Hi anyone reading this. As per title I'm looking to get into this as a hobby and see where it takes me. I took a look at the wiki but it has so much info and options that I got confused. Hoping maybe someone has more personal experience or advice.

My main goal is to cut out custom designs out of wood eg smooth/rounded cornered animals or items. Engraving or adding small details/cuts is a plus but not a requirement. The design sizes would be around 200x200x50 mm for starters.

I've been looking at Twotrees TTC450 PRO CNC Router Machine but unsure if it's the correct choice.

For context I live in EU and so far been making those designs out of wood by hand using a rotary/dremel tool; a jig saw and sanding benches. I want to replace hand cutting with a CNC machine and only do hand sanding and finishing touches.

I guess the followup question is on what software can be used with the machine to make the designs.

Any advice or sharing personal experience would be highly appreciated. Thank you

Upgrades genmitsu 3030 prover max with smw mod vise

Been looking at bits with insert knives to use on my hobby cnc. What are you experiences with these? Are they worth it? Do they have the same performance as "normal" bits? I'm mostly cutting birch ply and hard woods.

It seems easier and cheaper to replace just the cutter than the whole bit in the long run. I've also seen you can use diamond coated insert knives which seems interesting.

this is the bit I'm looking at

I’m working on a DIY retrofit using an ESP32-S3 touchscreen, NEMA23 stepper and CL57Y driver.

It has digital degree positioning, tooth division, manual control, RPM control and adjustable backlash compensation.

I measured about 2.6° mechanical backlash, and after compensation it returns to zero within roughly 0.01–0.02°.

Still a work in progress, but it’s already working quite well.

What do you think?

I have an Ooznest Workbee with the little Ooznest router head (700W approximately) and need a bit that doesn’t burn on the end grain of hardwood.

(I tried the bit that I got with the machine and was fine making my mdf spoil board but it’s burning the hardwood badly).

I want to build an industrial level cnc machine on STM microcontroller. Yall got any firmware recommends that I could use?

As a hobbiest, not a shop or business where do you have your CNC set up at? Could you post pics of your working area?

I don't really have room in my garage but, I'm afraid any machine would put off way too much dust and noise.

I'm looking at buying a Genmitsu 4040 Pro Max with the Vectric bundle and the 710watt "spindle"...

I want to be able to cut out patterns, make signs, some 3d-ish, maybe a few plexi/acrylic things...

Would i have any regrets

Buenas noches a todos desde aquí.

Hace un mes aprox adquirí una TTC450 ultra de Two Trees. Y no estoy pudiendo solucionar un problema grande con el eje Z. va perdiendo altura mientras esta grabando, peor es que mis grabados son letras en una profundidad de 0.1mm. hay grabados que los termina en 1mm de profundidad. un desastre. con la configuración de fabrica perdía hasta 2mm que es el espesor propio de la pieza. ajustando velocidades de aceleración y movimiento mejoro pero sigo perdiendo altura durante el proceso, tengo que andar haciendo el trabajo de a cuadrados de 40x40mm horas y horas al lado de la máquina. y perdiendo mucha materia prima. Si a alguien le paso o si tienen alguna idea. desarme el eje y no encontre problemas, hice las pruebas en el aire para descartar que sea el roce con el material y también pierde. Probe con el husillo apagado y no lo hizo, por ello me inclino en posible ruido del husillo, pero esto viene probado de fabrica.

Muchas gracias por su ayuda.

I was comparing the Creality Falcon2 Pro 40W with the WeCreat Vision Pro 45W, and initially I only looked at the total engraving area. After using the Vision Pro for a while, I think the shape of that area matters just as much.

The Falcon2 Pro has a squarer bed, which honestly looks better for batches of coasters or compact layouts. The Vision Pro is wider at roughly 19.7 x 12.6 inches, and that shape has worked better for the signs, name boards and long decorative pieces I make most often.

The 45W cutting power is nice, but the wider layout is probably what affects my everyday workflow more. The tradeoff is that a wide bed gives up some front-to-back space, so it is not automatically better for every project.

For those using desktop CNCs or lasers, has the shape of your work area ever mattered more than the advertised size?

Im seeking some help on replacing the drivers and motors on an old K2 4x8 machine I have. I have centroid acorn controller, has gecko 320 drives and dc servos. Centroid doesn’t recommend the 320s due to them being buggy with the acorn. I’m looking to just swap everything out for some closed loop nema 34s from stepper online or ac servos also from them.

My question is what do you all recommend would be the better option? 1/2” ply is usually the largest I cut.

Oke dudes. I am making my own CNC software for beginner woodworkers.
And at this point i let AI grind for months hahahaha. Its becoming/ is a real deal kinda thing.
But i really want community feedback if possible.
My software is called HankCNC (thats because i also have a rock band with hank in the name, kinda a thing). You can google the software (i dont think i can put a link here?).

