26 Profitable CNC Projects To Sell in 2024 - Shopify

Oct 14, 2024

Explore this list of CNC project ideas and learn how you can make money selling your CNC products.

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With the rise of social media, small businesses can access huge markets. Plus, digital marketing tools make tasks like finding a target audience and building a website⁠ easier than ever.

But until recently, a barrier remained: the high cost of mass production.

True, dropshipping websites and print-on-demand companies offer opportunities for branding, but what if you want to produce your own products, ones you’ve designed yourself?

Thanks to the arrival of affordable CNC routers, mass producing custom goods is now a viable, low-cost option. Explore 26 successful CNC projects and get inspired to start your business.

A CNC router is a computer-operated cutting tool that acts as a combination panel saw, spindle molder, and boring machine. It carves complex shapes out of materials like wood, metals, plastics, and glass.⁠

CNC stands for “computer numerical control,⁠” a fancy way of saying the device operates using programmable automation, similar to 3D printing. It allows builders to design complex parts that can be cut cleanly, quickly, and on a massive scale.

You can even buy small-scale CNC machining on a shoestring budget. It doesn’t occupy much space, easily fitting in a garage, basement, or bedroom. Plus there are a ton of online resources and tutorials to support your CNC experiments.

The shrinking size and price of CNC machines have fueled a boom in CNC-crafted goods, flooding online markets like Etsy, Amazon, and Facebook Marketplace, and featuring in local craft fairs.

CNC routers can cut any shape from a variety of materials. There’s an extensive list of products you can create with a CNC machine.

What makes a great project? Here are some proven CNC projects that sell, broken down into the following categories:

Home décor products are great for first-time CNC businesses. Buyers tend to value uniqueness and exclusivity, advantaging smaller retailers. Plus, if you make several types of home decor products, you have a chance at repeat purchases from buyers who value aesthetic continuity. Here are some home décor products to consider:

To hold books in place on a bookshelf, bookends must be sturdy. As long as they are heavy enough, a variety of shapes and designs are suitable.

Some are complex works of sculpture art, others are abstract shapes intended to match a variety of décor. Bookends are perfect for entrepreneurial artists who value creative freedom.

Making wall art is a creative exercise. You can use recognizable templates, like the US flag, or design something new. Projects are easily adaptable to all sorts of branding.

Since wall art affixes to a flat surface, designs can be simple. This makes it a good fit for entrepreneurs getting the hang of heir CNC machines.

Shelving might not seem particularly creative, but unconventional designs can be real attention grabbers.

You might craft and sell individual shelves, complex shelving systems, or large shelving units. Create intricate patterns or custom shapes to stand out from the pack.

Furniture can be quite advanced if you consider upholstery and assembly; luckily simple furniture routing designs like wooden benches, end tables, desks, and accent chairs are popular.

Inspired by minimalist and Scandinavian styles—which emphasize clean lines and functional aesthetics—even novice woodworkers can make sophisticated pieces...

Offer your customers a unique display for their treasured moments with a one-of-a-kind line of CNC-crafted picture frames.

You can craft picture frames from nearly any material, in a variety of shapes and sizes, and in nearly any aesthetic, meaning there’s a huge volume of potential customers.

Nothing accentuates the calming glow of a flickering candle like a well-crafted candle holder. From sleek candlesticks to glass lanterns, there are all kinds of candle holders⁠ you can craft and sell with a CNC machine.

📚 LEARN: 13 Woodworking Projects You Can Sell Online

With an increase in sales of religious items, a wooden cross is an excellent CNC project to consider.

Crosses aren’t just for walls. You can also craft wooden crosses as ornaments or keychains to expand your market and offer more product choices.

The global cookware market is valued at more than $30 billion and expected to develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3% from 2024 to 2030, meaning there will likely be a huge demand for kitchen and barbecue products over the next decade.

Here are some kitchen and barbecue tools you can craft with a CNC machine:

Cooks use cutting boards (sometimes called chopping blocks) every day, in kitchens around the world. Thanks to its natural antiseptic qualities, wood has been the material of choice for cutting boards for centuries, but you can make them from plastic, too.

Customizing cutting boards with personal touches opens up a variety of potential niche markets.

It’s relatively easy to find CNC woodworking designs for common household items such as wooden spoons and salad-serving forks. Since buyers usually want these items to match, you could sell whole utensil sets, altered to your own branding

Avocrafts is a San Diego–based retailer of wood-crafted kitchen goods and home décor products. Its unique utensil sets resonate with buyers who value exclusivity.

