MYSWEETY 2 in 1 7000mW CNC 3018 Pro Engraver Machine, GRBL Control 3 Axis DIY CNC Router Kit with 7W Module Kit, Plastic Acrylic PCB PVC Wood Carving Milling Engraving Machine with Offline Controller

I went into this purchase somewhat skeptically given the price, and generally with knowledge "that you get what you paid for". In this instance, I was pleasantly surprised. The intent of this product purchase for me is as a "hobbyist", so I purchased the laser engraver/cutter upgrade.My review is broken down into 3 parts; assembly, running the CNC test files, and testing the laser module, and I hope that you find this information useful.Assembly - the product arrived in a small package very promptly. Upon receipt, I removed all of the parts and compared to the assembly guide to ensure all were in the box. Once confirmed, I spent about an hour to remove the metal filings and grease/oil that result during the product machining process. This is expected, and DO TAKE THE TIME to clean and degrease all of the parts. Others have commented on the instruction manual so I will not. However, if you are reasonably handy and can follow the clearly illustrated instruction guide, you will not have a problem. Actual assembly took me about an hour taking my time to ensure proper operation of screw jacks when coupled with the stepper motors. I recommend using a very light machine oil or Vaseline on ALL of the bushings during assembly.Testing the CNC router - after assembly, it was time to load the software and test operation. Software was provided on a USB drive, and although there are several files, you need the one that is for 3018 pro. Software loaded installed on my Windows 10 machine with no problem, but I had to save it as a file with a shortcut built to my home screen. I'll go into this in a minute. Powered up the unit, booted the software from the file, and loaded a test file. Using a scrap piece of MDF, I successfully engraved one of the test files. CNC router operation successful. No binds of screw jacks or undue flexing of frame during operation. Seems to be a robust little unit. The Candle software seems weird though as after installation, I am not able to open the application without Windows 10 message warning that installation of unknown software may corrupt machine. This is not an issue, and may be on my end as I am not a computer guru.Testing the laser module - The laser module came well packaged, and after removing the CNC router attachment, the laser module fits nicely into the same space as router head. A future enhancement may be to develop an attachment that will permit keep both laser and router in place without need to swap out. There are NO test files that come with this product to test the laser, and perhaps due to my naivety, I had to seek assistance from the vendor in this regard. After a couple of email exchanges, which were very helpful, the vendor provided a URL to a detailed set of instructions for the LaserGRBL software. After reading, I used a JPEG photo of an image, and loaded it into the software. The software then walks you through the process to vectorize and scale the engraving. After completing that activity, it was time for the moment of truth. Prior to sending the file to the machine, I activated the laser by following instructions and adjusted the focus as well as possible. The focus adjustment is very loose and imprecise, so I plan to use some "teflon tape" on the focus wheel that may help. The laser lighted fine, I sent the file, and in about 9 minutes of burn time, I had a perfectly replicated engraving. So that worked fine. Now onto the ability to cut pieces which is really what I want to do with the machine. Using both 1/8" and 1/16" balsa wood, I attempted to cut some simple parts. This was not very successful. It took about 6 to 8 passes of the laser in order to cut, and the quality of the cut was inconsistent and not very precise. I clearly need to practice more in this area before I can provide further feedback, but am thinking the 5.5 watt laser is not sufficient for cutting type of work. By the way, I tried to cut the same simple parts using manila file card stock with limited success. The laser seems to want to skip in places, even-though the vectorized image seems good.Overall, this is a decent little machine. As I mentioned, I'm a hobbyist, and although the work table is too small to support the type of work that I do, I purchased this tool as a means to "learn" prior to making a big investment. So I'm happy in this regard. I would also caution this is not for beginners - there is definitely a learning curve, especially with the CNC router with learning to design a part and create tool paths. The CNC test files are necessary for beginners like myself, to fully test CNC router operation. The laser operation so far is much easier to understand for me than the CNC router because the software essentially does all the work for you, so once you get used to loading images and manipulating in the software, it's a breeze. I am somewhat disappointed in the fact that I was not able to successfully cut simple parts out of balsa wood. It may be something I'm doing improperly, or it could be the laser is not strong enough, but it should cut card stock, and it didn't. I'll keep tinkering. If you are patient, and are willing to make a small investment to learn how the software works, and the machine's overall capability, you won't be disappointed. Overall, I'm satisfied.

