CNCTOPBAOS CNC 3018-PRO-MAX 3 Axis Desktop DIY Mini Wood Router Kit PCB PVC Milling Engraver Engraving Carving Machine GRBL Control with offline controller Hand Control (w/Offline Controller)

Looks nice haven’t used yet

I bought this machine for the sole purpose of cutting a particular shape out of anodized 1/32 thick aluminum sheets.When the machine arrived, one of the stepper motors was defective and did not have enough torque to move the lead screw. After contacting support, they were able to assist and I was up and running! If you are cutting metals, the v bits that come with the machine are not going to get you very far. After some research, I got some up cut endmills that cut the aluminum, but broke very quickly. After more research into feeds and speeds and adding some oil to the surface of the aluminum, I am getting successful cuts without breaking bits!A few things to help get started with the machine! You are probably going to break a lot of bits starting out, so be prepared to budget for this and maybe start with some cheaper endmills before dropping a lot of money on the high end stuff.You will need a spoil board under your project if you are cutting all the way through. You can 3d print something to work if you have access to a 3d printer, or you can use wood. Of using wood, make sure it is flat, or mill it flat after installing.Go slow. The spindle in this machine is mounted with an injection molded plastic part that has a single screw to tighten the spindle into it. This piece will flex with enough resistance and ruin your project if your feeds and speeds are not right.Be patient. This machine is not an industrial machine at all, but rather an intro into the world of CNC milling. There are going to be ways to upgrade it with a better spindle, an offline controller, etc, but try using the machine as is before dumping extra money into upgrades that may not net the results you need.

So this took me a bit to figure out. My y axis motor would randomly get stuck. Here is my suggestion. Use the software/offline controller and find the exact spot where the center holding rail clamp (not exactly sure what it's called) gets stuck or you hear/feel vibrations. Move only in 0.1 inch incremented while doing this. Place your fingers up against a slightly loosened clamp and find where your fingers pressure causes the greatest reduction in noise/vibration. Tighten the center while applying the pressure then place some oil on the rail.Easel is a great starter software. Also the manual does not say what should be the x-axis, y-axis and z axis motors. The board has the labels but the motors do not. This confused me because I have several machines at my job where these are arbitrarily defined.The spindle moving up and down is the z-axis, the spindle motor moving left/right is the x-axis and the plate moving forward/backward is the y-axis. The starting blades will wear fairly quickly (about 16-24 projects worth of sharpness assuming 9" x 3" x 0.75" pine/walnut) this device is not accurate enough to leave cuts in wood less then ~1/10th (upgrade a motor to a higher spindle speed and better bits to attempt higher accuracy, grain placement/direction also affects results)Clean the rails between each project. Lots of sawdust and very small grinding without oil causes the rails to get stuck.

Va bien para arrancar, si querés algo que corte en profundidad, que no se vaya a trabar porque querés trabajos más grandes, entonces no es esta la máquina para vos. Si para tallado, corte de piezas no tan anchas y trabajos lentos, con paciencia

No matter what I do, I can't get the Y-axis table to move without binding. I've adjusted the sliders, slide rods and drive screw repeatedly. I tried lubing the drive screw and rods. The table is square to the frame and I tried swapping out the motor with the X-axis motor but get the same results. This is not the first time I've assembled something like this and I build stuff for a living so it's not lack of skill causing the issue.I have no idea how well the machine works because I haven't gotten that far yet. The X-axis and Z-axis components move fine and the spindle fires up on command so if I can get the Y-axis problem resolved, it should work fine.Amazon suggests I return the one I have for a replacement but then I'd have to disassemble the whole thing and pack it back up. I'd rather get help figuring out how to make it work or get replacement parts but I can't find any tech support contact information.Based on other reviews, this seems like an uncommon issue but it is still an issue.

Keeping in mind the size and power limit the work you can do, this is a remarkably solid little unit. More for carving/engraving and some "Light" mill work & routing. I found the assembly easy and had it running within a couple of hours. The software is crap (but I knew that going in) but there is plenty of good, free software out there that make getting started straight forward. More advanced Mill/routing work will have a steeper learning curve but that's in the CAD/CAM software, not the unit. The unit I got didn't come with a Z probe or limit switches (I knew that when I ordered) but the driver board is set up to accept them. I recommend adding the, I did. The newer Woodpecker 3.4 control board is not set up to receive an E-stop switch which it should (the older Cronos Maker board was so equiped). I'll wire mine into the DC Power line. A fair amount of upgrades are available but the base unit, as delivered, is solid. Plenty of You Tube tutorials for this unit are out there, Which I found to be of great help. All in all, Very satisfied.