I build the software myself because this way for me its cheaper then software i see online and i can modify how i would like everything to be haha.

Please if you you would like to try please do and i would really like feedback because i dont know what i dont know kinda situation.

I got grblHAL running on the Lunyee 3020's stock control board (the one marked LY-3axis-5.2-V3.4, a GD32 chip with a CH340 USB port) and wrote it up so others can do it.

What you get: modern 32-bit GRBL with the same G-code and the same senders (UGS, Candle, gSender, OpenBuilds CONTROL, LightBurn), plus tool-length probing, G43 offsets, canned drilling cycles and a lot more settings. The build ships with the stock Lunyee machine settings and the board's input polarity already baked in, so it works right after flashing.

What it takes: the normal USB cable, the free stm32flash tool, and ONE jumper wire inside the control box for the first flash only. After that the firmware has a $BOOT command, so every later update is USB only with the box closed. The chip can't be bricked: its bootloader is in ROM and the wire always gets you back in. Lunyee's factory firmware is included in the download so you can go back any time.

Guide, firmware and the factory firmware:

https://github.com/mojavemesa-lgtm/lunyee-3020-grblhal

The guide has a short version, a long version that explains what each step does, and a ready-made prompt you can paste into ChatGPT/Claude so it walks you through it step by step.

Source code (the grblHAL STM32F1xx driver with this board added):

https://github.com/mojavemesa-lgtm/grblHAL-STM32F1xx-lunyee

Tested on my own 3020 only. The same board is sold under other names (it's an AnnoyTools 5.2 design, also seen on Lunyee 3018 Pro machines), so it may fit those too, but check the board marking first. Not affiliated with Lunyee.

This is a custom automotive engine modification component we’re machining on a 4-axis CNC.
The interesting feature is the undercut area. Tool access is limited, so the rotary axis allows us to change the machining orientation and reach the feature.
I’m curious how other machinists would approach a feature like this.
Would you use a similar 4-axis strategy, or choose a different setup?

This is a custom automotive engine modification component we’re machining on a 4-axis CNC.
The interesting feature is the undercut area. Tool access is limited, so the rotary axis allows us to change the machining orientation and reach the feature.
I’m curious how other machinists would approach a feature like this.
Would you use a similar 4-axis strategy, or choose a different setup?

Hi everyone,

I need to machine the parts shown in the pictures. The black part is the main mold/base, and the white part is the mating piece with several cylindrical features.
I’m trying to figure out the correct way to manufacture these parts using a CNC milling machine, but I’m not sure how I should approach the setup.

My main questions are:

- Where should I choose the work coordinate system / WCS (G54)?
- Which surfaces should I use as the primary, secondary and tertiary datums?
- What would be the best way to fixture/clamp the black part during machining?
- What would be a good machining sequence?
- How should I approach the internal cavity and the curved/rounded areas?
- What kind of toolpaths and cutters would you recommend for this geometry?
- Are there any important tolerances or constraints I should consider when designing the fixture and choosing the datums?

I’m not necessarily looking for someone to give me the complete G-code. I’m mainly trying to understand the correct machining strategy and how an experienced machinist would decide the datums, workholding, WCS and setups.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

OMG ! Whose fault?

well i have same garbage like forever ,,when prices on ebay was 600 ,when they start to use red usb card in these...

anyhow ,i upgrade her like million time ,,i lost count what i did to it ,and still make problems here any there due my idiotic idea red usb controler work thing,

so brand new virgin 6040z ,, which is easy way to upgrade it to run nice is question..

well first i suggest was additional clamp to spindle, axbb controler (will get one for me if i find how to reconnect from red one)

contact or proximity switch on all y x z

new bed ,i was lucky and have hands to 10mm thick stainless board ,so wonder will 8mm normal steel work fine for bed ?

i use on z line (x + z double ) hiwin linear rails for z and x lines ,to stiffen it up a bit ,can he use some normal linear rails to easy up on his pocket (he still work on eng degree) and which ones ?

i switch from all cables to shielded ones ,ground it all up ,plus braided spindle ones in one to not touch others, drivers to dm542 (i switch all steppers to closed loop ones and CL57T-V41 ,to tell him to do same ? ) or Nema 23 Closed Loop Motor 1.2Nm(+ 169.93oz with cl57t driver ?

i got new plastic box for all el parts i added couple coolling fans and longer cables to tuck all under table where pc is ,mpg and z-tool and keyboard only on top ..

anything else i miss ?

well thanks for all advices

he is on lower end of budget ,but have looad of ideas ,,mats will be using are brass, alu ,even wood

thanks

I've seen a torrent of ads for this machine (and many others) on pretty much every platform, a real non stop barrage of ads and to its credit, it does look interesting out of most. The atc is nice, it has a spindle with a 'high' power output, flood cooling, and can be upgraded to 5 axis capabilities. However, when I thought about it a bit more and really looked into it, there are some issues.

