Currently researching this setup and i believe you can swap out the motor for a 400w or 500w motor with no other upgrade required. Also there are kits out there to extend the workable area to the 3040. So there's an upgrade path if you out grow the machine. Great review!
You're losing a lot of rigidity due to excessive stick-out. Get some short flute tools and use as little stick-out as possible and you're going to get far better cut quality and be able to run at higher feed rates.
Being totally new to cnc machining I've just bought this product and although it seemed daunting at first using carbide create and candle, after a few jobs cnc machining is easy!! Great little machine!!
Outstanding review with 100% crystal clear information. I'm looking for a machine for a minimal price without having to do mods that can do alu. I think this is the one I need. Thank you for sharing and taking all the effort to make this vid!
Very impressed to how you have made details to show how a small cnc can achieve such cutting I have bought a 3040 800w 4 axis cnc And to say watching this is a good inspiration to what my machine can do with aluminium. But no one seems to show on TH-cam a machine like mine that can do what you can do Anyway thank you for showing and mainly explaining. As a hobbiest it would be nice to see how you can also do 4th axis machining on a small machine similar to this size
I thought I was excited for what I was building now and planning on milling from aluminum next, OMG, thanks so much for the video, cause I have a degree in electronics and didnt even realize this was possible on my machine!!! 12:30
I found your video very informative, and whilst I had no problems with building the device I did have some problems with it's homing coordinates which kept throwing up errors. Thankfully between your description on how the $ commands work was invaluable to me along with the assistance from the TH-camr James Dean Designs. I have now made a sacrificial Spoil-Board using all 30 holes, am about to make a larger one so I can place a 'L' in the bottom left so I can always align blocks/work to the same starting position which once that is done I can finalise the sizes of my enclosure, and I've also purchased a good selection of collets and a small selection of milling bits that I've seen you and James use in videos. And wonders of wonders, I've not broken ANY bits yet!... Woohoo!...
If anyone has questions about this machine, you will most likely find your answers here... fantastically thorough and useful video thanks! I am a fan of single-flute tools in aluminium; your results baffle me. The plate you were machining may have been the reason. "Free-machining" grades like T6061 should cut better than you were getting, without lube, but with air-blast. The chatter was more than I expected, and I couldn't see where. As others have said, shorter tool length would help. It is certainly a much nicer little machine than the 3018. Liked & Subscribed.
I think we are getting to the point with these 3018/3020's that they need a proper spindle to reduce the sloppiness of the spindle. plus if you used a pulley you could do a gear reduction for more reasonable rpms.
Thumbs up, "Like & Subscribe.". Now, "That was a very comprehensive review.". You covered everything, especially the cutting of aluminum to make parts for RC cars, boats, and plains. Because that's what most of us want to try and do with this machine. The PCB was very nicely dune. However, I would pony up the Dow, and get a nice set of carbide end mills, instead of the "high-speed steel," end Mills that come with the machine. So, now I'm ready to buy this machine.
I've been using Carbide Motion with my shapeoko but I might need to start using Candle just for the height mapping feature. I've had lots of things with very slight irregularities that led to less than ideal cuts
Sainsmart 3020 Pro Max Sainsmart website bit.ly/3Ggy4RI Amazon amzn.to/3XHMFxd Grbl 1.1 configuration github.com/gnea/grbl/wiki/Grbl-v1.1-Configuration The item was provided free of charge by the supplier or manufacturer for this review Some of the links above are affiliate links. If you click on one and purchase something, I might receive a small commission. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but it does help me to make more videos.
Probably its the thickness of the frame and linear rods, quality of the power supply, quality of the controller pcb, linear rails on this one. etc. etc. Generally, if its cheaper its usual cheaper because some part of it is inferior. So if your buying you need to be careful and check exactly what you are getting.
Thank you for posting this video. I like watching your review videos. Do you think I can use this on aluminum? If so, I think I finally found the CNC router for my projects.
I clicked on the first link to find out the price which had not been mentioned as far as I can recall. Link didn't work for me but price quoted below in comments,
Great vid… thanks for making it. I have one of these on order to cut some aluminum parts for prototype work. Kinda disappointed to see the results when cutting Al. You can hear the vibration noise and tell it’s not structurally sound enough. I suppose there are parts of the machine which could be bolstered to make it stiffer. My guess is the spindle is probably still crap but I wonder where the biggest deficiencies are.
