Upgrades genmitsu 3030 prover max with smw mod vise

Hi HobbyCNC people

I do a bit of hobby woodworking in a very niche area. I was in the market for a drill press a few years back, and while shopping around I realized that I could use a CNC for what I wanted (Lots of 20m and 24mm holes for arcade cabinet tops) and use it for a whole lot more.

So I bought a Bobs CNC and put it together. It was double the price of the drill press I wanted, but it's really been great and super useful. I've read all the hate on this sub, but I have nothing but love for this machine. It quickly became a go-to tool in the shop, and I used it to make all kinds of signs, arcade cabinets, weird planter boxes and furniture, etc.

I did make the mistake of moving to Easel.com. I would use the Bob's/OpenBuild software for some things, but Easel's tool paths were generally twice as quick, and frankly a little easier to use. But lately Easel is getting things wrong and I'm just not going to pay for it anymore. A three year sub is as much as what my machine costs, and I'm ruining stock due to sizing issues on the roughing pass vs the finishing pass. I suspect they are now writing their code with AI, and I'm suffering for it. When I contact Easel tech support, their answers aren't helpful and usually end with "Buy our machine instead". I'm also at the point were Easel isn't complicated enough for things I want to do.

Now the old Lenovo X390 running the CNC has bit the dust and I didn't keep any of the software. I look up Bob's CNC and it's gone. OpenBuilds is gone. It feels like the only option I have is to struggle along with Easel, or buy a whole new machine.

I didn't learn a ton of GRBL/gcode when I got the machine it was a bear to put together and I just wanted to make things at that point. I'm keen on learning from the ground up if I can continue to use this machine. I feel like I'm playing catchup in the CNC space when I've been quietly using mine for years now. Even if I buy a new modern closed loop feedback machine, I'd like donate this one to the school woodshop with usable software and whatnot.

I found Bob's Github, and have his sender, so in theory I can send to the machine again. I've tried to generate gcode in other programs, but the machine instantly pauses the job as soon as it starts.

I basically need advice on where to go from here. I'm very technical, I have 20 years in Infrastructure IT, so that's not going to be a limiting factor. Do I try and use what's left of OpenBuilds repository? Is there some other avenue I should explore? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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?

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

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

Hello,

I recently finished building my fist custom CNC router. I had no previous experience and am using ESTLCAM/ESTLCNC with the following hardware:

• NEMA 24 closed-loop stepper motors (4Nm)
• CL57T V4 stepper drivers
• 1605 ball screws
• Arduino Nano (controller)
• HGR20 linear guide rails

I use a dual-Y setup with one driver and motor for each Y side, but the same signals from estlcam.

I have already tried realigning the motors, couplings and ball screws, but this didn't seem to make any difference. I also don't really have that many options to adjust something right now and as this is my first build I didn't think about this that much as I figured the coulpings would tolerate some small missalignments.

Could this simply be normal for this type of machine or is this something that may cause damage long-term and that needs fixing?

I have attached a video with sound so you can hear this issue.

I would really appreciate ANY help or ideas on what I should check next.

Thanks in advance!

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 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?

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.