SainSmart Genmitsu CNC 3018-PRO Milling / Engraving Machine Kit, GRBL-Controlled, 3 Axes for Working Acrylic, PVC, Wood, Soft Aluminium, Working Area 300 mm x 180 mm x 45 mm

Why I bought this machine... I bought this CNC machine in hopes that I would be able to use it to engrave a dog collar buckle that is made from zinc and powder coated. In short... It does! You just need to get the right bits. The ones offered from Sainsmart weren't quite strong enough but if you search Amazon for "VEDA 90 Degree 0.1mm Silver Carbide Milling Cutter" you will find a bit that works PERFECTLY with this machine to engrave soft metal. Ok so on to the machine itself... Assembly was really easy, the instructions are great. However, do yourself a favour and go onto YT and search for some building videos. There are plenty on there and they helped me speed through the build in less than an hour and make my first test carve. After about a day of testing, I noticed that the machine kept disconnecting from the PC. I tried everything that I could find online to fix the problem (swapping ports, cables, etc) but it kept stopping halfway through a carve due to this disconnect issue. I eventually ended up reaching out to SainSmart for help. They were super quick to come back to me and offer me some other options but the problem still carried on. Within a day they sent me a new control board and the machine is working perfectly!! This machine is not the cheapest 3018-Pro out there HOWEVER I follow a chap on YT and he highly recommended SainSmart as their support is excellent - that's why I decided to pay a little more. I am so glad that I did. Sometimes it's worth paying a little bit more to get AMAZING service. Other tips and advice... Vibrations: Get some sticky back foam to put on the feet of the machine. It vibrates a lot and when on my wooden workbench it sounded like I was drilling through the wall! With some foam feet, it's 90% quieter! The right bit for the right job: I mean you probably already know this but choosing the right bit for what you want to work on is so important. It took me some trial and error but was worth it in the long run. Test, test, test: This machine is really powerful for just a 10k RPM motor but you have to get your settings all dialled in correctly which takes a lot of testing. Things I would change... Adding feet: I wish they had supplied some proper feet or even pads to help with the vibrations. The power button: It's tiny! I have big hands and it's so awkward to push being so close to the reset button. If you mount the control board on the back then it's such a faff to try and turn it on and off. The clamps: I hate these. But, they are better than some other's I have seen that come with 3018s. I have ordered a different set from Amazon to see if they are better. Why do I hate them? Because it is just a bolt that sits in the grooves rather than a proper rectangle bolt which means you have to try and hold the bolt to stop it from turning whilst tightening the wing nut. Would I buy one again... Yes! Without a doubt and would buy from these guys again too.

This Sainsmart Genmitsu 3018PRO CNC |is very easy to assemble. Took me only 110 minutes to build and I was taking my time. By building this from scratch I can say that I know every nut and bolt of this CNC machine. The wiring is so easy too, with no soldering at all. All connections are pluggable and the instruction manual is written in perfect English with clear diagrams in the instructions. Sainsmart customer support is very well advertised and they have a excellent web site. The 3018PRO can be customised with kits from Sainsmart. A kit to increase the size of the machine to a 3040 so if I decide I need a bigger machine I don’t have to start all over again. The spindle motor can be upgraded or replaced with a laser module instead. These features made the Sainsmart very attractive as a starter machine. Comes with lots of bundled software so no need to buy any. In fact the kit is all I needed to get started in the world of CNC. Comes with test programs that I used to test the machine too. Comes with warranty and all the manuals and software that comes with the machine can also be downloaded from their website. Can be used on wood, plastic even PCB’s. I got this through Amazon to give me the legendary service and delivery that Amazon is known for. With Amazon, there is always someone ready to help if I need it. I fully recommend this Sainsmart Genmitsu 3018PRO as a great way of getting into the world of CNC or even as a cost effective second machine.

If you're thinking of exploring the world of CNC then you can't go wrong with this machine as an introduction. It comes very well packaged but the assembly instructions are a bit brief. It's not technically difficult to assemble but a little tricky / fiddly. It's well worth watching a few YouTube vids to boost your confidence before you start assembly. You need to be aware of the limitations of this machine. It is only a small machine so can only do small jobs. Larger projects take a lot of time. That's not a negative for this machine, you should just be aware of it's limitations. It's excellent value for money for what it does.

I wouldn’t recommend this to people who are beginners. It has been very difficult to set up, still not been able to. It took me 2-3 hours to build soft such a small machine and after buying this I found practically the same thing for £50 less

I'm a total beginner to CNC but find it hard to believe there's a better option to start with at this price point. Assembly is trivial and the instructions clear, my 3 year old daughter even helped out. I have significant software development experience so faced no issues designing for and interfacing with the machine. I use Inkscape, cutjs and candle on Linux to do the cuts. Saying that there's very little help on the software side included in the manual so YMMV! So far I have been making slow cuts on 6mm plywood and 12mm oak. I use a 2mm bit with 0.5 mm cut depth and a feed rate of 500. I think this is taking it easy and the cuts are slow but the results satisfactory. By no means is this a high quality machine, there's a lot of improvements I intend to make. I feel it can be tweaked a fair bit but at the end of the day will always be a cheap, small machine with many limitations. However if you're looking to make your first cuts on some small pieces I think you'll be really pleased with the machine for the cost, I think I'll get a lot of real use out if it. I'm certainly happy with the purchase and would recommend it highly!

