Why I built NCLink
I got into CNC machining during college — it started as a hobby. I needed small, complex parts for my own engineering projects, and 3D printing wasn’t accurate or strong enough. A modest desktop CNC changed everything. It wasn’t an industrial machine, but it opened a world of precision and problem‑solving.
After graduating with a degree in computer science, I realized I didn’t want to spend my life in a cubicle. My passion was designing and machining things that exist in the real world, so I set out to run a small shop. Like many new machinists, I quickly hit a wall: finding jobs was harder than running the machine.
I looked into larger platforms I’d known as a customer — and into partner programs with big marketplaces. The picture was the same: heavy upfront investment, low‑margin jobs, and no direct line to the client. Many manufacturers echoed the same frustration: “They take too much, tell us too little, and control everything.”
That’s when it clicked: if I was struggling with this, so were thousands of others.
So I built NCLink. A platform made by machinists, for machinists — where small shops, independent makers, and clients can connect directly, bid transparently, and work together without a middleman taking 20–40%. NCLink charges a flat 5% platform fee, and that’s it.
Founder notes
- I started with a hobby‑grade CNC in a garage. That perspective keeps NCLink grounded and focused on empowering small shops to grow.
- Direct messaging and transparent bids are core — manufacturers and clients should collaborate, not be partitioned.
- Low fees matter. Keeping the platform at 5% leaves more margin with the people doing the work.