During my undergrad in architecture, one of the things that most excited me was the opportunity to work in a fabrication shop. At the time, my school had a modest metal shop and a slightly more expansive wood shop. They also provided students with two 3-axis CNTMotion CNC mills— each with a 5x10’ bed. I’ve used these machines professionally as well, and (while they cost as much as a new Porsche) they’re really well-built tools.