Coasters are great products to make and sell with a CNC machine. Buyers often are looking for one-of-a-kind items, giving new brands an edge.

While coasters are often made from wood⁠, they can also be crafted from cork, bamboo, plastic, clay, marble, concrete, leather, and fabric.

Wooden serving trays are typically used to transport food and drinks or to accent dining room décor. This dual purpose makes them a great product idea to sell to frequent hosts..

Serving boards also come in various shapes and sizes, catering to several aesthetic preferences and functions.

Wood-mounted bottle openers perform a singular function, so they can be made from simple templates. They come in all sizes, can be sleek and functional or ornate and decorative, and can be mounted on walls or stand alone.

With more people working from home, the demand for home office supplies has skyrocketed.

Here are some CNC-crafted office supplies you might make and sell.

A decorative pencil holder can showcase personality. Since pencil holders have few design requirements, they offer several stylistic possibilities.

You might build utilitarian pencil holders, or you might go big, affixing a holding mechanism into an extravagant desktop sculpture.

Nearly ever consumer has devices that need to be charged. Charging docks are small structures designed to organize several charging cables and accessories in one place.

Custom charging docks can be lucrative for woodworkers looking to expand their product offerings. These functional and attractive items appeal to a wide range of customers, so you can make good money selling them.

Craft supply boxes are versatile. Painters and sculptors might use larger ones to organize tools, while sewing enthusiasts may use smaller boxes to store their supplies.

Sometimes supply boxes are decorative—built more for their style than to hold specific items. The type of boxes you build should depend on your audience and their primary needs.

Desk organizers are small boxes kept atop a desk or table. They consist of divided compartments for storing notebooks, charging cables, writing utensils, and, occasionally, easy-to-lose items like keys and loose change.

Custom desk organizers are useful for professionals who need stylish and personalized workspaces.

Custom signage might be used for special events, to give directions on hiking trails, or to add decorative labels to spaces like kitchens and home gardens. It also serves as personalized lawn décor.

Here are some different types of signage you could sell:

Name signs are a staple item in souvenir shops. With a CNC machine, you can create personalized name signs for bedrooms, offices, or any other place your customers want to label, including dog houses, horse stables, and cat trees.

Whether it’s for the cottage, the barn, or the backyard, an outdoor wooden sign is part instructional tool, part accent piece.

These signs can be customized to fit any style or message, appealing to customers who want to lend a rustic touch to their outdoor environment.

Why not give your customers the option to craft their own signs? Changeable letter signs can be a fun addition to any room in the house, with family members and housemates leaving fun, custom messages for each other.

CNC machines can craft several types of toys, including educational toys for young children, dolls, action figures, chess pieces, and more.

Here are a few toy ideas to consider.

Learning the basics of spelling and grammar is crucial for young children, which might be why alphabet blocks are so timeless.

And wooden blocks don’t just have to be a learning aid for the alphabet. You could inlay blocks with numbers, raised letters, shapes, or animals, too.

Popular board games like chess, checkers, cribbage, and backgammon are all in the public domain, meaning anyone can build and sell pieces for them. Boards for common games like this also tend to be decorative, providing the chance to add artistic flair.

Since your CNC machine lets you mass produce board game parts, why not invent your own game? Building a community of fans around a new game will take time, but it can be incredibly profitable.

Dollhouses are timeless children's toys. Dollhouse accessories (often called “miniatures”) have robust online communities of collectors where you’ll find many potential customers.

Plus, if you’ve already created CNC designs for furniture and home décor products, you can re-use them. Just remember to make them much smaller.

CNC machines are perfect for carving out custom puzzles.You can carve a flat design into pieces or even craft 3D puzzles.

Michaud Toys is a family business rooted in woodworking and fine crafts traditions passed down through four generations. Michaud specializes in traditional wooden game boards, creating family heirlooms...

Some CNC ideas are harder to categorize, but they make great products all the same. Here are some more ideas you can make with a CNC machine.

Jewelry buyers on online marketplaces seek unique pieces that reflect their personalities.

Why not use your CNC machine to start a jewelry making business? You could sell wooden earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or pendants. The Wooden, for example, sells stylish, handcrafted wooden jewelry⁠.

