Testimony

[ynneb]

I have experienced been both mentor and mentoree, related to building a CNC machine.

Originally I was mentored in an unofficial arrangement by Boros ( A light posting member here ) If it wasnt for his input I dont think I would have a machine today. The main thing I learnt from him was not to get hung up on super precision in building my machine. This gave me a licence in my mind to just do it, and near enough would be good enough. Even though the sorts of machines Boros works on have very tight tollerances. It was Boros who showed me the many aspect of the software that related to CNC. I know without a doubt that I would not have worked this out by my self.

I also have an unoficial mentorship with Moondog ( Also a member on this forum) He originally contacted me for help and just kept on contacting me.
Here is a good example of how you can mentor up. I will happily concede that Moondogs machine is many times better than mine. But I do have a suspicion that his machine would never have been finished if it wasnt for my encouragement, suggestions, and pointers along the way. Since Moondog was prepered to spend lots more money on his machine I was able to suggest he buy a small Mill for his work. I know he would have been lost if I didnt help him with the electrical and software side too.
Even though Moondog is in Australia we still have a distance of 900km between us. We continually talk by phone, emal , and instant messenger to discuss ideas and work methods.


I really believe this forum section is a good idea. It can work over longer distances than locally. I believe that any member should be prepered to be a mentor and be a mentoree to another person. Its a give and take situation.

Good luck guys with matching yourselves up.

[murphy625]

Well then by that post I would assume my mentors are:

AL The Man
Benny
Hillbilly
Intrusion

Because if it wasnt for these guys, my machine would not be as far along as it is now.

Murphy

[NeoMoses]

My original inspiration came once I saw the videos on HomeCNC's website. Before then I wasn't sure it was feasible to build a DIY cnc that would actually work. Now I'm fully addicted by the CNC bug.

So, if anyone needs advice, I'm a mechanical engineer living in Pontiac, MI. For mechanical design issues, feel free to shoot me a message. However, I'm probably not the best resource for electrical issues.

Also, I'm good friends with many of the machinists @ work, so if you have a particularly difficult machining problem, I can run it by machinists with tons of experience.