CNC Router Machine 3018 Blue All-Metal for Beginner with Emergency-Stop 3 Axis GRBL Control Engraving Machine Milling Carving for Wood Acrylic MDF PVC Plastic, 300X180X60mm (775Motor)

I was looking for a desktop CNC router to RE-learn programming after 50 years away from the craft. After many days of blogs and Youtube videos, I broke down and bought one of the MANY $150.00 3018 routers made out of plastic, fiber products and some aluminum. It took about an hour to assemble and then another couple hours "trying" to get the thing to hold some kind of reasonable tolerances. You just can't get milk from a chicken!Exactly one day after the above experience, I spot the WolfPawn 3018 BLUE for $150.00 (also). Yet it is ALL METAL (well except for the dang Plastic Emergency STOP button), it has Limit Switches on BOTH ends of the axis', the the X axis rails are 12mm diameter (not 10mm), the spindle carriage is Aluminum NOT Plastic! And the list of Many more things continues... It comes in 2 pieces, the base and the gantry. Eight bolts later and its assembled. Mount the controller, plug in some Well marked cables, plug it in, hook up your computer, turn it on and Make something! WOW what a difference in quality, strength, performance, stability and, again the list continues. The same price, yet features of machines at least $200.00 or more in price.The WolfPawn 3018 BLUE has turned out to be one heck of a machine! The pics are my "stock-outta-the-box" machine #2 purchase (left) next to my fully modified machine #1. I went a little overboard on the mods for #1 (retired engineer) and made some of them simply to make things look better (to me anyway) like the blue/black braided cable covers (no ugly spiral wrap for me!).The tan box behind #1 houses the 0-48vdc MACH3 controlled power supply for the 400W spindle motor, and an upgraded 12vdc power supply (see pic) that made a HUGE difference in how the machine runs. With the "cleaner" power from the upgraded 12vdc PS, the stepper motors are quieter, smother, and appear to have a little improvement in torque... and on the "stock" machine it also help to quiet and smooth out the 12vdc 775 spindle motor.The panel with the 3 meters was a wild idea of mine so I could monitor the voltages used to control the 400W upgraded spindle motor. With MACH3 control you don't need a "volume control" to adjust the speed of the spindle motor. After all, it is CNC! The spindle speed is controlled with the 0-10vdc output voltage from the controller (where stock spindle plugs in). Feed that voltage into the MACH3 input (vs. a variable resistor) and the power transformer supplys 0-48vdc to the spindle motor. Now the speed can be controlled with software vs. hovering over the machine for hours to adjust the "manual" speed control... YUCK! It's CNC!!WolfPawn 3018 BLUE appeared and turned out to be one hell-of-a machine, especially for the money! It's not a "toy" like most of the entry level 3018's, it a viable tool that can be used for training and for producing products. FYI... I could NOT un-assemble, re-box and return the "cheap" plastic 3018 fast enough!It's not all roses... There are some drawbacks to buying from an unknown seller. Customer support is non-existent. At least I have been unable to contact anyone from WolfPawn. No contact info anywhere? This became an issue when machine #2 arrived with a bent Y axis lead screw. I did not discover this until the return window had closed (I didn't open the box until a month after receipt). I've tried far to many ways to contact someone from WolfPawn with no luck or success, sad to say. SO I spent $12.00 of my own money and replaced the leadscrew. #2 is now running great!! #2 also had a very loud 775 spindle motor. Since I had a "spare" (from #1), I swapped them out, and now #2 purrs.To conclude: I would highly recommend this product to anyone interested in a Robust, All Metal, Loaded with solid features, desktop CNC that has superior build quality over ANY of it's equally priced "competition", even sans customer support. I say this because of what I learned after hours and hours of research before ever buying that very 1st "plastic" 3018. And that is this... I did not find anyone, blog or video, that did not make numerous modifications to their "plastic" 3018, with some spending way more money for their mods than a complete bigger and better machine would cost. Most mods where replacing plastic parts with metal and/or upgrading the spindle motor size (with "volume" controls!). YUCK! It's CNC...Make'n chips and Love'n it!

This machine is not user-friendly. I’ve had issues ever since putting to get together. I know it’s put together correctly however, the Z motor will take the down however, it will not come back up and that’s using the spindle on top and manually raising it and lowering it also the board Will not go back-and-forth unless I’m hand cranking it when the power is off. There are no instructions on how to use candle as a software and is in another language and can’t figure out how to change it. What a waste of money.

The drive I received is not compatible with MAC

Great router, well-made with high-quality metal throughout with the exception of the plastic wiring. Super easy to assemble and easy to use for engraving, milling and carving. Includes a manual and instruction video but they’re not too helpful. It is a thick, solid and heavy router machine… I’m impressed at how much so. It cuts and carves into wood accurately and easily. The included clamps though small work work well too. The only issue I would have would be the plastic wiring harness, I’m not sure why they did it the way they did. But besides that it arrived well packaged, and works as intended. It is on the expensive side, but comparable in price with others.

I wanted a small CNC router to make signs for my wife's garden. I thought I would give this one a try. Good choice. This router is well made out of good quality materials. Fit and finish are excellent. Assembly is easy. It took me about 15 minutes to assemble. Cutting quality is good. Accuracy and repeatability are also very good. This is a very well built solid and rigid machine. The spindle motor is on the small side, but is adequate. Also included are some nice clamps for work holding. The photo shows my first attempt at using it. I used a scrap of oak that I had, and one of the included bits. The downside of this unit is the poor documentation and software. The assembly instructions were barely adequate. There is a zero probe included, but the documentation has no instructions on how to use it at all. The included software works, but I did have to restart it a number of times. The included software is only a G-Code sender. You will need some other software to actually generate the G-Code for whatever you want to make. There isn't even an example or demonstration file included. There isn't a website or email address of the manufacturer included anywhere in the documentation or sales listing, making it difficult to solve problems. If I didn't already have experience with 3D printing and CNC machines as well as already having the requisite software, I probably would have just packed it up and sent it back out of frustration. Of course, it is possible for a beginner, as long as they have the patience to watch a lot of videos online, as well as experimenting with the various software packages available. If the documentation and software had been good, this would have been an easy five star plus review. The build quality and cutting quality alone kept this from descending all the way to a single star rating. Recommended for the experienced. 4 stars.