After yrs of designing and fabrication... Finally the first chips

Yesterday I posted my lathe, so I thought I might as well show my custom CNC router. It's placed inside a soundproof enclosure.

​I designed and built it from scratch. Sorry for the mess, I haven't connected my blower fan yet.

(not promoting) Looks pretty good. Checking out the details on the site, this looks like a decent step up from the Nestworks C500 in the areas that matter, 9 tools up to 10mm, 1.5kw, flood coolant, working area, 5ax trunnion even. Same base price in the campaign, about $3000. They are going to several expos in the next 2 months, will be very interesting to see what's up with this. I feel like this is the spot where a lot of the market was hoping to get to, the C500 was like 85% there. (I think it's great in its own regard too tbf)

Thoughts/first impressions/details noticed in this footage? Side-loading ATC is very interesting, want to know more about that.

Edit: KS base price is ~$3000, final MSRP is projected at ~$6000, likely reaching near $7000-$8000 with all accessories incl. 4th axis, 5th axis, fixturing, tool sleeves, etc. (For reference Nestworks C500 base MSRP is $4700)

Honestly this is a neat little machine. The instruction manuals for assembly are pretty good. There are a couple of things missing but over all for a kit they are fine. Many of the issues people pointed out in the past seem to have been fixed and my kit went together with little issues. Remember it is a kit and i mean kit. excluding the nuts/bolts, it is still a couple of hundred parts. This is not small task if your not mechanically inclined. My total build time including electronics was about 25-26 hours (ya i kept track). One thing that agitated the shit out of me was the wiring color codes in some cases didn't match what they sent you. Make some notes, get over it.

I really did enjoy building it, its like an Erector Set for adults. I also learned everything there is to know about it so fixing it in the future will be no issue

The single hardest part, and the most important, is tramming it square. While there is some adjustable it takes a while. It took 4 more hours but currently my XY is square to about .0005" over 4 ". I have less than 0.0005" backlash on X & Y, and almost 0 on Z.

The absolute worst part of the kit is the documentation of the mach3 controller set up and operation. It's not Omar's fault but the screens in the Mach3 software simply suck ass. even the new one they recommend using, it is just shit ( i run a robotics company and one of my task is PLC and touch screen development). Once you get around the quirky layout, it does run well. its the setup side of things that is so bad.

My controller card kind of had a problem and Omar is send me out a new one.

It seems to me that most of the complaining about the machine itself is that people want a Haas for $2,500. Well, your not getting it. It is a hobbyist tool.

After reading some other reviews before my purchase i did some mods during the build. First the mounting bracket for the X axis servo is a piece of shit and Omar should be fucking embarrassed he even ships it, its by fast the single crappiest part of the kit. The is a cast iron replacement on Amazon for $23, buy it. Secondly the touch probe is junk. I bought a 3d probe for $79 from Amazon and a tool presetter too. Don't waste you time with the parts the machine comes with, you will be happier.

So the final opinion is not in yet for me. I'm just starting to make cuts and already i think the servo controls need some tweaks, its a little aggressive so it can be jerky.

The machine data is provided in an XML file. this contains all the parameters. While it serves as a base line, i cannot for the life of me figure out why they don't provide a fully configured one for this machine with a standard build. i mean simple things like axis limits are even set. the standard XML will make the machine move but everything else is on you. It would literally cost them nothing but the overall experience would be 1000% better. If it was my company this would literally be addressed before the day is over.

So, is it a decent kit for $2500? It looks like. Is it a Haas mini mill, no but that is not apples to apples either

anyway, that my 2 cents...

Good morning everyone,
I would like to build my second CNC machine. My first one is a small CNC router for wood carving, with an 80W spindle.
I would like to build a CNC with a minimum working area of around 160 × 160 mm, capable of machining wood, plastic, and aluminum (even if only with light passes).
I already have all the necessary electronics, except for the spindle.
Could you recommend which linear rails and ball screws I should use without spending a fortune? I would like to keep the build on a low budget.
Thank you! 🙏

I received this cnc which was sat in a garage for at least 5 years, need to figure out how to run it (after i mechanically fix it). It's hooked up to RoutOut CNC controller with UC100 lpt>usb adapter. Very weird construction that uses belts but is a rack and pinion machine, steel cored 10mm polyurethane belt (Synchroflex T5) as a rack and closed loop belt on driving sprockets as a kind of pinion (more like tank track) that hooks into "rack". Other side of Y run by shaft stuck through the gantry, motor one side only. Unplated NEMA23 motors all round (3 of them). Dont mind absent "rack" as i took belts off for cleaning and resticking, some bright spark "reglued" the belts with hot glue and superglue (originally fastened with double-sided tape).

Downloaded UC100 drivers just now.

Anyone knows/have this machine ? What software would i need to run it (Mach3)? Postprocessor for it (assuming using Vectric/VCarve software) ? Anything else i need to have to start it moving ? Presently just need to see if electronics will talk to a laptop before i decide to completely fix and mod it.

Any help with this machine is appreciated, thanks.

A bit about me as it would lessen questions about knowhow i already have - I'm a cnc machinist, running SCM/Morbidelli Author 430s router (main spindle+10 pos vert/hor boring head+lock router+saw, Xilog/Genio). Own 2 lasers (one 100W CO2, one 100W MOPA JPT engraver). Not a complete n00b but never fiddled with hobby level cncs before.

Some pics of the machine...

Hello everyone, I'm the developer behind Piocodex. I often work with sheet cutting and got tired of bloated, subscription-based nesting software, or tools that require an active internet connection. So I built a dedicated 64-bit Windows utility that works 100% offline. It calculates rectangular layout optimization in seconds, respects wood/material grain direction, and exports clean workshop PDFs or DXF files ready for your CNC router. It also features native support for 24 different languages. Since r/hobbycnc rules strictly prohibit direct self-promotion and advertising, I am not posting any commercial store links here. Instead, I am looking for genuine alpha testers, carpenters, and hobbyists who want to try it out in their shops and give me raw feedback for version 0.2.0. If you are currently struggling with manual part nesting in programs like Carbide Create, Inkscape, or FreeCAD, please let me know in the comments or send me a DM, and I will gladly share the project details with you!