3018-PRO DIY CNC Router Kit+GRBL Offline Controller, 3 Axis Hobby CNC Router Machine, Plastic Acrylic PVC PCB Wood Mini Desktop Engraving Milling Carving Machine, Working Area 300x180x45mm

So far so good. Even though the structure is mostly plastic (Bakelite) it is surprisingly rigid. The manual is very basic but good enough to put it together. But don't expect the manual and the included software to get you up and running if you don't already have experience with these kinds of machines. Expect to do a lot of research and some experimentation to get up and running, that is part of the fun! It has a slightly limited feature set, but I strongly for software you go to cam.openbuilds.com. Its free and very great for beginners. You do your design work online and it seamlessly integrates with a small program you download (for free) from the website called "OpenBUilds CONTROL". That website and that small program are everything that you need to get this machine working and producing objects. "OpenBuilds CONTROL" is basically doing what "candle" would do, but it has a nicer interface and imho works better. It provides the interface to the machine via the USB cable, it has easy controls for manually jogging and homing the machine. OpenBuildsCONTROL can open a g-code file and run the machine from that. Or if you design on cam.openbuilds.com the g-code is automatically created and sent to the CONTROL program.

The overall sturdy design for this product helped me get my projects done. The motor was louder than I initially expected, but it was tolerable, and I could muffle it by placing the rig in another room with the door closed. Creating project pieces was pretty easy, though I don't think there was an option to control spindle RPM. Only issues I had was the motor burned out after 2 months due to dust build-up, and the rails would also collect dust, causing the axis to jitter and malfunction when moving coordinates (screwed up a few times while making product parts), Overall, it's a good rig with a few flaws. I probably need some kind of negative air enclosure or something, but running a vacuum 24/7 doesn't sound feasible.

Knowing the CAD software pretty well, this machine is quite useful to me. I am fluent in LibreCad and AutoCad. I use this with Linux laptop so I had to search internet for the Linux version of the Candle, which I had to compile from source. It did turned out to work great. I use dxf3gcode converter program so I can turn my Cad files into gcode to load in the Candle. On overall what I have works great for me. As for the machine itself, I did upgrade the spindle motor to 20,000rpm which is available for about $23 and takes minutes to swap. The machine is very loud especially with larger diameter bits and the 20,000rpm spindle, so I had to construct a box to contain the noise. I am happy with the accuracy of the machine. Note that I do not see that it supports the tool diameter offset... This is an inconvenience, but I got used to build the offsets in my Cad files now over a month later since buying this machine. The precision if fine for me and I do nested inlays in wood and plastic. I do get pretty consistent results from my machine and can make some micro adjustments to the CAD file to make the inlays fitting tighter, but just as is, they end up quite acceptable. The machine gets squeaky from the dust. I tried using PTFE spray lube (dry lube), but it was lasting for less than a job before the squeaking returns. I use regular WD40 now. It lasts for several jobs and is not much worse than PTFE dry lube as far as the dust tackiness goes (I just put a small squirts of WD40 right where the contact points and run it back and forth a couple of times). Very useful machine to me, obvious thing for anyone who gets a CNC is to understand that computer aided drafting is a must unless you want just to cut some downloaded designs. Mastering some CAD software is the biggest hurdle if you do not know how to use one already. Luckily for me I had nearly 2 decades of Cad experience prior to this.

1-The instructions for putting this together are minimal and leaves some room for guessing. There's no diagram for the wiring. Again, guess work. There are labels on the control board so you can assume the connections on that side. 2- Downloading the driver failed and I downloaded from a website. Once I did that, there were no instructions on how to open any program to start engraving. I signed up for Easel Free to get started. once i got Easel to recognize the machine, It seemed fairly easy to get through the projects. Except for the actual engraving. I tested on a piece of wood. less than 1/8" engraving depth. the spindle jumped and the image engraved wasn't at all a "D" which i was engraving as the test. just a "D". after that the x axis wouldn't slide to the left. Started the return process! Save your time and money. spend more for something better.

I am impressed with this CNC. Once getting over the learning curve of CNC software I'm getting comfortable with using it. Today I was cutting 3/4" Red Oak with it. It's much more capable than expected. I'm so impressed I'm buying an expansion kit to make it a 3030 CNC.

great unit to get started. Works ok for wood.

Performs as expected for a compact and affordable CNC. I have replaced the tool motor with a laser and now I'm impressed with this little unit. There are different steps with a laser than a motor with a tool but I'm learning. One thing I will mention this, if your using your computer attached to this CNC make sure you plug into the main board for the connection. I never found anywhere in the paperwork or online about this connection. I was plugging into the secondary box that takes the memory cards and could not get my computer to recognize the CNC. I believe this box is supposed to work with computer attached because it has the menu function for computer attached but never worked. You'll also need to get software for your computer. There is freeware that works well.

I would have liked to be aware that it doesn't have limit switches which are sort of necessary for it to work correctly, no usb cord to plug it in to a computer and no end bits. Contacted customer support and they remedied it immediately definitely recommended