For only a couple hundred dollars more you could get a 6040 with a 1.5 kW spindle. Fun little machine to learn on but the value to performance really isn’t there.
your paths are running backwards on the aluminum. Your spindle is spinning clockwise, but you're cutting counter clockwise, climb cutting. Try with clockwise. Please make more videos on this machine.
@@techydiy I did not know that. I have a stepcraft 840 & this whole different platform is new to me. I got one because I want to use it to learn more about upgrading them as a hobby (hot rodding them)& eventualy use the parts to design my own CNC chassis for them.
Just got mine, still setting it up but you video was a tremendous help! Would you happen to have the file for the spoilboard? I noticed you used only one of four opto-isolators for the probe input - would it not also be wise to populate the remaining three for the limit switches?
I didn't keep the spoilboard file. The limit switches work ok anyway. Probing pcbs is (in my experience) quite sensitive to noise, so that is the reason I used the opto coupler there.
No it isn’t. You can do it with the right bit, feed & speed. You can watch other videos of very successful milling on this machine. Might have been techydiy settings & bits used. A very good bit goes a lot way. I do not think he was using the best bits.
Can someone please help: Does the 48v input mean I can use any 48v spindle and PWM it? I am getting this machine and I want a brushless, higher power (highest I can get) spindle for it if it does not perform as a I expect/if it is a rinky dink motor that needs a more quality replacement.
You would not use pwm to directly control the speed of a brushless motor. You can convert a pwm output with a converter to 0-10v and connect it to the 0-10v speed control input of a vfd. Apparently you can replace the supplied brushed motor with a larger brushed motor. I haven't tested that.
@@techydiy thank you! What do you suppose the upgrade route would be in order to use the best spindle possible, with the control board still controlling the speed, even if a new power supply is used? Basically, even if I need a different power supply, I want the spindle to still be controlled by the machine. I want to get as much torque as possible. Please bare with me, I do not know much about the hardware on these 3018/3020 machines. I love your content, do you plan to make more videos about 3020?
Possibly replace the existing motor with a higher power brushed version. The rpm range is pretty low anyway, so in general I would leave the spindle at maximum rpm and adjust the feedrate instead.
@@techydiy oooh...do you know when it with available ? I would like to have it for Christmas.....and the product is not on amazon....only on the genmitsu website....for europe, the product must to be on amazon to buy it...
@@techydiy watching again maybe just coolant from start would have kept temp down, it seemed a dramatic improvement. You shouldnt have binding issues with T6 unless something is out of whack I.e. temp.
IMO, that 3020 Pro Max at $499 is $100 overpriced. When the PROVer is $299, the 3020 Pro Max should be $399. When you can get an all metal 3018 Plus with a 500W spindle for $350, the 3020 Pro Max is $100 overpriced.
Hi, I am looking to get a desktop CNC router, what is available with spec "all metal 3018 Plus with a 500W spindle"? Ones I have found use rods not a linear guide?
what is ridiculous is the cost of a standard 3018 at around 300 plus euros and what do you get Bakelite for gods sake, aluminium is not expensive and for sub 500 euros I would expect all 3018's to be built like this. They are quite simply a waste of money , i even had a quote from a local machine shop to draw up the plans from the original bakelite ones and mill them out, 157 euros for the two side panels and the 4 narrow panels on the bed, another 40 euros for the bed. Now make them in bulk and you can see why i am moaning. We are just getting ripped off by the chinese manufacturers who sit back laughing at us westerners shelling out huge amounts of money from plastic crap when we could have solid aluminium of more or less the same money.
This is not just a review! It is excellent training and information for all that take time to watch it.
Currently researching this setup and i believe you can swap out the motor for a 400w or 500w motor with no other upgrade required. Also there are kits out there to extend the workable area to the 3040. So there's an upgrade path if you out grow the machine. Great review!
You're losing a lot of rigidity due to excessive stick-out. Get some short flute tools and use as little stick-out as possible and you're going to get far better cut quality and be able to run at higher feed rates.
.1 mm stick out vs 10 mm allowed me to increase feed rates from 3500 to 6250 on a mag3
The tiny clearance is still scary though
Informative. Useful. Calming. Inspiring. Life-changing. Enjoyable. Heart-warming. Other.
Being totally new to cnc machining I've just bought this product and although it seemed daunting at first using carbide create and candle, after a few jobs cnc machining is easy!! Great little machine!!
Outstanding review with 100% crystal clear information. I'm looking for a machine for a minimal price without having to do mods that can do alu. I think this is the one I need. Thank you for sharing and taking all the effort to make this vid!
