In just 10 years product development timelines have decreased an order of magnitude. This decrease is the direct result of major improvements to machining and manufacturing technologies. Machining is the removal of material from an object or part. Over the years, machining has progresses from manual mills and lathes, to computer aided design ( CAD ) and computer aided machining ( CAM ) based computer controlled machines that allow you to upload a technical drawing and have the part cut with near perfect precision and accuracy every time. Some ancient techniques of molding and casting have recently been replaced with 3D printing technologies that allow you to make parts that were previously impossible to manufacture, in a much shorter time period, with a much smaller capital investment. Any do It yourselfer, tinkerer, master machinist, or design engineer will enjoy exploring the custom manufacturing and machining information offered by The Manufacturing Cortex.