The 3018 PRO - Is It Worth Buying? - Review and Getting Started
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ค. 2020
- I've been wanting to get a CNC for a while now but I wasn't sure about getting one since they are kind of expensive. So when I stumbled upon this one at a flash-sale on Gearbest.com I just ordered it. It comes with everything you need to get started but if you want to make something more than just v-carving you need to buy additional bits. The 3018 Pro model is a good model to get since there are so many variations of the same machine around so there is a lot of support to get online. It does a good job of cutting and carving and made me learn a lot about the process of using a cnc.
Get the CNC 3018 Pro: geni.us/E3UU (Amazon)
Additional bits: www.aliexpress.com/item/32888...
I show the software I use in this video: • Easel Box Maker with t...
Written article: theswedishmaker.com/?p=418
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You'r the first to show how to run the software, very informative, thank you.
I appreciate your demonstration of this engraving machine. The thing I appreciate more is your comment on "being pushed to learn" something new. I wish more of us shared that sentiment.
I am either trying to learn something new or get better at the thing I’m doing. Been working in a fabrication/machine shop for awhile now. It’s fun to get better and learn new.
Really good review I've been thinking about getting a 3 in 1. But I think you have changed my mind and saved me a load of cash. So cheers for that.
Were you looking at a snapmaker instead of this? I'm at the same point, but really want a printer as well lol.
I bought this for my friend for his birthday as we just moved into a new house and he finally has room for a workshop. The bench was very easy to set up th-cam.com/users/postUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh They center support is a little difficult to snap in and out of place at first but at least then we know the bench is secure. It was a pleasant surprise when we saw it came with clamps. I apparently missed that in the description. My friend loves the versatility of the bench. Great starter bench for his workshop and easily transportable all over our property. I wish the bench was a little taller but the other features of the bench more than make up for that.
Thank you for showing how to do the routing on this machine. Good software demo. A friend has one and uses only the laser. He added some wood lifts to the bridge portion to get more height. I think he added about 3" (76mm). It was mostly drilling holes to match the existing pattern on the deck and side columns. This allows him to burn his name into the bottoms of bowls.
That's what I want one for too. I'm glad you mentioned that the height can be adjusted. Thanks!
That was an excellent review! It was thorough, clear and not rushed. Thanks
Much appreciated!
Thanks, Just put my 3018 pro together, and am working through the carving process. I learned some tips from watching the video.
Just ordered my first one, was cnc machinist for 10 years and now finally some nice affordable mill. Gonna subscribe and see what more you can teach me 😁
Thanks! Appreciate it and good luck with the upcoming projects
Thank you for uploading this. Also... the board behind you with magnets holding the screw drivers .. genius idea .. I will do that in my garage ;)
Great vid. We just bought the CNC 3018-Pro as a beginner and it was good to see what it will do and its limitations etc. Thanks
Thanks for the post. I've been curious about what others thought about this entry level CNC. Good to know the laser engraving head is sold separate
A very well done demonstration. The clamps will work better if you put a block under the end away from the workpiece. Have a look at work setups on milling machines.
thanks for the post,enjoying fixing my 3018 cnc
Fantastic video. Just ordered my first 3018 variant and this gave me a great starting point for understanding how i shall use it. Tack så mycket!
Thank you for this review, I have been considering getting a CNC for craft projects at home but just wasn't sure which one to buy, your very good review has made this a fairly easy choice now. just need to make some money from it now so that it pays for itself and any future upgrades.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks, I thought that was quite a comprehensive vid on this. I’m not too savvy with the computer side of things but it looked easy enough how you demonstrated it.
Thanks for the review! This is my next project to learn. I'm gonna check it out in more depth, and get ready to carve.
Cool! Let me know how it works out!
Great vid! To avoid doing so much sanding when spray painting your inner letters just use masking tape. After the first cut, leave the wood down on the table in the exact place you had it but place a piece of masking tape over it. Run the exact same tool path again and you will have a perfect stencil for your spray paint!
Hey, great tip! I'll think of that next time. Thanks for watching
simple solution you are an absolute star 🎉
That is absolutely brilliant
Really good intro to CNC thanks
thanks for the demo a good starting intro. thanks
This video was very helpful, thank you so much! / Den här videon var till stor hjälp, tack så mycket!
Solid review, thanks for sharing!
I thanks for this video. I too bought the same machine 3018 Pro locally (not from China) today and assembled. I actually have inquired from China and they replied me. Very cheap to buy from China but very uncertain about delivery due to this outbreak situation. . Actually it is very well mechanical design. Fantastic. When you going to assemble it ,it is bit tricky the assembling order but not hard if you are mechanically minded person. This is most affordable CNC router I have seen in the internet so far. May be some other available. I am going to use it for PCB on copper clad board and wood carving as well. I have to learn how to do them.
