[magnets]

Our team has a 4' x 8' CNC router, and it is the tool our team uses the most. It's awesome for prototyping, as we can make shooter rails out of plywood or hdpe in less than 10 minutes. If you plan to cut aluminum sheet on it, try to ask the manufacturer/distributor which settings will work the best. You need to find a way to get rid of the chips/cool it/and make sure the feed rate is set correctly. We use the 1/8" mcmaster bits and we use compressed air to make sure the chips don't accumulate. Once you figure out the setup for your machine, you're all set and you don't have to play with it ever again.

We've used 2 3d printers, and while we liked one of them, we didn't think it was that useful. The first one we used was very temperamental, and would often get stuck or make a bad part. The other was significantly more expensive( > $10,000) and we couldn't seem to find a part that we couldn't make with a lathe, mill, and cnc router. Plus, the plastic was REALLY expensive, about $10 per cubic inch!