Bantam Tools Blog

Today, in conjunction with the launch of Bantam Tools and the Bantam Tools Desktop PCB Milling Machine, we’re excited to announce the first release of our software, Bantam Tools Desktop PCB Milling Machine Software V1.2. Download it here.

As of today, Other Machine Co. is officially Bantam Tools.

It's been five years and one month exactly since we embarked on a journey to design desktop manufacturing tools for the classroom on a government contract. Through Kickstarter, venture capital funding, and acquisition earlier this year, the mission has never changed: we aim to dramatically increase the accessibility of CNC machines. 

Last month, University of Southern California’s Prof. Keyue Shen was awarded the prestigious Trailblazer Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the latest in a long line of recognition he’s received for his groundbreaking cancer and stem cell research.

Even if you’ve only done just a few projects on the Othermill or Othermill Pro, you know the importance of using the correct feeds and speeds for your design and material type. This is a topic we’ve previously covered in detail in our Speeds and Feeds Guide and Materials Guides, but with the recent addition of SVG milling in Otherplan, we've made it possible to mill designs without creating G-code or thinking about speeds and feeds ahead of time. 

Using SVG files is an easy way to mill simple shapes without using traditional CAD and CAM software. When you use SVG files, you can create your design using clipart, screenshots of images, hand drawings, or your graphic design software of choice, such as Illustrator or Inkscape.

Community member Troy Gomez recently shared this neat tool rack design he made for his Othermill Pro. He describes it as "very functional with stadium-style seating." The rack, which Troy 3D-printed using black ABS filament, has slots to hold 14 bits and pegs to hold two bit fans and an alignment bracket. 

Did you know you can easily design a PCB in Fritzing and export Gerber files that can be cut on the Othermill? We have a new support guide that walks you through the steps.

Today, we’re excited to share a new release of Otherplan. Otherplan 1.1 adds a new type of collision warnings and includes several bug fixes. Read on for the details or download it now: 

One of only seven degree-granting maritime academies in the U.S., California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) is also the only one on the West Coast. They offer degrees in three branches of engineering: Facilities Engineering Technology, Marine Engineering Technology, and Mechanical Engineering.

Boston University has long held a reputation as one of the most respected research institutes in the U.S. One branch of the intriguing work being done stems out of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s CIDAR (Cross-Disciplinary Integration of Design Automation Research) lab, which focuses on advancements in synthetic biology and microfluidics.