Upgraded CNC Router Machine

I have just assembled and tested the unit, so I will add more once I have actually made stuff with it. For context, I have grown up around machines and have experience with CNC mills, Shop-Bots, 3D printers, and all manner of power tools (I am a kitchen equipment designer).The quality of the components (with a few minor exceptions) is fantastic for the price ($250). I am very happy I went with the all-aluminum unit with the 52 mm spindle as opposed to the entry-level 3018. I plan on doing mostly 2.5 D in Delrin and similar and didn't want to deal with flex. There were a couple of t-nuts missing (the ones for the hold-downs), and the small Allen wrench for the couplers spun out, but this is a small gripe in the scheme of things. Also, this kit does not come with lock washers. I was too lazy to add them during my build, so I'll find out in the future if loose screws become an issue.On the plus side, the unit that was shipped to me in May 2023 had an upgraded board compared to the one in the description and the (terrible) manual. The board I received has a 2 pin header for the E-stop switch (you need to wire the switch NO), and separate two-pin headers for the Plus and Minus limits in all three axes (a bonus for me). They don't make a big deal about it, but the Offline controller was a must for me and seems to work well for what it is (more on that once I have futzed around with programs).Also mentioned nowhere, there are tapped holes ( some M3 and M2.5)in 6 locations that allow you to mount your limit switches, BUT, I do not see a kit for this unit, so you will have to design and print your own mounting blocks (if you have a 3D printer) or just kludge something together. I highly recommend getting limit switches/e-stop/and Z touch-off sensor, because while not strictly necessary, they make your life so much better. Really, they should come with the machine. I don't know why they don't. I would pay the extra cash to have something that mounts directly without having to pull out a soldering iron and a 3D printer.Now for the cautions: The manual is, as you might guess, not good. I wish people would cut some slack for bad manuals --they are harder to write and keep current than most people would assume (Note: after writing this review, I found that there is an assembly manual word document on the included USB flash drive that is much better). That said, I would be very cautious buying this machine if you have never set up similar equipment before --it is not plug-and-play, and while there may be some online community that has loads of videos going into every detail of setting this up, I have not been there. Find those resources before buying this machine. I'll give you an example out of the manual. The very first instruction tells you to bolt the 2 40x40x290mm extrusions to the cross bars BUT they do not indicate which of the 8 possible ways of connecting it is correct. If you read on to instruction 3 you can deduce the correct orientation, but this will cause problems for many. Similarly, if you don't know how anti-backlash nuts work, the "instructions" for assembling them might be confusing. The parts bags don't always have the parts logically arranged, so don't assume that two parts bagged together will be used together.If you have never assembled a piece of equipment before I'll give you one last piece of advice that isn't in the manual: get a truly flat surface to build it on. One surface that is almost never flat is the floor. If you have a stone counter or marble cutting board, that is probably the flattest thing that is common in most houses. Assemble everything loosely at first, place the assemblies down on your flat surface making sure everything is square and flat --then tighten.I'll update you when I have used it.

Robusto como era esperado.

I previously bought the regular "pro" 3018 model, and it was fine for moving a laser, but not very sturdy for real routing and drilling (it has quite a bit of flex in the plastic z-axis). It was handy because the plastic was easy to cut and I was able to transform it into something different. But I wanted a real sturdy drill-bot and cheap CNC router, so I thought it was worth paying double (about $300 for this model vs about $150 for the regular model).I can confirm that this model is much more sturdy and that every part of it is metal (machined and/or cast aluminum). It is also heavier to carry around. The router is nicer and more powerful than the one that comes with the standard model. I have only used it a little bit so far, so I can't address durability, but it seems to work as one would want. Note: Because this is much sturdier than the regular model, you better be extra careful not to crash your tool into something because this unit doesn't really flex, so something will break.I am frugal, but I think it's worth the extra money for this model if you are going to use this for any kind of production routing or drilling where you are actually putting some force on the tool against the work.

I own a few machines but was interested in how this all metal machine compared to my other cnc routers which are substantially larger. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily things went together. The machine worked both with a laptop and UGS, as well as the offline pendant. I didn't bother with Candle as my experience is with Mach3 and UGS.The work area is quite small but still usable for some items, but in reality, one would probably like a larger machine down the road. Sometimes though, the large machine is overkill.I actually built my first cnc router about 20 years ago from hardware store items, so this machine although small is much better than that one.I ordered a 1/4" collet for it, as well as limit switches, and an Estop. These plug right in the controller. I would have liked a large picture to see all the labeling but didn't have any problems by putting a screenshot into MS paint.The moving table is opposite of a moving gantry, so jogging in the Y axis isn't as straightforward for somebody used to gantry machines.No complaints from meI wanted the home switches in different spots than the machine holes were drilled, so I 3d printed the parts needed to put them where I wanted.Z depth is a little limited for what I plan to do, so I can see myself either making a new one or just living with this one. The 200 watt spindle probably will suffice with shallower cuts for the speeds I am using. This is my first spindle, all the other routers used either full size routers, or trim routers.I think that there is a lot of bang for the buck here, and it is expandable somewhat too.