Your 2026 CNC vow, what are you done doing?

[Alan]

Alright CNC Machining Forum crew, early 2026 energy!

What’s one thing you’re officially done doing this year in the shop?

For me it’s the classic “this tool probably has one more job in it” optimism. It always waits until the worst possible moment to prove me wrong.

What’s yours
Rushing probing, skipping deburr planning, trusting a worn tool one job too long, sending it without a clean setup check, not writing notes because you think you’ll remember next time

Drop the habit you’re quitting and what you’re doing instead to keep jobs smoother and less stressful

 

[Captain_Goofy]

I’m done relying on memory. New rule is I write notes on offsets, workholding quirks, and what cutters behaved. Even two sentences saves me an hour next time.

 

[MinaHaakuba]

I’m done “sending it” on the first part without a slow motion dry run when anything changes. New vise setup, new tool, new material, I do one boring air cut and a feed hold ready start. What do you all use as your line for when you must do a dry run?

 

[CNCPioneer]

I'm done with writing G-code without simulating it first. In 2026, every program gets a full dry run in CAM verification before it ever touches a machine. No more crashed tools from uncaught gouges.

 

[Alex_Zhang]

Alan, you've brought up an excellent topic; these are all lessons learned the hard way.

My focus this year is on "eliminating rushed cleaning and inspections before formal maintenance." In the past, we often planned for spindle calibration or accuracy testing, but ended up just quickly sweeping away debris and applying some lubricant haphazardly. As a result, we didn't pinpoint the problems, and time was wasted.

My new habit this year is to strictly follow a short "deep cleaning-lubrication-critical component inspection" process before any formal maintenance or diagnostic procedure. For example, before checking guide rail accuracy, we must thoroughly clean the rails with a special cleaning agent, reapply the specified lubricant, and manually check the smoothness of the slider throughout its entire travel. Although this only adds 15 minutes, it eliminates "dirt interference," the biggest variable, making subsequent adjustments and diagnoses much more accurate and reliable.

This small, mandatory pause transforms maintenance from "possibly useful" to "definitely effective."