Thanks for the video. I am planning to buy one. This video is helpful
Thank for your video, I appreciated your sincerity. 🙏🙏🙏
Your video was very useful. Thank you. Am about to purchase a CNC. the 3018 PRO is in my sights, and my questions about whether this is a tool that I can learn to use well and joyfully has been answered.
Brian and Martyn are offering good advice on clamping. The only advice I would add is that the heel (back end) of the clamp should be slightly higher than the work piece and the clamping screw should be close to the work piece. It is a learn as you go experience as you alluded to towards the end of your vid. Great vid. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Norm! Thanks for the advice, it is very much a process. Thans for watching
thank you very much. So clear review.
Thanks man .. good video .. it helps me to relax 🤣🤣🤣 .. .. i mean you were good relaxed.. thanks again 👍
I’m glad your happy with it because I bought one last night with some OT money that was burning a hole in my pocket
I should get it Monday 😃
Thank you, I need your CNC drawing program
Great video, thanks for posting. This is exactly all I want to do with a CNC router, in wood that would be 1/8" thick. cheers!
Great video. Very useful. Thank you 🙏🏼
Thank you for the video. An idea for the clamps, maybe changing the bolts to longer ones?
Thank you, I bought this machine on ebay and the software would not load so will try what you have in the discription. I have never used a cnc and your video answered a lot of my questions.
You've convinced me that I need 1 and that they aren't hard to use. Thanks.
Ordered a feebay version. OMG there's some parts to assemble. About 1 hr into assembly so far. Really looking forward to getting it going.
U ever try it out yet? I'm debating to get one for pcb prototyping
@@FarhanAli-dq8eh . It's built and I've had it running but not used it yet. Created a few files with easel which is very easy and have ran the router through easel but without it making contact with anything. I've been slow getting to use it as I have a bunch of work on currently and I had to make some jigs up to hold the ABS boxes that I want to route.
I used it for 1st time today. Video on my channel. What you see is the very 1st time I cut with it.
I've just been looking into getting a small cnc machine for some small jobs and as I've never used one before I figured something like this might be a good place to start. After doing a quick TH-cam search on it, your video was the first to pop up and after watching, I think it is the way for me to go.
Thanx for the review, you've convinced me haha.
Thanks! I hope it works out well :)
Great review! Thanks
Thanks for the informative video. Have just built a workshop in my garage for woodworking and thinking of buying one of these to learn basic cnc with!
Great video thanks for posting
Thanks for the video, really helpful.
Excellent video. You covered the things I wanted to know. Ordered one of these today.
Glad it was helpful!
I just saw this online for about 150 bucks and I'm thinking of buying it as my first little cnc machine
Thanks! This video was just what I needed. I bought one:-)
Enjoy!
Hello the Swedish Maker! Thanks for sharing this, very informative. The 3018 PRO team actually contacted me recently, asking if I would do a youtube review of it (at least I think that's what they were asking, it was in Chinese/English). My search to work out what they wanted me to review, brought me here, which I'm pleased about - simple, nice, clear and calm presentation - you have a new sub.
Hi! Cool! You should try it out, it's a great way to get started with cnc cutting. Thanks for the sub! I appreciate it
@@TheSwedishMaker What part of Sweden are you in? My wife, Sam, works closely with researchers there So we sometimes visit. At least in non-covid times...
@@FloweringElbow Cool! I live in the south west in a city called Halmstad. Where do you usually go?
@@TheSwedishMaker Stockholm... but Sam also goes up North to other cold places...
Thank you for this video. I've been researching these machines on Amazon and am leaning toward this one because of the videos available.
Is there any chance you'll be doing a video on the different types of bits and carvers and what they are used for?
Hey! thanks for watching. I don't have any videos like that planned in the near future, but it is a good idea. I might try to squeeze it in.
It seems to have done the job just fine.
Excellent overview! I am a machinist by trade, so I understand the basics, but your detailed info will help many. Yes, it is not a high end machine, but it gets you started and most likely will fill any basic needs. Plus there are many ways to upgrade and improve it along the way.
I now have one on order and expect it tomorrow (anxious as hell!). $204 (including shipping) for a 3018 Pro and includes a 2.5 laser head! Really hard to resist.
Wow! That´s a great price! I wish you luck with your purchase :)
Hi Gadgetman! Does the 3018 Pro come with the laser head and will it work with an IMac Desktop if you know? Also, can you do all the types of engraving their video shows? Thanks!
@@christinawaller1790 not unless you get a bundle deal. And if you do get the laser head, it is quite a learning curve to learn how to use it. The software is quite difficult to use, and he laser heads do not last very long. They are pretty weak overall. I hope this helps.
