Unleash Your Inner Adventurer: The Journey to Desktop CNC
by
CHENmaxmake
11 Sep 2025
I Have Made Up My Mind to Embark on the Journey of Desktop CNC
Hello world! In 2023, in an office filled with 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC machines, an electronic engineer on our team raised a question: Why have 3D printers and laser equipment become widespread, while CNC machines still struggle to enter households? The user circle is niche and the machines are expensive. The original intention behind developing this project was to allow more beginners and industry enthusiasts to access a more affordable machine.
In the end, several colleagues and I decided to gather a team and build something on our own. "I feel my youth gradually fading away, so I want to take a gamble. We also want to show something different to this industry we love and its enthusiasts;" several members of our team shared this thought, and I was one of them.
Startups are fragile. Even though we have already developed our own laser engraver product line—HiRay V6, HiRay VL6, and HiRay AE1—we inevitably encountered difficulties and setbacks when launching a new project. Those were the hardest days: we repeatedly conducted research and development, trial and error, and attempts to figure out how to reduce costs while still achieving the functions matching similar machines on the market. Finally, that moment came.
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Ash Wang
Serves as CEO & Founder, responsible for formulating the company's overall strategy, coordinating operation and management, and building the core framework for enterprise development as the founder.
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Ike Wen
Engages in R&D (Research and Development) work, mainly focusing on the research and development of products or technologies.
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Wei Chen
Is in charge of SCM (Supply Chain Management) related affairs, covering the whole-process management of supply chain planning, procurement, logistics, etc.
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An Nan
As a Structural Engineer, focuses on structural design, structural analysis and other engineering work to ensure the safety and stability of structures.
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Liangjie Chen
As a Software Engineer, undertakes software-related work such as software development, programming, and system maintenance.
This is a photo of the team’s R&D members. It was taken in our initial workplace, which was quite simple. At that time, the five of us had intensive technical discussions and formulated the architecture of HiMill D1.
- June 2023: Design of CAM software algorithms
- July 2024: Product research and discussion on key functions
- September 2024: Started industrial design, mechanical design, and hardware design
- January 2025: Optimization of the first-generation prototype
- March 2025: Optimization of the third-generation prototype
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- Finally, the prototype was completed.
In August 2025, we launched a crowdfunding campaign to show the world what HiMill D1/D1S looks like.
