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Update: Kickstarter has terminated the Coast Runner CR-1 campaign, with Coast Runner taking the project to IndieGoGo in response.

Just launched on Kickstarter, the Coast Runner CR-1 aims to fill the beginner-friendly void that persists in desktop CNC machining.

A three-axis CNC mill with a compact footprint – just 425 x 270 x 380 mm – the CR-1 is equipped to tackle hard metals, including full slot cutting, drill cycles, and thread cutting. Between its self-claimed sturdy construction and VFD spindle, the CR-1 sounds the real deal in so far as personal metal machining.

The total work envelope is 242 x 89 x 79 mm with a weight of approximately 20 kg making the CR-1 slight and light enough to pick up and go. We wouldn’t go so far as to call it portable, but its enclosed design and carry handles appear to help this.

The most interesting aspect of the CR-1 to us is the promise of lowering the barrier to entry to CNC work. While it’s easy to picture there being similarities between the process and 3D printing, the reality is far different, with feeds, speeds, and talk of chip load but a few of the variables in the calculations you must make strategizing for your cut.

Coast Runner claims to have a solution against this fussiness, with the company’s software, CRWrite, including a walkthrough wizard that takes new users step-by-step through the machining process.

Further to this, the company’s pipeline includes the launch of a model repository, CoastCAD, that also simplifies model discovery, sharing, and, ultimately, production – a format that underpins the success of desktop 3D printing.

In addition, professionals making use of CloudNC’s CAM Assist AI tool in CAD/CAM software like Siemens NX or Fusion 360 can benefit, with a profile for the CR-1 available for one-click code generation – unique for a desktop machine, says Coast Runner.

Those who registered pre-campaign or got to the super early bird tier quickly enough get access to a lower launch pledge price of $2,399, including an aluminum clamp kit. Other backer reward tiers begin at $2,499, stepping up $100 at a time to the full Kickstarter pledge of $2,799. According to a release All3DP saw before the campaign launched, the final MRSP will be $3,000. Kickstarter rewards are expected to ship from September 2024.

Coast Runner CR-1 — We hope it comes with the files to mill your own Pog slammers (Source: Coast Runner)

Ghost in the Machine?

It’s not difficult to find links between Coast Runner and Defence Distributed, the controversial manufacturer of the Ghost Gunner 3 CNC machine. Between the staffing, registered addresses, the CR-1’s near-identical specifications and looks to the Ghost Gunner 3 (only the Solo cup-famed “Jazz” pattern separates the two) and obvious play on the naming, this effort is dripping with irony.

The timing of the campaign follows the tightening of some state laws, including in California, which now prohibits the unlicensed use of CNC machines for the explicit intent of producing firearm components, with Defence Distributed’s firearm-specific Ghost Gunner now seemingly repackaged in a 90’s neon-tinged skin.

Beneath the optics of its link to a company steeped in staunch second-amendment activism (see: the “come and take it” patch, $6.99) – is a solid idea to make metal CNC machining more accessible. Attempts to make affordable consumer-friendly machines, particularly for processing metal, have so far failed to take off in any meaningful fashion, and if Coast Runner can crack the Thingiversification of CNC, more power to them.

If the Coast Runner CR-1 is spun out from Defence Distributed, which seems all but certain, then it’s a several generations-mature machine from folks who have proven they can ship a product, giving better odds than many Kickstarter campaigns we’ve seen. The company has also stated its intention to open source the CR-1, which is never a bad thing.

See more on the Coast Runner CR-1 Kickstarter campaign page or website.

Editor's Note – This article highlights a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Kickstarter is not a shop; campaigns are under no legal obligation to deliver on crowdfunding promises, nor offer refunds on unfulfilled campaign rewards.

For more insight, read our article 8 Things to Watch for When Backing a 3D Printing Kickstarter.

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License: The text of "Coast Runner Kickstarter Campaign Promises to Make Metal CNC as Easy as 3D Printing" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.