What have I got myself into?

The learning curve for CAM in Fusion 360 is fairly steep. Based on posts on this forum, a majority of MPCNC users use Estlcam for CAM. Personally, I use Fusion 360. My perception is that Estlcam is a far easier tool for CAM, but Fusion 360 provides functionality not available in Estlcam.

If you haven’t already, you are going to need a Fusion 360 postprocessor to generate the g-code. Recent Fusion 360 changes broke the postprocessor we’ve been using for years, but Don has provided a new Beta version you can find here.

When I was where you are, this video by Even and Katelyn got my foot in the door. Note that Fusion 360 has been updated some since this video, so expect some things to be a bit different.

When I was trying to understand CNC concepts in general, I found Winston Moy’s channel helpful. Start with his early CNC videos and work forward. His later stuff is more sophisticated than I am with my projects. Eventually he went to work for Carbide3D (makers of the Shapeoko CNC). He still occasionally posts both personally and as part of Carbide3D.

As for projects, I suggest this progression for your first several steps.

  • With a pen mount, run the premade g-code to draw the crown.

  • In your CAD/CAM of choice, author a large rectangle (just under the working size of your machine). Draw the rectangle with your pen. Measure the diagonals of the rectangle to check the XY squareness of your machine.

  • Author and draw an exact duplicate of the crown from scratch using the provided SVG file.

  • Contour a small shape out of a piece of foam.

  • Contour cut a shape out of plywood or MDF.

  • Create a sign using a straight endmill. In addition to contour cuts, you want a project that pockets out material.

  • Create a sign using a V-bit. Note you will need a well tuned machine in order to get consistent lettering.