The wife ordered one for me, also has the 2.5W laser. Plenty of ch on how to mod them.
Thanks for the review. May God bless us in our endeavors.
Nice video. Thanks!
Great video on this, do you know if the VEVOR 3018 Pro CNC Router Laser Engraver Engraving Machine is the same, seen these at good price.
thank You for review
Yes very well done. Question. Can you make knife scales with this cnc?
And I love that you're doing this on a Mac... I didn't think this was possible, everything I've seen was PC based & thought I'd need to buy ANOTHER computer... I might be able to use my old mac laptop, very jazzed about that!
Yeah sure! It works great with a mac :)
@@TheSwedishMaker hey, how did you manage to work it on mac? via which software? maybe know if its possible to use IPad for this cnc?haha
I run a laser, CNC and sign business, and do everything on Mac. I have to use PCs to act as print preprocessors on the wide-format printers, but all the design work and job setup is done on Mac and sent to the PC queue. Laser and CNC have great tools for control, CAM, design, etc.
Do you think this CNC 3018 PRO could work for presicion PCB milling? Thanks. Nice video.
Thank you.
Very useful..
Great video
Thanks
Was looking at getting one and glad to know it comes with a usb instead of a CD. My computers dont have disk drives, havent needed to use CDs in years.
What’s a CD
@@RollingxBigshot hahaha I have a big pile of them. I'm trying to make a spaceship with.
Dude..really? 😂
That’s like asking if Walmart has the vhs
Just ordered one and it's bundled with the laser, because I want to make a new dial for my Variac, I know it would be considerably cheaper to order a new one , at least this one seems good enough to get familiar with before deciding if I want to spend the money on a bigger better one.
thank you for sharing
Thank for the informative video. My focus is Rc balsa model aircraft. Could I scan shapes (wing Ribs etc) I am a complete novice. I have a Cricut vinyl cutter which will cut Balsa but requires numerous passes which is time consuming an looses accuracy.
Please don't be so sad with that macine, I have cnc 3018 only not a pro one, but i am very happy with that. I am proud of it👍 thanks a lot for people who made it and sell it until I can buy it🎉
Great video! May I ask what shop-vac you are using?
Would you know if a 3d model can be imported in this software to essentially cut it into a piece of wood? Thank you for your video, very informative.
Like you, I am debating the purchase of a CNC. This seems like a cost effective way to check out the tools. Thanks for posting.
You are A good Man bro.
The Swedish Maker
Just bought a CNC3 3018 pro.
Then watched your vid, cart before the horse!
Cheers you put my simple mind to peace.
I would like to know could you set it up to write letters, as with age my hands are not to steady?
Cheers.
Very informative video. Did you have any problems connecting the machine with your mac via usb? Did the mac and the program recognize the machine?
A good machine performance measure is how it's made PCB. If it does it precisely and cleans then this machine is ok.
A recommendation,
You can use a vacuum cleaner to prevent chips from damaging the run of the slider, you just need to mount it in the spindle.
Thank you for the interesting video and useful explanation. Can we make an extension for the 180 side?
Do you mean making the frame bigger? There are parts for that but I haven't read into much of the upgrades.
Can I import fusion360 models?
Like half of a sphere or something like that?
How do you import your model? And can you change the bits?
And if you can, how can you do to set the cnc to first go with a larger bit and then with a fine one?
Sorry for so many questions, I just don't know if I want to sell a 3d printer to get a cnc or not
Thank you for the post, encouraged me to buy the machine for my wife. my spindle is not running with easel, any ideas?
Can you tell me about which motor you have used for milling and also tell about power supply
I'm buying one for pcb milling. I know ordering PCB is cheaper. However It takes about 2 weeks or more to get pcb in for me. With this protyping PCB and refining the board to make I get it correctly when ordering my boards will save me a lot of headache in the long run. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Curious, how did this turn out for you?
That was a really good review and just subscribed to your channel.. I have a small groupe on facebook just for these machines and there is a good amount of the members are doing upgrades..
jusy posted this review to the page ..
Oh thanks a lot! Might I ask where I can find the Facebook group?
@@TheSwedishMaker facebook.com/groups/199319514629396/?multi_permalinks=306774667217213¬if_id=1597164805942118¬if_t=feedback_reaction_generic
The only reason I miss FB. I was suspended *for my safety* June 1, 2019 and after proving who I was (they had me jump through all sorts of hoops) they never responded to me, reinstated me, nor would tell me who they were protecting my safety from. I miss the groups.
Most amazing part if this is that it only takes 3 words in Swedish to say “Please don’t put any more ads in my mailbox.” English is so inefficient. :) Good review of the machine, thank you.
