Explore past newsletters, podcast episodes, and shop-floor insights from the CNC Underground community.

Latest from the Underground

The newest stories and conversations from CNC Underground.

Running a Machine Shop Shouldn’t Be This Hard

Every machine shop has a little chaos, but when does “just the way we’ve always done it” start costing time, money, and people? Jessica sits down with Paul Van Metre, founder of ProShop ERP and former shop owner, to talk about eliminating tribal knowledge, building systems that scale, and why the hardest part of running a shop isn’t making parts.

#56 – One Missed Decimal Teaches Fast

This week’s CNC Underground explores how a well-managed tool library can reduce programming time, eliminate setup mistakes, and keep every programmer working from the same proven data. You’ll also find the latest manufacturing news, open CNC jobs, upcoming events, and a shop story about the missing job traveler that brought production to a halt.

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The Underground Archive

When Toolpaths Turn Into Gambling
America’s Manufacturing Bet
Rest Machine – No Air Cutting
Live Tools & Shift Conflicts
Simplify Your Fixtures
The Tool Library Vanished
Smarter Way to Set Chip Load
Program Multi-Turret Machines
Handoff that Wrecks a Spindle
Inconel Punishes Programmers
M-code Mistake Shops Make
Riskiest Moment in a Turning
Engineering Communication
7 Ways to Program 5-Axis
One Small Miss, One Big Crash
Finish Tips, Rush Jobs, Terafab
A Near Career-Ending Mistake
7 Ways to Automate Busywork
End Tool Chaos, Smarter Inspection
Rebuilding US Manufacturing
Smarter Roughing, Shorter Cycles
CAM Trends & Tribal Knowledge
That One Button No One Touches
Machine Thin Features w/o Chatter
Everyone Saw It. Nobody Stopped It.
Rough Faster w/o Breaking Tools
Machine Orders Up, 2026 Outlook
MIT’s New Program & Deburring Tips
Tool Life, Safety Tech, Ransomware
Boeing, Mitotec & a Killer CAM Tip
Real-Time CNCs & Smart Toolpaths
Hybrid Mfg & Laser Lathes
Cybercabs, CAM tricks, & CNC Jobs
Microsoft’s Warning 2 Manufacturing
Fixe Bad Finishes
Turning Point for U.S. Manufacturing
Toolpath Fighting Your Machine?
The $6.5B Bet Reshaping U.S. Mfg
Confidence, Auto, & STEM
AI, Gen Z Recruiting, the Utah Boom
Manufacturing Can’t Shake It
The U.S. Just Bought 10% of Intel
MIT’s $500K Manufacturing Club
Billion-Dollar Manufacturing Shift
Automation, Labor, & Reshoring
Made in the USA
Fix Multi-Turret Bottlenecks in CAM
What Most CNC Pros Miss
Will AI Replace Your CAM Job?
Mistake Shops Make With Old Files
One CAM Tip Could Save Your Part
CNC Putter Wins the U.S. Open
U.S. Manufacturing Isn’t Back Yet
AI Knows What….
The people behind the machines

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