Genmitsu CNC 3018-PRO 3-Axis Router Kit for Beginner

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'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

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

My wife purchased my Sainsmart Genmitsu 3018 Pro for my birthday. I've owned it for 3 weeks now and am slowly learning what the machine can do. I found the machine easy to build and the instructions to be first class. The frame and components are well made and great quality. Once built, the learning curve begins... I have never used computer design programs or indeed a cnc router. After watching numerous YouTube videos (techydiy and James Dean designs plus many others), I chose Carveco Maker as my design software and UGS to read and send the g code to the cnc. 3 weeks down the line and I'm really impressed with the 3018-pro. It's a fantastic machine and although small in size, it's only limited by my skills and knowledge. As a first cnc router, I would highly recommend getting one of these. Do your research and get a Sainsmart product as their after sales support is outstanding. As for user groups the Sainsmart Facebook page has 23k members and more advice and information than you could possibly need. I'm very impressed with my machine...

Pretty straight forward to build. I was missing 4 bolts which secure the item to the work table. I’ve already bought some larger bits and I am really pleased with this purchase. It’s pretty easy to get setup after build. Build took about an hour. If you have no knowledge like me watched a few YouTube videos even found super easy software called easel on instructerbles and now I just make some engraving designs and done.

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.

Malgré un serrage à fond test avec la commande manuelle et c'est out. Dévie direct machine pas stable il faut visé plus haut même pour débuter malheureusement.

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

Wie üblich eine sehr schnelle Lieferung durch Amazon. **Verpackung:** Die Verpackung ist solide, und vollständig. Die Anleitung ist auf Englisch, was für nicht Muttersprachler jedoch nicht schlimm ist, da die "Package List" bebildert ist, sodass man vorab schon überprüfen kann, dass alle Komponenten vorhanden sind. **Aufbau:** Die Anleitung ist bebildert und verständlich. Alle benötigten Werkzeuge (Inbussschlüssel) liegen bei, um die Fräse ohne weitere Hilfsmittel aufzubauen. Die Aufbauanleitung umfasst insgesamt 9 Schritte, die man alleine entspannt in 2 Stunden durchführen kann. Sehr POSITIV fand ich beim Aufbau, dass es keine Schritte gibt die Fummelei voraussetzten, um z.Bsp. etwas korrekt zusammen zusetzen, oder richtig auszurichten. Einzig der angegebene Abstand der X-Achse zur 'Rückwand' der Fräse muss man mit 46.5mm einhalten (siehe Anleitung, Seite 12 u. 15), der Rest fügt sich durch die vorgebohrten Bauteile also von alleine richtig zusammen. Da ich schon viel Erfahrung mit 3D Druckern habe, war ich nach 1.5 Stunden schon fertig ;). Im Anleitungsschritt 4 ist eine zweite Person hilfreich, aber nicht notwendig (Tipp: einfach aus dem Verpackungsmaterial eine Stütze bauen damit die X-Achse nicht durchängt). Alle großflächigen Bauteile sind mit einer Plastikfolie überzogen, sodass diese beim Transport nicht verkratzen können. Nach dem Aufbau sieht also alles nagelneu aus. Worauf man beim Aufbau achten sollte ist, beim Aluminiumgestänge die Verarbeitungsrückstände abzubürsten (vom Gewindebohrer), damit diese sich nicht ausversehen in die Kontaktstellen schummeln und es dadurch beim Zusammenschrauben zu einem schiefen Aufbau kommt, oder die Schrauben sich nicht sauber einschrauben lassen. **Fazit:** Die Fräse ist sehr solide. Die Größe ist für den Hobby gebrauch für mich ideal. Ich habe schon eine 16x10cm Fräse, welche mir dann doch zu klein ist. Der Einsatz wird bei mir weiterhin das Fräsen von einseitigen Platinen sein (KiCad, Flatcam, Candle), wofür dieses Setup ideal ist. Hierfür liegen schon 10 Bits im V-Profil dabei. **Praktisch:** Das ER11 Bohrfutter war schon vormontiert, und die Firmware GRBL aktuell auf Version 1.1f. Dies wären Punkte die ich für Anfänger unter "Frickelei" bzw. "kompliziert" sehen würde, welche aber schon abgedeckt sind. **Qualität:** Über die Qualität der gefrästen Teile schreibe ich hier nicht, da das Ergebnis stark vom CAD-Modell, Material, Bohrkopf, Geschwindigkeit, usw. abhängt. Hier muss man sich wie beim 3D-Druck selber an sein persönliches Ergebnis herantasten. Für mich sind Leiterbahnen mit 0.5mm breite und 0.3mm abstand kein Problem. Eine Auflösung im 0.1~0.2mm Bereich halte ich für realistisch, möchte aber betonen, dass dies stark von den Parametern/Software abhängt. **Tipp für Platinen:** Da grbl 1.1f schon drauf ist kann man mit der Software Candle das Heightmapping vorher durchführen. Da meine Kupferplatten alle relativ krumm sind (Abweichungen von +-0.5mm in der Z-Achse), hilft das enorm bei der Qualität. **Nächste Schritte:** Das offline Modul wäre noch praktisch, damit ich kein Notebook mehr benötige zum Fräsen, sowie das Laser Modul weil's geht :P. Sollten mir weitere Punkte auffallen werde ich hier berichten.

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.