It arrived quick, and was well packaged. Setup was relatively simple, and will be quick for anyone who's assembled a 3d printer. The Y axis is assembled already, and attaches with 8 screws on each side into pre-threaded holes. Attach endstops and route wires. After that, mount the PSU and control board. You can mount them on the back as shown, but I'd recommend using an external enclosure to protect the fans from dust/shavings. The spindle is simple, just make sure you mount it low enough for the tool to reach your work or you'll get errors trying to start a job.EDIT: The seller took steps to make it right. Also, the machine works pretty well, even with the gripes listed above. Updated my rating from 2 to 4 stars.As far as the machine goes, it works, though not without some disappointment. My biggest gripe about it, relates to the lack of precision ball screws as shown on the product page. Ball screws along with the linear rails are the main reason I opted for this little machine, instead of a similarly priced larger machine. I was not pleased to find that all 3 axis are driven not by ball screws, but by cheap 8mm lead screws (t8 like in 3d printers). It's not a deal breaker, but I feel very mislead. If this was about 25% less expensive, it wouldn't be a gripe, but at over $500, it stinks.Another gripe, though a minor one, is the bits that are included. I figured there would be a variety pack of small 1/8" bits of differing types, but the tiny package pictured, includes a bunch of the same exact bit, a little bitty 15 degree pointed bit. If you're hoping to cut material or slot aluminum, you should go ahead and order cutters. The collet seems decent, but only a 1/8" is included. There are plenty of sets on amazon with both collets and a variety of bits, so find what you need. Stick to single/double flute endmills for cutting aluminum.I did engrave a small board to test it. It worked, and the job finished. The finish was rough, but the bit was cheap and the toolpath just something quick n easy. I used Easel online to generate gcode based on an SVG from inkscape, then sent via Candle 1.1. I made the following observations as I prepared and ran the job. The knobs on each axis are not square or straight at all out of the box. Thanks to a single set screw, it's about impossible to get them square either. Just poorly designed as far as knobs go, but easy enough to remedy. Doesn't affect axis motion, they just look terrible wobbling while moving.The spindle is noisy... very noisy. I don't know if the bearings in mine are just junk, but there's a bit of gritty noise when spinning ,beyond what one would expect from a spindle of this size.Also, no surprise, dust builds up quick. If you're going to use it for wood, get a dust shoe. If using to cut metals, get a misting nozzle for coolant and compressed air. If you've got one, I'd be interested to hear your workflow, if using open source/free software for CAD/CAM/Control.

me llego antes de tiempo. en cuanto a la calidad del producto muy buena, todo el marco de alumino y tambien el soporte del spindle. no trae instruciones impresas pero viene un archivo en la memoria USB todo explicado el emsamble... estoy muy satisfecho con el producto.

Cumple con las expectativas

If you can put together Mechano, (the children's toy), then you can put together this kit. I'll play with the spindle later, but the key ingredients in this kit is the 7W Laser. After dialing in the focus, and figuring out the X/Y zero point I grabbed the first cute 'Laser' that popped up in Google image search and out popped a laser printer laser in about a 3minute span of flashes. (Safety Goggle's are included for a good reason).The Software is a little trickier to figure out, I installed LaserGRBL, an open source project ready to slice and dice with the 3018Pro. JUST BE SURE TO INSTALL THE DRIVERS. If the software isn't seeing it, that's the problem (Conveniently LaserGRBL will let you install them from a handy menu).Don't go into this expecting any hand holding however, rtfm is an acronym that exists for a reason in this case the manual isn't the piece of paper that came with it, (though those are very clear instructions on how to build the device), your best advice will come from watching YouTube videos and reading other people's experience.Well you may not necessarily need a degree in order to use the device, as with most industrial type applications the software can get quite cryptic through use of multiple TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms), I would recommend you get yourself familiar with the terminologies and functions of your new tool, if you're familiar with 3D printing many of these are similar.This robot, armed with rotary slicing cutty bits and a laser of doom, is a little more 'manual' than a printer job, but the job it does is outstanding.

Got exactly what I expected for the price point. Assembly was easy, my son helped, took a couple hours at a relaxed pace. The instructions were clear where necessary without dumbing it down too far. I feel some of the hardware could have been done differently but it achieved a nice, tight assembly in the end. It's been running every day since we got it assembled with only one small hiccup from a jammed x lead screw which could have been my fault for not shimming out the coupler from the stepper motor. The work piece clamping system does the job but it's not the greatest to work with and the metal will dent soft wood. It's happily running from my linux machine in case that was a question, the only thing I haven't got working was Easel's native linux driver so I just export to GCode and run it through Candle.I recommend some free software to get you going; Easel by Inventables, dmap2gcode for lithophanes and Inkscape to make SVGs and GCode - I haven't tried the GCode tools, I turn my image into SVG and import into Easel.

we tried to get this to work but it is very complicated and could not get the downloads to work....