machine's motion

Machining - building the part to specifications

These five elements are really the building blocks to a CNC project. As you see them above, that is generally the order people associate them in. For example, you can't control until you have a design. You can't use your CAM software before your CAD software. One of the main things you need to address is how these elements interact with each other. The more you use these elements with one another,the more their order will become second nature.