A low-cost web-based learning platform for CNC machining education

Computer numerical control (CNC) machines play a central role in modern manufacturing. CNC machining skills provide high-paying manufacturing jobs to graduates of engineering and technology. Hands-on laboratory instruction is essential for effective student learning in the area of CAD/CAM/Manufacturing Technology, but the high cost of commercial and even educational CNC machines like mills and lathes constrains the scope of instruction in CNC machining. In this paper, an inexpensive two-axis lathe prototype is developed using off-the-shelf materials and components, open source hardware, and open source CAM and CNC software. The machine can be adapted for large scale use in engineering colleges, polytechnics, and industrial training institutes (ITIs). To make the CNC learning even more affordable, accessible and less resource-intensive, a web-based learning platform for using the lathe is developed.