Genmitsu CNC Router Machine 3018-PROVer Mach3 with Mach3 Control, Limit Switches & Emergency-Stop, Plastic Acrylic PCB PVC Wood Carving Milling Engraving Machine,XYZ Working Area 300 x 180 x 45mm

This is for MACH3 users, which is a paid commercial software product. You can swap out the board for around $50 if you want to use GRBL, however.Sainsmart does a really nice job with the fit and finish of this hobby CNC. Be sure to have realistic expectations on your material choices. If you are milling MDF and plastics you will be very pleased. There is an optional laser module for purchase as well.Be prepared to do some research and join online communities to really get into CNC and MACH3. Make it into a hobby and you will have a blast.Thanks Sainsmart for another quality product that brings CNC to the masses.

I needed custom engraved tags for electrical junction boxes and when I was getting prices online it was getting outrageous, plus there was a lead time. Buying this CNC proved well worth it and the tags are now at Oyster Point in south San Francisco.Instructions are clean and very easy and satisfying to follow. Everything fit perfect except for me not wanting to spend a lot of time aligning the T-nuts on the sides of the extrusions to attach the blue plexiglass side guards. It still installed just fine, just my t-nuts were a little crooked.If you have some experience running a CNC, you can have it homed and cutting within 15 minutes of it being built. The instructions were simple for setup on the flash drive. I built mine over the holidays and took my time with distractions so it probably took me a couple hours.Machine is moderately loud at 6000 rpm that it's tough to have a conversation with it running. It comes ready to run with items such as 4ea hold down clamps, 10ea V-shape carbide engraving bits with ER11 collet. Only thing it doesn't come up with some dust resistant lubricant for the threaded rods and maybe a sacrificial table surface. The extrusion router top is nice and I'd hate to scratch it.The machine is well engineered with all components appearing to be of just enough strength to work together to do its job of engraving. I engraved stick font (found font online to use in sketchup) into plastic 2-ply name tags. If the engraving is rough, slow it down or increase the number of passes (or both).As a disclaimer I have some Mach3 experience though it was years ago and I didn't feel like re-learning a new software. I used free version of Sketchup and added a plugin by phlatboyz. Years ago I watched video tutorials to self teach me how to use sketchup to make the designs, then use the plugin to convert to G-code and then cut in Mach3. I'm still learning fusion360 and because I needed to use this machine for a small job I stuck to the software i'm familiar with. Keep in mind that Mach3 demo only allows 50 lines of code which is enough to engrave like 14 simple letters so lookup the price of Mach3 before you go this route. If you are starting out brand new, I suggest you practice becoming familiar with Fusion360 and then converting to G-code for Mach3. Sketchup with plugins has its limitations.

NO PROBLEMS

This machine has been working great for me to cut fairly basic geometric parts out of 1/2" nylon sheet. Assembly and set up took a couple of hours - it was not overly complicated but helps to have a little mechanical/ computer skills ("techydiy" videos on youtube were a great resource to help with this).My machine arrived with the wrong board but SainSmart support was really helpful and they quickly had a replacement sent out.Can't wait to try out more projects and potentially explore upgrading it to cut aluminum.

The machine itself is a solid performer for what it is, a beginner's machine that has a small footprint, easy to assemble, and capable of light duty work. What this particular package includes is Mach 3 CAM software, and that software is not a good choice for beginners unless they enjoy a steep learning curve topped with a lot of opportunity for painful missteps along the way. If you are experience with Mach3, this is for you. If not- get the other version of the 3018 that is not Mach3 enabled, and you will be much happier. The Sainsmart support staff is helpful, professional, and responsive. They will make every effort to resolve issues quickly. THAT is always a plus!