3D printers, desktop CNC mills/routers ... you had to manually write G-code, so CAM software had a big part to play. Recently we found out about an open-source browser-based CAM pack created ...

This 5-axis CNC router could soon be an open source tool. [Mike Calvino] built it for the School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. It can be used as a router or as a plasma cutter ...