If CES is anything to go by, 2024 is shaping up to be a great year for makers and hobbyists. I loved getting a closer look at Rownd, but it wasn’t even close to the only light manufacturing company showing cool stuff at the trade show in Las Vegas. Coast Runner is one of the new entrants to the desktop CNC milling industry, and promises to make the technology accessible to everyone, from professionals to hobbyists. Coast runner It breaks down the barriers of traditional CNC milling with an emphasis on power, compact size, and most importantly, education.
TechCruch spoke with Tyler Hoeft, who wears multiple hats at the company, from marketing to inventory management, and believes the lack of educational resources and community forums in the CNC field has significantly hindered potential users. To address this issue, Coast Runner is committed to providing comprehensive tutorial videos and creating a discussion forum for users to share ideas and collaborate on designs. Furthermore, Coast Runner is developing a rewards board system where users can pay others to create designs or mill parts if they lack the necessary skills. I think it’s a great idea, not least because milling and turning is a bit different from 3D printing – as any grizzled old machinist will tell you, toolpaths, feeds and speeds are as much art as science.
The Coast Runner machine aims to be affordable and powerful.
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Coast Runner placed one of the machines in a transparent case for CES, exposing its innards. The company manufactures many parts itself. Image credits: TechCrunch/Hag Camps
“We make one of the toughest desktop CNC machines you’ll find on the market. You can cut everything, even titanium. Everything that’s softer is possible: plastic, brass, stainless steel, aluminum, everything,” Hooft says. “You need to change the tools.” By hand — our main focus was to make the price point low enough for people who want to experiment with their fingers or for people who want to fabricate and have four or five of these machines to make small parts for their business.”
Despite its power, the machine is compact and lightweight, weighing just 42 pounds, and fits comfortably on a single desk, making it an interesting option for small businesses or hobbyists.
Perhaps the most exciting feature in the works is that the company is working on AI-powered modeling features. This advancement aims to make modeling a point-and-click process, significantly reducing the learning curve for new users and increasing the appeal of CNC milling to a wider audience.
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I personally love the retro design inspired by 90s takeout cups. Don’t let the old design fool you, there’s a lot of 2024 technology in it. Image credits: TechCrunch/Hag Camps
In an industry dominated by several large players (Makira’s $6,000 Carvera And A $7,000 Bantam Tools machine Coast Runner is probably its closest competitor), Coast Runner’s continued focus on customer education and powerful, compact CNC machines make them an interesting new entrant in the market.
“Most companies in this space are content to sell their devices and wish their customers good luck,” Hooft shrugs. “We are committed to guiding its users from the initial idea to the finished product.”
Coast Runner is a name to watch, as it will launch its Kickstarter campaign for $2,400 next month. The team told me the final retail price will likely be around $3,000.