>> What sort of hardware/software is needed to do something like this?

I use a small desktop CNC mill combined with a very powerful 3D Milling CAD/CAM software (www.onecnc.com). The main drawback is that the desktop machines are very slow compared to larger production machines. But, since I only plan on doing a limited run (maybe 100 pieces) my machine should do ok (even if it takes 3 months).

To get a setup like mine the costs are about $5000 in hardware, $2000-10000 for software (depends on the features of the software) and hundreds of hours of patience learning to cut.

Some of the major names in desktop CNC mills are MAXNC (which I have) and SHERLINE. The maxnc units are CNC out of the box, the Sherline models have to be retrofit with CNC gear.

www.maxnc.com (I have the 15CL2 model)
www.sherline.com

Rob