Although easy to assemble I found the Y axis bearings very rough and caused skipping in use. No amount of adjustment would help and I'm not sure if this was a one off but I had to return the item

Estaba mirando CNC laser de varios modelos y vendedor y me decidí por la CNC 3018-Pro (fresadora), entre otras por el estupendo soporte al cliente. Resolvieron todas mis dudas, las cuales fueron varias. En el mismo pedido compré Genmitsu Módulo láser de enfoque fijo de 5,5 W con boquilla de aire, 0,1 mm x 0,1 mm para Genmitsu 3018-PRO, 3018-PROVer, 3018-PROVER V2, 3020-PRO MAX CNC fresadora/grabadora y la Genmitsu KABA Lite PETG-CNC - Carcasa protectora mejorada, resistente al polvo, compatible con 3018-PRO/3018/3018-MX3/3018-PROVer/1810-PRO, 450 x 390 x 300 mmde la misma marca y vendedor facilmente adaptable. Lo tengo desde una semana y estoy muy contento. Tuve un problema con la placa control y no dudaron en re-emplazármela. Buena calidad con estupendo soporte técnico a buen precio. Sin duda alguna recomiendo esta CNC.

Ottimo prodotto consigliato per piccoli lavori forse prezzo da rivedere al ribasso

Arrivée très bien emballée, montage très explicite avec la notice, fonctionnement parfait après plusieurs tâtonnements de paramétrage pour graver des pistes de circuit imprimé PCB avec pointe javelot 30° Evomax. Logiciels utilisés Kicad et Flatcam. Gravure sur Balsa sans difficultés Logiciel Inkscape. Logiciel Candle grbl livré avec machine en anglais, pas trop simple à manipuler mais les aides sur internet sont légions. J'ai ajouté à la machine des microswitchs pour la protéger (2 sur les X, 2 sur l'axe Y et un seul en haut pour la broche Z) Je suis très saisfait ! Un écrou est arrivé non fileté mais le support Sainsmart fait le nécessaire, leur rapidité et gentillesse est parfaite. Montpellier.

Fazit ******* Mir gefällt der Bausatz gut, da er etwas schnell montiert werden kann, als die Aluminiumvariante, die Positionen der Achsen bereits vorgegeben ist und nicht nachgemessen bzw. eingestellt werden muss, welches zusätzlich Zeit benötigt, zudem ist der Aufbau weniger fehleranfällig gegenüber Vibrationen, die die Schrauben lösen könnten. Die Stabilität ist etwas besser, da keine kleinen Winkelbefestigungen zum Einsatz kommen. Die Software ist übersichtlich, sodass man sie ohne viele Vorkenntnisse nutzen kann. Aussehen-Qualität ********************** Alle Einzelteile sind sauber verarbeitet, keine schiefen Flächen oder verbogene Stangen. Die Aluminiumprofile sind etwas ölig, was am Zuschnitt liegen muss. Funktion: *********** Ich habe die Zeit nicht gestoppt, allerdings dauerte der Aufbau bei mir sicherlich über eine halbe Stunde. Bei der Pro Variante sind die Positionen der Achsen vorgegeben, sodass man hier Zeit einspart, da man weniger Schrauben verbauen muss und ein Ausrichten der Gewindestangen bzw. sämtlicher Stangen entfällt. Die Anleitung gefällt mir sehr gut, weil alle Schritte bebildert sind und Details, wie die benötigten Schrauben, immer mit Größenangaben erwähnt werden. Bei der Montage der Platine darf man die Distanzscheiben nicht vergessen, damit es nicht zu einem Kurzschluss kommt, auch auf den Spielraum der Kabel muss geachtet werden, damit sie den Bewegungen folgen können. Beim Netzteil liegen zwei Stromkabel bei, für den deutschen und amerikanischen Markt. Die Einrichtung der Software hat einwandfrei funktioniert, auch das Ausrichten. Ich bin Neuling und habe daher etwas länger benötigt, um die Einstellungen zu überblicken, allerdings ist das Programm relativ übersichtlich gestaltet und für den Anfang ausreichend. Es können verschiedene Einstellungen vorgenommen werden, sodass die Fräse nicht zu schnell läuft und ein sauberes Ergebnis entsteht. Die Fräsarbeiten bzw. das Endprodukt ist von verschiedenen Faktoren abhängig, dazu zählen Material, welches bearbeitet werden soll, also z.B. hartes oder weiches Holz, der Fräskopf und die Geschwindigkeit, ist ähnlich wie beim 3D Druck. Man muss sich an die richtigen Einstellungen rantasten. Ich habe glücklicherweise einen starken Laser, den ich später anbauen werde, da die Option an der Platine vorhanden ist. Natürlich wäre es nett, wenn der passende Laser bald auch auf Amazon zu finden wäre, da meiner zu klein ist und ich erst eine Halterung bauen muss.

Fast delivery and great help before and after the purchase.