We are excited to offer CNC  milling at the Hunterdon County Headquarters Library Makerspace. The machine is available for use free of charge after a safety and materials orientation.  The Bantam is optimized to mill aluminum but can also be used with other soft metals such as brass and copper, engineering plastics and hardwoods. 

CNC milling is a form of subtractive manufacturing that transforms a stock piece of material such as a block of aluminum into a finished product (many times a prototype) using digital instructions to tell it the path to follow. The CNC machine follows the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) or computer-aided design (CAD) file uploaded to the machine. Different size end mills are used to make a variety of cuts.

              Build Volume: 7” x 9” x 3.3” (178 mm x 229 mm x 83 mm)

              Max Traverse: 250 in/min (6350 mm/min)

              Spindle Speed: 10,000 RPM - 28,000 RPM

              Spindle Motor Power: 250 W

               Tool Holder: ER-11 Collet

               Largest Shank Size: 1/4”

               Repeatability: +/- .001” (+/- .025 mm)

                                                                           Recommended Roughing MRR in Aluminum 6061: 0.4 cubic in/min (10.16 cubic mm/min)

                                                                           Location: Headquarters Library Makerspace

                                                                           Bantam Tools Website 

The Bantam Software Basic Version is available as a free download.  You can download at home and get started learning the software or check out a library laptop for use in the library with the software pre-loaded.

Bantam Software Download for PC or MAC 

The Bantam Software accepts the following file types:

• EAGLE (.brd)
• Gerber (.gtl, .cmp, .gbr)
• G-Code (.nc, .tap, and .gcode)
• Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg)

Mill times vary depending on the project. For smaller items, it can take less than 30 minutes. Using the Bantam Tools software, users can get an estimate for how long their project will take to make.

• CAD       Computer Aided Design, software that produces a 3D model
• GCODE  GCODE is the file type the 3D printer uses to print a design.  
• CAM      Stands for Computer Aided Manufacturing
• CNC       Stands for Computer Numerical Control
• Engraving: These are filled areas and will be milled to the depth specified in the Engraving Depth setting.(located in the Initial Setup Tab)
• Cutout: This tells the Bantam Tools software that you want to cut the outermost shape of your design and you want to cut through the entire thickness of the material. (located in the Initial Setup Tab)
• Engraving Depth: How deep you want your 80º metal engraving bit to cut into your dog tag. The depth you choose will depend on your design, but we typically like to set our engraving depth to 0.003”. (located in the Initial Setup Tab)
• X, Y, Z Dimensions  This refers to the length =x value, width = y value  and height = z value of the material being milled.
• Double Sided Nitto Tape  This is high strength double sided tape that secures the milling material to the bed. Usually .0006" thick.
• Swarf:  The fine metal chips left behind after milling.
• z offset field :  Enter the thickness of added material used to fixture your project to the bed - such as tape.
• Fixturing : Securing material to the bed.
• SVG       Scalable Vector Graphic is a file type the Bantam can understand