Our team recently made the decision to buy a CNC router. A CNC router is a machine that uses a rotating cutting bit to cut and shape pieces of wood, plastic, and aluminium. The machine that we purchased is called a Shapeoko XXL. The Shapeoko is a $1,830.00 machine from a company called Carbide 3d and has a cutting area of 33″ x 33″ x 3″. The ability to cut pieces of metal precisely and accurately will be a tremendous help during build season for our team. After we received the router, we spent the next week putting it together. After it was put together we set it up and tested it out, our first tests involved attaching a pen to the spindle on the CNC and using it as a pen plotter to make drawings on some printer paper. We have yet to cut anything with the machine because we need to come up with a solution for dust collection so we don’t make a mess in our room. Hopefully we come up with something soon and are able to start experimenting with it so we get some practice in before the season starts. I am excited for our recent purchase and think that buying it was a good decision.