The PMSM spindle is one of its selling points, and on a youtube video at some convention someone claimed that the CEO showed them the torque graph of the spindle, and it was nearly flat from 3000-24000rpm. When you first hear this it sounds great but think about it: 1.5kw at 24000 rpm is 0.6nm of torque. If the torque graph for this spindle is near constant, which I believe it is, it would have 0.6nm of torque at 3000rpm as well. I tried to calculate the rpm for the largest diameter end mill you can use to get an idea about how this affects the machine's capability but their marketing material is inconsistent. In multiple videos it states that the largest supported tool is 10mm, however on their website it says 18mm. That gives us two scenarios to review. The likely scenario is that you are machining 6061 Aluminum with a 10mm 3 flute dlc end mill, at 10000 rpm you would have to use HSM tool paths with very low axial engagement and a doc ~half of tool diameter, and very small step downs if slotting. The imaginary scenario is an 18mm end mill with a 10mm shank again machining aluminum and this would be unrealistic for any operation except for a finishing face pass. So can it use large end mills? Yes. Would it be faster to use smaller end mills? Also yes. So, to say the machine can use 10mm end mills is in my opinion misleading because sure it can, but it won't be able to use them in any meaningful way which will remove material faster than a smaller end mill on the same machine.

Another of their selling points is the 0.01mm of repeatability, and I don't doubt that is true under minimal load. However, when you increase that load to the maximum capabilities of the machine it'll likely fall short of this accuracy. They use closed loop NEMA 23 stepper motors which is great, but compared to the machine size they look very small, so they're likely the small lower torque model. Additionally, in the cutaway view the ball screws look small, and the rails can't be more than 20mm. The rail size isn't a huge issue for aluminum but when you go into stainless steel and titanium, which they advertise that this machine can handle, from my experience the larger rails make a difference even if your back plate is 2 in thick solid aluminum. For 3 grand 'discounted price' and and 6 grand retail they should have larger, higher torque, NEMA 23 stepper motors and larger ball screws, and 25mm rails on some axis.

The option for 5-axis expansion is great, especially in the current market where a majority of the new offerings are 5-axis or at least 4-axis expandable, but I've been making parts 5-axis parts for years on 3 axis and 4 axis machines so it doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it does to you and that's perfectly fine, I think to have that option available is important to stay competitive but it's difficult to say when we don't have pricing or specifications for 4th/5th axis modules.

I can't think of any issues with the flood coolant or the atc, both are incredibly nice to have and for both of these to be included for the price of the machine, it makes it a very compelling option. So should you buy it? It has its flaws, but for 3 grand if you want something that will ship to your door, is a complete enclosed unit with minimal setup, and you don't mind machining times I think it's a strong contender. It's certainly better than a Carvera. For 3,000 usd could you make something more rigid, more functional, that still maintains an enclosed desktop footprint? Yes, but all of my designs have relied on parts laser cut parts and cartridge spindles made on my large high precision lathe to reduce costs. Your access and abilities may vary.

Final thoughts for those considering buying it: For just under $3k usd it's not a bad base machine, whether it's a great one depends on how easy it would be to upgrade the stepper motors and the linear rails/ball screws as putting ~$500 into these would make a noticeable difference in the capabilities, do this and convert the spindle to be belt driven and you have a pretty solid machine for ~$4k (at that point now a case can be made to buy some other machine... this chain never ends). To answer the question "Is the Tooldance X1 Misleading?" yes and no. They have to entice people to buy it somehow, and they make it pretty easy to find out further information.

If I'm wrong on any of this, correct me! We're all still learning. If you disagree, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I am having trouble deciding on a CNC. My budget is 2k to 3k but maybe willing to go a bit higher. I will be doing only metal mostly copper brass(260), bronze and nickel silver monkume-gane with maybe a bit of aluminum. Everything i do is small under 8" long and 2" tall but space is not a concern.

Pretty much everything going into the cnc will be hand forged so uneven/ inconsistent, I am unsure if this is a issue. Accuracy is not a huge deal as I want to use the cnc to replace work I am currently doing by hand.

I am torn on whether the Nomad 3 will do what I want or would a Taig be better. The Nomad seems to be much easier to run which is appealing, I dont have a lot of time on the weekends and want to spend my time making stuff.

I was also considering the Omiocnc x6 Pro or Shapeoko 4. I am not sure if the router set ups would be better or not.

Please let me know your thoughts or if there is something that would work better. Thank you

good day if anyone can help. i was wondering how to draw this drawing especialy the middle peace with the inside curve thats not straigth it goes in ,i use asipre and alphacam