Very impressed to how you have made details to show how a small cnc can achieve such cutting
I have bought a 3040 800w 4 axis cnc
And to say watching this is a good inspiration to what my machine can do with aluminium.
But no one seems to show on TH-cam a machine like mine that can do what you can do
Anyway thank you for showing and mainly explaining.
As a hobbiest it would be nice to see how you can also do 4th axis machining on a small machine similar to this size
To reduce vibration use shorter tools. I use that on my cnc and it reduce vibration a lot
Good point.
I thought I was excited for what I was building now and planning on milling from aluminum next, OMG, thanks so much for the video, cause I have a degree in electronics and didnt even realize this was possible on my machine!!! 12:30
Useful if you just want to quickly knock up a design or test it before you send it off
I found your video very informative, and whilst I had no problems with building the device I did have some problems with it's homing coordinates which kept throwing up errors. Thankfully between your description on how the $ commands work was invaluable to me along with the assistance from the TH-camr James Dean Designs. I have now made a sacrificial Spoil-Board using all 30 holes, am about to make a larger one so I can place a 'L' in the bottom left so I can always align blocks/work to the same starting position which once that is done I can finalise the sizes of my enclosure, and I've also purchased a good selection of collets and a small selection of milling bits that I've seen you and James use in videos. And wonders of wonders, I've not broken ANY bits yet!... Woohoo!...
If anyone has questions about this machine, you will most likely find your answers here... fantastically thorough and useful video thanks!
I am a fan of single-flute tools in aluminium; your results baffle me. The plate you were machining may have been the reason. "Free-machining" grades like T6061 should cut better than you were getting, without lube, but with air-blast. The chatter was more than I expected, and I couldn't see where. As others have said, shorter tool length would help. It is certainly a much nicer little machine than the 3018. Liked & Subscribed.
Thanks. I keep meaning to test it again, as something was wrong.
even my 3018 is cutting aluminum with a single-flute without that terrible chatter....But the tool needs to be new - absolute sharp
Double the feedrate and half the stepdown in aluminium and it will cut just fine .
A very thorough review. Thanks!
I think we are getting to the point with these 3018/3020's that they need a proper spindle to reduce the sloppiness of the spindle. plus if you used a pulley you could do a gear reduction for more reasonable rpms.
Great summary
Thank you for this thorough review. I thought I saw somewhere a 4th axis can be installed?
It doesn’t have a 4 axis controller
hello, is there a possibility? separately connect the rotary axis? Thank you
Nice review, very informative. Pleased to see the covers for the y axis. Not so sure about that long end sticking out from the spindle.
Thumbs up, "Like & Subscribe.". Now, "That was a very comprehensive review.". You covered everything, especially the cutting of aluminum to make parts for RC cars, boats, and plains. Because that's what most of us want to try and do with this machine. The PCB was very nicely dune. However, I would pony up the Dow, and get a nice set of carbide end mills, instead of the "high-speed steel," end Mills that come with the machine. So, now I'm ready to buy this machine.
I'd love a desktop mill that could do pcbs. I don't need the fancy options from a board house.
I've been using Carbide Motion with my shapeoko but I might need to start using Candle just for the height mapping feature. I've had lots of things with very slight irregularities that led to less than ideal cuts
You think I could cut 0.2mm-0.4mm stainless sheets with a good bit? Basically looking to make small stainless spacers.
I think a better spindle will help with a lot of that rough cutting in aluminium. and ofcourse water cooling the bits.
Can you please tell what is the exact inner distance beetween the 2 sides (said differently, the lenght of the X bar).
Sainsmart 3020 Pro Max
Sainsmart website bit.ly/3Ggy4RI
Amazon amzn.to/3XHMFxd
Grbl 1.1 configuration
github.com/gnea/grbl/wiki/Grbl-v1.1-Configuration
The item was provided free of charge by the supplier or manufacturer for this review
Some of the links above are affiliate links. If you click on one and purchase something, I might receive a small commission. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but it does help me to make more videos.
What is the difference between this $500 machine and the red or blue ones for $150 that look similar?
Probably its the thickness of the frame and linear rods, quality of the power supply, quality of the controller pcb, linear rails on this one. etc. etc. Generally, if its cheaper its usual cheaper because some part of it is inferior. So if your buying you need to be careful and check exactly what you are getting.
Thank you for posting this video. I like watching your review videos. Do you think I can use this on aluminum? If so, I think I finally found the CNC router for my projects.
