{"id":1328,"date":"2010-06-10T00:07:45","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T07:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikesenese.com\/DOIT\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2026-03-08T21:04:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:04:31","slug":"cnc-milled-aluminum-tape-dispenser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mikesenese.com\/DOIT\/2010\/06\/cnc-milled-aluminum-tape-dispenser\/","title":{"rendered":"CNC Milled Aluminum Tape Dispenser"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been gathering materials and information to build a CNC machine for a while, but keep putting it off because I haven’t thought of any exact application I need one for just yet (aside from milling a Hellraiser-style cube<\/a>). Then I saw this: a CNC milled all-aluminum tape dispenser<\/a>. A 1lb thing of beauty. Beautifully crafted, ready to deliver whatever length of tape you need, short or long.<\/p>\n

This project has kick-started my creative juices with a whole slew of fun CNC projects. Of course, anything done in metal will need a sturdy machine (the great book Build Your Own CNC Machine<\/a><\/em> has all the steps and templates to make one from MDF), but I can envision a wood version of this tape dispenser that would look super kickass as well.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s absolute overkill. Over a pound of 6061 aluminum, every part CNC machined and yes, it\u2019s just a scotch tape dispenser. This is the creation of the Advanced CNC class at Laney College as taught by Bob Rice. I programmed and machined all the parts from drawings using MasterCAM, a Chevalier toolroom mill and a Haas SL lathe. All the threads were single-point cut and threaded holes rigid tapped. Every part required at least two operations, every face is machined.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out a few more details and photos here<\/a>. Also, AcuteAero is doing some seriously cool projects<\/a> – electric bikes, skateboards, etc. – I recommend checking his site out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been gathering materials and information to build a CNC machine for a while, but keep putting it off because I haven’t thought of any exact application I need one for just yet (aside from milling a Hellraiser-style cube). Then I saw this: a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diy","category-gadget"],"yoast_head":"\nCNC Milled Aluminum Tape Dispenser — DO IT: Projects, Plans, and How-tos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Machine a sleek aluminum tape dispenser using CNC milling. 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