→ Why More Makers, Educators + Small Shops Are Rethinking Their CNC Setup
If you’ve been around CNC long enough, you already know this:
Your first CNC machine is rarely your last.
Whether you started with a hobby kit, a built-it-yourself router, a larger brand-name machine, or even a full-production unit, there comes a point in every CNC journey where you hit a ceiling – not necessarily because your skills have hit their limit, but because your machine has.
→ Why So Many CNC Users Are Looking for Their “Next Step”
The CNC landscape is changing. Fast.
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Several well-known brands have reduced support, cut back their technical teams, or restructured since COVID.
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Some early-generation manufacturers have stopped making CNCs entirely, leaving thousands of users with machines no one is supporting anymore.
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Replacement parts for older machines – including ICONIC, General CNC, and early Axiom-era units — are becoming harder to source each year.
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DIY machines and hobby builds eventually become bottlenecks, unable to maintain accuracy, speed, or reliability for growing businesses.
And for many users, the first sign something is wrong comes at the worst time:
When a critical part fails and there’s no one left to call.
We’ve spoken with hundreds of shop owners, schools, and makers who feel “stranded” by companies that once promised long-term support. The frustration is real – and justified. We have run into it ourselves as a manufacturer, as one of our suppliers ceased production entirely during COVID, with very little warning or time to prepare.
→ Why Many Owners Are Choosing Simply Technologies for Their Upgrade
Whether you run a legacy ICONIC, General, Oliver, Axiom, Laguna, Shark, Shapeoko, X-Carve, Omio, Onefinity (…we could keep going, haha) – the question becomes the same:
Who is going to support me in the long run?
That’s where our team comes in.
At Simply Technologies, we’ve built something intentionally different: An industry-leading support ecosystem paired with CNC systems that are simple, rigid, reliable, and built for long-term serviceability, along with our EMPOWER[ED] ACADEMY training platform.
And right now, our SIMPLY Series is giving thousands of CNC users a realistic, affordable upgrade path.
→ What the Next Step Actually Looks Like
1. A Supported Platform You Can Rely On
Every SIMPLY Series machine runs on components we control, stock, and support:
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Prismatic guides
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Precision ball screws
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RichAuto DSP controller
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24,000 RPM electro-spindle
No proprietary hardware. No mystery electronics.
Just clean, proven engineering that you can service for years.
2. Best-in-Class Technical Support
This isn’t marketing fluff – it’s our reputation.
Ask around.
Nobody picks up the phone like we do.
Nobody walks customers through software and hardware issues like we do.
Nobody invests in training educators like we do.
Support isn’t an afterthought.
It’s what we do.
3. A CNC That Matches Where You’re Going – Not Where You Started
Most users upgrade because:
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Workload increases
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Production needs change
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Tolerances matter more
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Clients demand consistency
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Business grows
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Students need a safer, more capable machine
Your machine should evolve with you.
3. A CNC That Matches Your Needs + Budget
Right now, our SIMPLY Series pricing makes upgrading more accessible than ever:
🇺🇸 U.S. Prices
🇨🇦 Canadian Prices
→ So… What’s Your Next Step?
Your CNC journey never really ends.
You grow. Your business grows. Your students grow.
At some point, your machine needs to grow with you.
Whether you’re upgrading from a hobby router, outgrowing a mid-tier brand, or trying to future-proof a classroom program, we’d love to help you take the next step.
If you want an honest conversation about whether an upgrade makes sense (or doesn’t, which is equally as important), just reach out.
No pressure. No sales pitch.
Just straight answers from people who’ve been in this industry for nearly two decades.
—
Jeremy Stevenson
C0-Founder of Simply Technologies