Haha Yeah that is pretty inefficient :) Thanks!
What is it?
And it includes a thanks too :)
Your comment is extremely disingenuous. The three words in Swedish translate to three words in English: "No advertising please", or "No advertising, thanks". You can't just take a simple idea, find an overly complicated way to say it, then claim the language is inefficient. It's absurd. English is actually very efficient compared to other languages. It often ranks as the #1 most efficient language.
You shouldn't feel personally attacked. No one is an ambassador for the English language more than Swedes. :) English is of course more efficient than Swedish, but in this case I couldn't find the appropriate translation, hence the long sentence.
Can you please put up some great default settings my machine keeps bottoming out
i bought one of these about a year ago but haven't tried it yet. I have a 3d printer and have had some a lot of success with.
You should try it out :)
can this be used for brass miniature carving actually?
have you tried that? :)
Thanks for the video
Thanks for the great video, very informative - can you tell me is it possible to use custom artwork rather than standard fonts? thanks! Dan
Many thanks for the video, I am trying to setup the 318 by finding that after I setup the probe and go to engrave the bit stays around 20mm above the wood and does not make contact . Do you know what could be causing this or how to correct this ?
Just ordered one of these. Will upgrade it for sure 😅🤣
Cool! :)
Tusen tack för bra info. Är på väg in i CNC världen oxå 🙂
I work with full sized cnc mills and programming but I still baught this for fun the tolerances are super forgiving and it’s simple
It sure is!
Can we see the wiring located in the back? I bought the 3020 and for some reason it’s not connecting to the laser grbl a little but different but want to make sure I have it set up right. Thanks!
Is it possible to set all four corners of the sample instead of just the 0,0 origin? I want to make holes at predefined locations of a plate and if the placement angle is not appropriate, the hole alignment can be screwed.
Also, would this machine take AutoCAD files?
Hi just been watching your video. You really know what you are talking about which is more than I do. I have new machine the same as on your video. Put together ok but have problems with installing software. Using candle but it say grbl is not connected. I have a copy of grbl controller on desktop but where do I put it to link up with candle. Help would be very appreciated.
Thanks for video, very helpful.
In your opinion, what is the best wood to engrave for a clean result? Thanks.
I would try to cover the Y axis leadscrew so it doesn’t pick up all the dust, tricky because the bed moves over it too. Nice honest review, thanks.
That is why you can buy accordion material of varying sizes (width, depth, length) for that very reason.
Why not make curving magnetic walls to create a bowl-like carving area. This would be pretty easy with a couple of strips of aluminum and possibly tin foil to make a custom curve suitable?
I was listening to back episodes of the 3 Northern Makers podcast and got to the one where you mentioned this CNC and I immediately paused and came here :)
Anyway, currently there's a Vevor 3018 PRO for £120 available in the UK and I was wondering if that's going to be as good as the one in this video? The reviews are few, but not terrible, mostly complaints about the build being difficult.
any idea on to control the feed rate of the spindle
am new to this
thanks in advance:)
good afternoon, I really liked the video. I purchased a cnc 3018 pro and I have a problem, when I want the machine to move 1 cm, it only moves 7mm, the drawings are always smaller than the real dimensions of the drawing. Would you help me. Thank you very much, Regards
Lasergrbl doesn't do portraits on my cnc-3018pro as you stated. Everything I tried failed to produce a decent portait.
very good , I want know the board machine only driver motors and the machine work by laptop without Arduino and another microprocessor
Does the spindle have a flat edge? At high speeds it will vibrate a little? Not sure if I should get the 3018 or the PRO?
Ive been looking at a small table top cnc milling machine too do small alliminium projects.
Nice! I have tried brass and it works well if I go really slow and at small passes.
@@TheSwedishMaker watched your vid about 4 times. And enjoyed your review.
How would it work with milling a graphite?
I m gonna get one giver a try
Can any one tell me program was use cus like he says the dongle they give you is to hard and the booklet is useless
would this be ideal to work on gold for ring making or pendants
Thanks for making this video. It's the perfect length - not too much detail, but not too little. One project I am hoping to complete for Christmas gifts is to make 4 or 5 inch carved wooden Scrabble letters with the names of family members or maybe their favorite quotes. I have a router and router table, but doing each letter by hand would take forever. Are you still happy with this machine or did you upgrade to a larger one? I may just outsource this project to a local CNC shop - but if the price is too high it may be worth it to buy a 3018. Thanks again.
I just replied on Facebook, but you could easily do that project on the 3018 pro :)
Is the machine included the software to engrave or do u have to download software were u can draw en then upload it
What is the noise level like for these sorts of machines? If you don't have any sort of decibel reference, compare it to something like a blender.