Can you give links for the equipment to build the maping probe?
Realy nice detailed video! Which cnc would you recommend if you are only interested in pcb milling? Thanks in advance!
I clicked on the first link to find out the price which had not been mentioned as far as I can recall. Link didn't work for me but price quoted below in comments,
Hi awesome video. :).
What sort of aluminium did you use? 6061 or something softer like 1100?
You're amazing. I love it!!!
Maybe I'm expecting too much. Will any of these desktop size machines give a good cut and finish on aluminum? 3018,3020,3040 etc thx
Does anyone know if Sansmart will come out with an extension for the 3020 Pro Max?
1:26 Solder bridge on pins 25/26? Top right of uC. I don't think those ADCs are used though, so lucky error?
No, its not a solder bridge, it's probably just some floating debris.
You know what, I am using the flat ended O-flute single flute end mill for aluminum and it makes a world of difference, outdoes the two flute!
Can you try making a cmm out of this using a dowel pin or something similar? 🤔
Could you get even better cuts if you reinforce the structure with additional braces and bolt it to a cast iron heavy heavy tool stand?
Probably, I am going to revisit it in the near future.
The domestic CNC motor power sold on the market is very weak. Can't I attach a trimmer with a high rotation speed over there?
That standalone controller is excellent. Cheap anyway for any 3018 user but turns it from unreliably useless to useful.
Thanks
Great video. Thx
Very good
Thanks
they should sell a kit which has all the parts minus the spindle so you can install something like one of the makita hand held routers.
Do you know if this would be compatible with a 24V laser module?
Great vid… thanks for making it. I have one of these on order to cut some aluminum parts for prototype work. Kinda disappointed to see the results when cutting Al. You can hear the vibration noise and tell it’s not structurally sound enough. I suppose there are parts of the machine which could be bolstered to make it stiffer. My guess is the spindle is probably still crap but I wonder where the biggest deficiencies are.
For only a couple hundred dollars more you could get a 6040 with a 1.5 kW spindle. Fun little machine to learn on but the value to performance really isn’t there.
@@bohdanwesely8369 Do you have a 6040 you would recommend?
Be nice to be able to download this vid.
There are a ton of websites that will let you do this for free.
Can you please provide us with the waste board hole cutting file?
What does the size of a CNC machine depend on?
Could you just get a much larger spindle and do metal?
your paths are running backwards on the aluminum. Your spindle is spinning clockwise, but you're cutting counter clockwise, climb cutting. Try with clockwise. Please make more videos on this machine.
Climb cutting gives better results on light fast cnc machines. Conventional cutting works best with slow, heavy mills.
@@techydiy I did not know that. I have a stepcraft 840 & this whole different platform is new to me. I got one because I want to use it to learn more about upgrading them as a hobby (hot rodding them)& eventualy use the parts to design my own CNC chassis for them.
In aluminium use 1 flute downcut bit
What hardness was the copper sheet you cut? I have been told to use full hard for milling, but I can not find any for sale.
I don't know, I cut up an old copper water tank.
Since it has the aluminum spindle holder, it would be difficult to substitute a laser engraver?
I imagine they have a laser that fits
Saw another video for this model, they did mention a laser option
Just got mine, still setting it up but you video was a tremendous help! Would you happen to have the file for the spoilboard? I noticed you used only one of four opto-isolators for the probe input - would it not also be wise to populate the remaining three for the limit switches?
I didn't keep the spoilboard file.
The limit switches work ok anyway. Probing pcbs is (in my experience) quite sensitive to noise, so that is the reason I used the opto coupler there.
So they started shipping?
Would this machine be able to handle composite materials like carbonfiber or micarta?
Yep
Buy vectric software. I did and dont regret a thing. It is simple to use. you will be off and running and upgrading.
12000 rpm is too slow for aluminum milling... At $550 this device is relatively expensive. Thanks for your detailed review.
Could you please provide us all with some good alternatives with similar pricing?
No it isn’t. You can do it with the right bit, feed & speed. You can watch other videos of very successful milling on this machine. Might have been techydiy settings & bits used. A very good bit goes a lot way. I do not think he was using the best bits.
Where can I order? I'm in Thailand which is interested in details about this model
Nice review
Thanks
z axis still not rigid enough :( full rail system pls What are the alternatives to Sainsmart Genmitsu 3020 Pro Max at similar prices?
