This month marks seven years since PwnCNC officially began.
When you’re living a business day by day—designing parts, answering questions, solving the next problem, filling orders, and developing the next product—you rarely stop long enough to look back at everything that has happened.
PwnCNC started in my little garage. Today, we operate from a 5,000-square-foot facility with a 3D-printing retail store, manufacturing and electronics space, and what has become the largest 3D-printer farm in Northwest Arkansas.
The journey between those two places has been absolutely insane.
Five years ago, we launched our spindle kits and systems. Since then, more than 3,200 have made their way onto CNC machines throughout the community.
Three years ago, we launched our ATC systems and upgrades. More than 311 of those systems are now helping CNC owners automate their tool changes.
Two years ago, we introduced our controller conversion kits. So far, 68 machines have received entirely new control systems and upgrade paths through those kits.
Last year, everything we had learned about CNC machines, electronics, spindles, controllers, manufacturing, and customer needs came together with the launch of our own Dominator CNC machines.
Along the way, I’ve designed thousands of individual parts that have become part of hundreds of products manufactured by PwnCNC.
Then there is support.
Our current support-ticket system only retains three years of history, but during those three years alone, we have handled more than 20,000 support tickets. That doesn’t include all the questions, conversations, and problems we helped solve during our first four years.
Twenty thousand documented support conversations in three years is difficult for even me to comprehend.
Although PwnCNC began in my garage, this story has never involved only me. Clinton, Chris, Nick, Jeff, Rick, Scott, Diana, and many others have all contributed to the business along the way. At different points, we had nearly five people actively helping answer and close support tickets. More than a dozen teenagers have also had an opportunity to participate in the business, contribute to what we were building, and gain some real-world experience along the way.
Most of all, none of this could have happened without the thousands of customers who trusted a small company from Northwest Arkansas with their CNC machines, businesses, hobbies, and ideas.
I’m not sharing these numbers simply to talk about how many things we’ve sold. I’m sharing them because this seven-year milestone gave me a reason to stop and recognize just how far this little company has come—and how large an impact it has managed to have within the hobby CNC community.
If a PwnCNC product, support answer, video, article, or community member has helped you somewhere along the way, I’d love to hear your story in the comments.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of this incredible seven-year journey.
Happy making.