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The mission of the Spartan Project is to create, maintain, and continue evolving an open-source design for an entry-level DIY CNC router machine.

The goals of the Spartan Project are simple, but will be challenging to meet.  And the better the Spartan Project gets, the more challenging they will become to advance, but hopefully we will gain support from a new legion of DIY CNC'ers!

We will strive to create a design for a DIY CNC machine that...

• Is as inexpensive as possible to construct.
• Can be constructed using only common woodworking power tools, such as a circular saw / table saw, and drill / drill press.
• Will minimize or eliminate the need for obscure, uncommon tools or bits, that likely must be purchased simply to complete the build.
• Has finite dimensions, allowing the machine's structural components to be cut ahead of time or offsite, and packaged as a "kit".
• Has the capability to cut most, or all, of the pieces needed to duplicate the machine ("Self-Replication").
• Has clear, and concise documentation, allowing novices to successfully construct it with ease.
• Includes information about quality low-cost sources for parts and materials, as well as an accurate estimate for the cost to build it.
• Is supported by the community, who can provide experience, wisdom, and advice for new DIY CNC'ers.

I won't disrespect Patrick Hood-Daniel by saying his YouTube videos, book and website weren't my original inspiration.  They certainly were, for me, and hundreds of others around the world.  When he first decided to make a DIY CNC machine several years ago, he too found the available options far too expensive, so he made a design that, while not perfect, was very functional, easy to build, and inexpensive.  His design was a great step forward, and he has since used that simple machine to design and create far more advanced and complex machines.

Now, the interest in inexpensive DIY CNC options is increasing every day, yet the cheapest designs have not progressed much recently.  With an ever growing community of hobbyists building CNC machines, our collective knowledge can help create a design that lowers the barriers to entry even further, allowing even more people to join those of us who already caught the CNC bug!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.