In the lead-up to the holiday season, there’s a huge demand for unique tree ornaments. While it might be easy for buyers to find standard bulbs and angels, originality is hard to come by, opening niche possibilities.

On the downside, ornaments are seasonal, so you may need to sell alternatives to supplement off-season sales.

DIY project kits make for a fun and creative afternoon, appealing to parents, buyers looking for kids’ gifts, and crafty adults alike.

Do-it-yourself CNC project kits typically include assorted parts and a step-by-step guide for building all sorts of cool stuff⁠: toys, birdhouses, garden planters, home décor, model cars, miniature architecture, and more.

How do you go from tinkering with a CNC machine in your garage or basement to owning a successful CNC business? It might seem daunting now, but remember that every successful entrepreneur started in the exact same place.

Building a brand from CNC wood projects won’t happen overnight, but the satisfaction that comes with creating something unique is immediate.

Follow these steps to get your CNC business off the ground.

Choosing the right CNC router is the first step in building your CNC business.

There are many CNC routers on the market, each with pros and cons. Some require assembly, others don’t. Some are expensive but service large work areas, others are inexpensive and small. Many offer payment-plan options to spread the costs over time.

To choose, consider the size and complexity of your designs, and whether your router works on your preferred materials. Also note that while most CNC routers can cut along the X and Y axes, some require additional spindle attachments for Z-axis cutting (depth). If you’re planning many deep cuts, make sure to pick up a Z-axis CNC router.

Here are some of the more common models:

Carbide 3D Shapeoko 4

Sain Smart Genmitsu 3018-Pro

Quantum CNC Router

Ooznest Original Workbee Z1+

Once you’ve found the CNC router that’s right for you, consider which CNC software to use. Some CNC machines come with built-in routing software, but if yours doesn’t, check out these options:

To get used to using your CNC machine, there are a ton of free DXF files available online. DXF files are the most common file type for CNC project designs.

Once your equipment is ready, it’s time to start validating your product ideas to ensure there’s a market for the types for them. There are a few ways to gauge demand for your products:

Set yourself up for success by crafting a solid business plan. Business plans are crucial to identifying potential issues and ensuring you have the resources to scale your business.

A good business plan will help you prioritize your time, understand how to achieve your goals, and clarify your vision for potential investors. If you’re unsure where to start, find inspiration in these business plan examples.

Once you’ve developed a business plan, you’ll have a better understanding of your products, brand characteristics, and target audience.

At this point, you should have all the info you need to start building your online store. Here you’ll be able to add your CNC products, sort them into collections, and begin developing the visual aspects of your brand.

In addition to your own website, you may want to consider selling on Etsy, which has a reputation for hand-made goods and one-of-a-kind products (although it is hard to scale using this platform alone).

Digital marketing gives you access to a wide range of audiences, which is perfect if you’re on a shoestring budget. The channels you choose to market on should depend on the audiences you want to reach. It’s always a good idea to direct potential customers to an email marketing list or social media profile so they have the opportunity to keep up with your brand.

With your website established, your products added, and your CNC mill at the ready, it’s time to launch your online store. Launching is one of the most exciting moments of starting a business, but it can turn stressful quickly if you don’t have a solid launch plan.

Review your business plan, make a test purchase in your store to be sure it’s functional, create a shipping strategy, and review our store launch checklist so you know you haven’t missed anything in your planning.

With the arrival of affordable CNC machines, one-person businesses can mass produce custom items faster than ever. Whether it’s home décor, kitchen tools, or one-of-a-kind children’s toys⁠, crafting a unique product is achievable.

Learning a new skill takes time, and while you may not be crafting complex structures immediately, learning to use these tools can be game changing for your small business.

Not every CNC router operates the same way, so how you use your CNC machine will depend on which one you choose. In general, it’s best to start by designing your product, cutting it out, sanding it down, testing your design, and refining it until your product looks and functions as it should. You can download free CNC project files to get experience using your new machine.

Yes! From decorative items to kitchen tools to toys, there are a host of CNC-based businesses that can make money online.

You can sell kitchen tools like cutting boards and wooden utensils, décor like coasters, wall art, and shelving, plus a whole lot more. Review the list above for CNC project ideas.

Common household items like cutting boards and coasters tend to sell well, since there’s a large market of potential customers. Just remember, there’s competition with common items, so you’ll need a unique selling proposition that differentiates your business from competitors.

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