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Noah Spiegelman
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Project

CNC Coaster

Personal project · Sep 2026 – present

A learning project: I'm just starting to learn Fusion 360's CAM workspace, so I followed a tutorial that walks through programming and simulating a toolpath for a coaster. Still in progress — the physical part hasn't been machined yet.

Role
CAM programming (tutorial-guided)
Tools
Fusion 360
  • Mechanical
  • Simulation
Fusion 360 CAM simulation of a spindle over a square coaster blank with a spiral pocket toolpath cut into its face, fixtured on a larger baseplate
In progress
The finished CAM simulation: the spiral pocket toolpath cut into the coaster blank.
The complete CAM simulation, from the spindle's first approach to the finished spiral pocket.

Problem

I'm just starting to learn Fusion 360's CAM workspace, so I followed a tutorial built around machining a coaster to get hands-on with programming and simulating a toolpath before ever cutting material.

Approach

Following the tutorial, I set up the coaster blank and fixturing in Fusion 360, then used the CAM workspace to program the spiral pocket toolpath shown in the video.

Before cutting anything, I ran Fusion's full toolpath simulation to check the spindle's motion and the resulting pocket geometry.

Results

The CAM simulation runs cleanly end to end (video above). Next I want to try programming a toolpath for a design of my own.

Gallery