Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Join Autodesk’s Jonathan on this episode of Shop Talk as he visits Adrian Cooper, founder of Cobalt CNC in Newcastle, Australia. Adrian shares how tinkering with Lego, watches, and early 3D printers evolved into a full-fledged CNC machining business serving mining and medical/laundry industries—while still leaving room for passion projects like CNC-machined aluminum sunglasses and custom car builds.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- How a childhood of taking things apart led to a career in CNC
- The journey from hobby 3D printing and watchmaking to buying a Pocket CNC and then a full production mill
- Building a machining business during COVID lockdowns
- High-pressure breakdown work for mining and a massive hospital laundry facility
- A brutal $20,000 machining mistake and the business lessons it taught
- Designing and machining precision sunglasses with spring hinges and jewelry-level finishes
- A walking shop tour: CNC mills “Glenn” and “Enduro,” lathe “Sting,” band saw, 3D printers, workholding, and more
- Balancing job-shop work with long-term product goals and family life
Whether you’re a machinist, designer, engineer, or maker, this episode is packed with real-world insights about tolerances, tooling, problem solving under pressure, and turning passion projects into viable products.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Meet Adrian from Cobalt CNC
5:01 - 3D printing, watchmaking, and discovering CNC
11:01 - Building a diverse customer base: mining and medical laundry
15:16 - Expensive mistakes and business protections
19:19 - Passion projects and CNC-machined sunglasses
26:35 - Long-term goals: from job shop to product-focused business
28:09 - Full shop tour: machines, workholding, and tooling
33:11 - Where to find Adrian and Cobalt CNC online
Connect with Adrian / Cobalt CNC
instagram.com/cobalt_cnc – for weekly looks at machining projects, surface finishes, sunglasses, and more.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to stay up to date with all things Shop Talk, and follow the link in the description to try Autodesk Fusion for yourself.
►FREE TRIAL | https://autode.sk/3Wtfi20
►SUBSCRIBE | https://autode.sk/30njGGX
►GET STARTED | https://autode.sk/30k2DWh
►TRY AN EXTENSION | https://autode.sk/3EOUidW
CONNECT with Fusion on social media:
INSTAGRAM | https://autode.sk/2Enzh8P
TWITTER | https://autode.sk/45cIYTK
LINKEDIN | https://autode.sk/3UyieZS
FACEBOOK | https://autode.sk/3WaaZLb
Join Autodesk’s Jonathan on this episode of Shop Talk as he visits Adrian Cooper, founder of Cobalt CNC in Newcastle, Australia. Adrian shares how tinkering with Lego, watches, and early 3D printers evolved into a full-fledged CNC machining business serving mining and medical/laundry industries—while still leaving room for passion projects like CNC-machined aluminum sunglasses and custom car builds.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- How a childhood of taking things apart led to a career in CNC
- The journey from hobby 3D printing and watchmaking to buying a Pocket CNC and then a full production mill
- Building a machining business during COVID lockdowns
- High-pressure breakdown work for mining and a massive hospital laundry facility
- A brutal $20,000 machining mistake and the business lessons it taught
- Designing and machining precision sunglasses with spring hinges and jewelry-level finishes
- A walking shop tour: CNC mills “Glenn” and “Enduro,” lathe “Sting,” band saw, 3D printers, workholding, and more
- Balancing job-shop work with long-term product goals and family life
Whether you’re a machinist, designer, engineer, or maker, this episode is packed with real-world insights about tolerances, tooling, problem solving under pressure, and turning passion projects into viable products.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Meet Adrian from Cobalt CNC
5:01 - 3D printing, watchmaking, and discovering CNC
11:01 - Building a diverse customer base: mining and medical laundry
15:16 - Expensive mistakes and business protections
19:19 - Passion projects and CNC-machined sunglasses
26:35 - Long-term goals: from job shop to product-focused business
28:09 - Full shop tour: machines, workholding, and tooling
33:11 - Where to find Adrian and Cobalt CNC online
Connect with Adrian / Cobalt CNC
instagram.com/cobalt_cnc – for weekly looks at machining projects, surface finishes, sunglasses, and more.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to stay up to date with all things Shop Talk, and follow the link in the description to try Autodesk Fusion for yourself.
►FREE TRIAL | https://autode.sk/3Wtfi20
►SUBSCRIBE | https://autode.sk/30njGGX
►GET STARTED | https://autode.sk/30k2DWh
►TRY AN EXTENSION | https://autode.sk/3EOUidW
CONNECT with Fusion on social media:
INSTAGRAM | https://autode.sk/2Enzh8P
TWITTER | https://autode.sk/45cIYTK
LINKEDIN | https://autode.sk/3UyieZS
FACEBOOK | https://autode.sk/3WaaZLb
