Art by Lis Bokt

This week at work we got three beautiful new machines in… machines I am VERY excited about. A lathe, a mill and a router table – all CNC. What this means is that I’m going to be making a whole lot of exciting new things – real! tangible! things! – in the super near future. We have to wait until next week to actually use them, because the company rep needs to come set them up properly. (Silly machines – why did you have to arrive directly before Thanksgiving?)

In the meantime this meant we emptied out the machine shop and then filled it back up again. It’s so pretty in there now! It even has proper theatre lighting. Why put lighting in a machine shop you ask? To take photos of course… and video!  If you’ve ever had the desire for an entire series of videos featuring me telling you how to use CNC equipment, now is your chance – because I’m going to be hosting the bulk of the videos.

CNC is right up my alley, really. I’ve been using AutoCAD and 3D Studio Max for more years than I really care to admit, and an Adobe user since the beginning. Vectors and I go way back. Being a designer on a computer is a very strange process and often my entire project is done without ever touching something tangible. I’ve made drawings that have never seen paper (or canvas, etc) and I’ve poured hours and hours into website design. I have taken several hundred thousand photographs in the past 10 years and less than a few thousand paper copies exist of them. When you are a designer in the digital era, having your work exist in something tangible is incredibly exciting. The first time one of my illustrations became a full size banner I was a little giddy – I’d never made something that became a physically large object before.

So the first time I drew something on the computer and then had the CNC mill carve it out I was absolutely amazed. Rationally, I knew this wasn’t a huge deal: I drew the drawing, and then drew out the toolpaths on the computer, and the machine followed them. But it was sooooo cool! I drew it! And there it is! Carved in aluminum!

And I can do so much more than just draw into aluminum. You just wait and see.

In the meantime, check out the photos I took of the entire setup. It’s absolutely gorgeous in person.

[nggallery id=8]