Hi Folks,
I also want to join this thread - so here's my first 2 cent salvo:
* Like jim.bo I will gladly contribute files from SolidWorks with which I have considerable experience.
* In addition I also have some aeronautical/mechanical engineering experience and will gladly attempt to answer questions in that area if I can.
* It seems to me that the baseline for this group focuses on 2D CNC machines powered by stepper motors & drivers - routers, laser cutters, punches, etc.. It's important to emphasize the 2D (as opposed to 3D) because the price of 2D equipment and software is an order of magnitude cheaper and less complicated than 3D equipment. Also, the home CNC machines/kits almost universally can accept DXF files which are essentially 2D. There is an abundance of cheap/free software which can generate DXF files. 5 minutes on Google will find you stepper motors, stepper motor drivers and software to translate DXF into CNC G-code.
* SolidWorks is a great tool for creating geometry, but IMHO the big issue is where to get the geometry to translate into DXF. I seriousely doubt that the scratch-from-plans/kit manufacturers will cooperate in supplying CAD geometry (2D or 3D) or allowing us to digitze their plans or reverse engineer their parts for our own group use. It's a copyright issue. Nobody can stop me from making a copy of a product for my own personal, non-profit use - but it's a different story if we as a group make several copies thereby reducing the manufacturer's profits on his intellectual property - maybe I'm wrong but at the very best it doesn't seem ethical and is probably not legal. I don't know - I'm not a lawyer.
* Sorry to be a party-pooper but I do have 2 suggeted ways out: 1. Rethink the option of design-from-scratch suitable for home CNC, or 2. Negociate a deal with one of the scratch-from-plans/kit manufacturers. Number 2 is a subject of give-and-take (both sides have to feel that they gained something) - so what do we have to give that would be of benefit to the manufacturer? On the other hand number 1 is not as daunting or as crazy as one might think. Based on the adage that comes from the R/C modeling world: Attatch a big enough engine to your kitchen table and it will also fly. Yes, it won't be the best flyer - but it will be quick to build and cheap. The disadvantage comes from another adage: A camel is defined as horse designed by a committee.

My 2 cents seems to have expanded into $2 - so I'll stop here.

Jeffrey