Swetman Makerspace INFO CNC mini mill

The Information project for the Tormach xsTech CNC Mini Mill consists of a set of video tutorials, display figures, and signage to help the inexperienced become comfortable with the Swetman Makerspace mini mill. It was created during the second half of spring semester of 2025 during the months of February through May at California Polytech University of Humboldt with the key intention to make the Swetman Makerspace more approachable for young, aspiring engineering students in a safe and productive manner.

This project was given to a group of Engineering 205 students from Spring Semester of 2025 at Cal-Poly Humboldt consisting of engineering students Kat Knapp, True Laboissonniere, Bennett Loe, and Reed Smith; later to be recognized as the Mountain Millers team. The Mountain Millers took on this project because of the unique opportunity to take on the challenge of learning and teaching others how to use a machine without any reference.

The objective of this project is to influence aspiring engineers to become more familiar with the CNC mini mill in the Swetman Makerspace, reaching into their creative depths and encourage them to turn their dreams and drawings into a reality.

Criteria	Description	Weight (1-10)
Space Limitations	The space limitations include making the videos formatted in a matter that would be easy to access, making the display figures and signage easily transferable due to the fact that Cal-Poly Humboldt is receiving a new makerspace withing the near future.	10
Relevance for content	The videos are only to touch on the Mill itself and not the g-code, and must be well framed and lit, in small segments with easily digestible high quality content. Signs and displays must stand on independently, be informative, and user friendly for all.	9
Experience level	Accessible for both solo and group projects of entry level students with little to no experience; videos must be easy to understand and thorough while signage and displays should be also contextual for single people and large groups.	7
Accessability	All videos must be extremely easy to access with little to no maintenance, and signs and display must be present without being a distraction.	5

• Prototype files after brainstorming.

  

The final product consists of a full video series on Youtube, small wooden display figurines, and a few signs surrounding the mill. This includes a QR code to the playlist, a drill bit holder to display all bits, an 'H' shaped bottle opener inspired by the Humboldt logo, a 6 sided die, a topographic map of the Cal-Poly Humboldt Campus, and safety signs such as 'keep hands away' and others.

The full course was built over a series of weeks that involved lots of long meetings and sessions to decide what would be best for the project. This included weekly client meetings and breakdowns afterwards for the weeks goals and visions, 3 hour lab periods we spend building and designing figurines and signs, and individual work. For the individual work, each member took a role to make the project go by smoothly. Knapp and Loe took on the roles of co-writers, writing the process and leading the team in the right direction, keeping the project moving along, as well as designing and building the drill bit holder. Laboissonniere took the role of physical designer by designing and manufacturing the figurines and learning how to manufacture g-code. Smith took the role of CNC tour guide and cameraman because of his further knowledge with the Mill and took all the video footage while also creating some of the examples.

• Final Product files

  

  

Our project was entirely cost free because the materials we needed were readily available. All we needed was scrap wood, cardboard, and a way to film the videos, in this case, a camcorder.

To operate and access the information is simply scanning a QR code to a Youtube playlist, the rest will be on display around the Mini Mill with further instructions and signage around the mill.

Maintenance is extremely minimal because of how the items are used, they should not be put under strenuous situations because they are displays and not physical tools.

• For the videos, they are stored digitally with open access, and the instructions should remain the same unless the mini mill is upgraded to have a fourth axis. The only maintenance that would be required for them is if the QR code needs to be upgraded.
• For the display figurines, because they should not be put under much stress; however, if one does manage to break, or if a student just feels inclined to do so, they can add to the display by creating their own figurines.
• For the signage, there should be general upkeep like making sure signs are visible and replacing signs when one breaks or adding one if new problems emerge.

The maintenance is extremely easy because the materials are durable enough to be handled, but should be handled with care.

Daily

• General Upkeep, make sure all parts are visible and easily accessible.

Weekly

• Check bit holder for damaged bits and overall wear

Monthly

• Encourage students to add to the collection of display figurines

Yearly

• Check ware on signage and display figurines to see what needs to be replaced or repaired.
• Make sure QR code is still viewable.

Every 5 years

• Review video integrity and make sure that the videos are not considered outdated for the machine.

The results ended up being 4 final cuts: a first and final pass piece, a 6 sided dice, an H shaped bottle opener, and a topographic map of Cal-Poly Humboldt, as well as a broken drill bit.

When testing the waters of how the CNC mill worked, there were several setbacks, but in the end, the team learned the in depth processes that are required in order to create an info project. As a team, the mountain millers discussed how useful this project is considering how difficult it is to operate the CNC Mill.

There was a lot to learn from this project, there was the ability to use the machine, the process of how to teach others, and many others. If the team were to start all over again, they would have started actually making the project sooner instead of contributing time into the written sections, and would have chosen to actually learn proficiently how to use the machine before giving an instructional video instead of filming and learning along the way.

The teams hope for the future of this project is for people to become interested in the capabilities of the CNC machine and to give students greater access to the tools around them. As for the project itself, the team hopes more student will as to the collection of figurines and bring greater designs to the Swetman Makerspace.

Listed below are a few issues that one may encounter while trying to operate the mill and access the course. For more complex issues, contact the head of the makers space Matt Kerwin.

Problem	Suggestion
Video access unavailable	Make sure wifi is on, and check QR code for blemishes that might be interfering, or find new QR code when given.
Signage is ineligible	Check for related signs nearby or writing around signs that may help.
Display Breaks	Alert Staff on duty and start considering making a creative replacement!

This is The Mountain Millers, Spring 2025:

• Kat Knapp
• True Laboissonniere
• Bennett Loe
• Reed Smith