Equipment/CNC Metal Mill

A CNC Milling Milling Machine is a computer controlled tool that uses a rotating cutting tool to cut into a stationary workpiece.

Here's a nice video showing the basic movement of both CNC and manual vertical mills - N.B. the guy in the video shouldn't be wearing gloves, as they can cause very nasty accidents if your hand comes into contact with the cutter!

Crash Course in Milling ep1

Just a quick table on a few small CNC mills I found available readily in the UK -

Machine	URL	Price (UKP)	X	Y	Z	weight	Notes
Tormach PCNC 1100	link	~£5585	450	237	406	514kg	Very high-end hobby / low-end pro machine
Tormach PCNC 770	link	~£4512	350	188	325	301kg	Very high-end hobby / low-end pro machine
Seig KX1	link	£3135	260	115	185	86kg	comes with £460 of useful accessories
Seig KX3	link	£4725	295	150	275	201kg
Proxxon 500	link	£4510	310	100	220	47kg	Very lightweight for its size, unlikely to be suitable for much metal milling

Weight gives a good indication of quality/stiffness for a given size machine

All machines are likely to need a selection of accessories such as software, collets, vices, clamps, chucks, coolant, cutters and a stand, expected to cost around £1000.