Look out for bargain linear rails, ballscrews etc. and build it yourself
Nutz einfach einen kurzen einscheidigen fräser für Aluminium 2 und mehr schneiden setzen sich zu
Bagus banget
what is doing the blue tube near the spindle? does it for liquid? Or it's vacuum cleaner?
Blowing air and later in the video air+coolant. Keeping the work area clean and cooling the stock and tool.
@@slartsa what, s coolant system name? For find in AliExpress?
Nice video, keep it up, thank you :)
Thank you too!
Wow u explains it like u invented it
Can someone please help: Does the 48v input mean I can use any 48v spindle and PWM it? I am getting this machine and I want a brushless, higher power (highest I can get) spindle for it if it does not perform as a I expect/if it is a rinky dink motor that needs a more quality replacement.
You would not use pwm to directly control the speed of a brushless motor.
You can convert a pwm output with a converter to 0-10v and connect it to the 0-10v speed control input of a vfd.
Apparently you can replace the supplied brushed motor with a larger brushed motor. I haven't tested that.
@@techydiy thank you! What do you suppose the upgrade route would be in order to use the best spindle possible, with the control board still controlling the speed, even if a new power supply is used? Basically, even if I need a different power supply, I want the spindle to still be controlled by the machine. I want to get as much torque as possible. Please bare with me, I do not know much about the hardware on these 3018/3020 machines. I love your content, do you plan to make more videos about 3020?
Possibly replace the existing motor with a higher power brushed version. The rpm range is pretty low anyway, so in general I would leave the spindle at maximum rpm and adjust the feedrate instead.
Any advice on a vise?
I use the inception vice amzn.to/3Y8lmOB
The Foxalien vice is ok amzn.to/3OpEX9L
I bought the non-pro version last year cost $90.
i'd think it was grand if the table were on supported rods rather than the plain ones.
Does the machine work on stainless steel?
Not adviced
Can I machine a hemisphere using this machine?
Yes if you have the skill required
Can we put 40watts laser module on that machine?
Yes
The link is not currently active
Will this machine cut ceramic tiles?
Apparently it is very difficult to cut ceramic tiles with a cnc router
@@techydiy Thank you!
Can you cut acrylic on it?
Yes
How loud is this machine with wood?
Like a drill
Acme.. why did they have to ruin it?
Is it possible to buy it on europe ? Impossible to find it on amazon or other website .... :-/
Its out of stock in Europe and the UK
@@techydiy oooh...do you know when it with available ? I would like to have it for Christmas.....and the product is not on amazon....only on the genmitsu website....for europe, the product must to be on amazon to buy it...
Hi, can I run that control board on Mach 3 ?
No
@@techydiy thanks , well that kinda sucks.
Universal gcode sender (UGS), Openbuild control and candle are all free and work with this.
Looks great, but sadly way too many bad reviews
What gives, every single link you shared is either broken or just does not work?
If that's common aluminium not a hardened alloy it will clog up the cutters.
6061-T6. I used some end mills that they sent me. I should have used conventional cut rather than a climb cut probably.
@@techydiy watching again maybe just coolant from start would have kept temp down, it seemed a dramatic improvement. You shouldnt have binding issues with T6 unless something is out of whack I.e. temp.
oh man, step 1, ditch the controller for a btt gtr with reprapfirmware, step 2 hall effect endstops...
Hindi mein video banaa de Jo CNC machine ka dam rate kitna dam kitna hai vah video
Frame should be good,but brushed motor? Too bad.
IMO, that 3020 Pro Max at $499 is $100 overpriced. When the PROVer is $299, the 3020 Pro Max should be $399. When you can get an all metal 3018 Plus with a 500W spindle for $350, the 3020 Pro Max is $100 overpriced.
Hi, I am looking to get a desktop CNC router, what is available with spec "all metal 3018 Plus with a 500W spindle"? Ones I have found use rods not a linear guide?
what is ridiculous is the cost of a standard 3018 at around 300 plus euros and what do you get Bakelite for gods sake, aluminium is not expensive and for sub 500 euros I would expect all 3018's to be built like this. They are quite simply a waste of money , i even had a quote from a local machine shop to draw up the plans from the original bakelite ones and mill them out, 157 euros for the two side panels and the 4 narrow panels on the bed, another 40 euros for the bed. Now make them in bulk and you can see why i am moaning.
We are just getting ripped off by the chinese manufacturers who sit back laughing at us westerners shelling out huge amounts of money from plastic crap when we could have solid aluminium of more or less the same money.