Hi all, I'm new to the world of CNC and had been planning to order a Genmitsu 4040 Pro as my entry into the hobby. I'm planning to cut out shapes in MDF (only) to make into signs after painting etc so I need something sturdy so that I can reliably cut through fairly deep (>12mm) MDF at a good speed. I'm very interested in potentially building my own machine, but honestly the info on this site is overwhelming. Something like this OpenBuilds OX CNC Machine might suit but I can't figure out the cost. Any recommendations would be welcome if there are any well documented CNC builds on the site that a relative beginner could follow? I'm in the UK and my budget would be £800 to a £1k for a fully built machine. All advice appreciated!
The OX is quite an old design from the early OpenBuilds days. Belt driven, relatively flimsy, needs custom plates etc. No longer relevant except for the sake of an awesome run in history at the time Rather go for our newer stuff like the LEAD Machines Machines - LEAD Machine - OpenBuilds Part Store
Hmm, I could consider the price of the 1010 especially with the extra size compared to the Genmitsu. I see the shipping price to the UK is very reasonable too. Are there any independent reviews of the machine available? It certainly looks like a decent bit of kit but as a noob I really wouldn't know !
There should be reviews online somewhere but I can't point you at any off the cuff, we don't really do the influencer thing so whatever is out there is just people making cool videos about our stuff like the ones at the bottom of this post Our YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@OpenBuilds/videos has a couple videos you might enjoy instead (demos, the full assembly, wiring, software guides, etc). The Documentation in the form of the Build page LEAD CNC 1010 (40" x 40") and general Documentation at start [OpenBuilds Documentation] should help. Does everything you could throw at it. Off the shelf modular parts from the OpenBuilds system means modifying, fixing, upgrading is easy as Lego (OpenBuilds is foremost a Modular Build System after all, just happens to be very useful parts for making solid CNC machines amongst other things) Even off the shelf upgrades available like the High-Z for increased Z clearance, or Multi-Z (Only for the LEAD1515, but I haven't showed you that one yet) or adding a Laser or even turning it into a Plasma. Really is the flagship these days Even Aluminum
I'm coming dangerously close to ordering the 1515. Some quick questions: 1. What does the BlackBox Motion Control System X32 do? Is it necessary? 2. What does the INTERFACE CNC Touch do? Is it necessary? 3. Can i use any CNC software of my choice with the machine? Eg CarveCo or whatever? I think it just makes G-code which I pass to the machine...? 4. Noise of the router is a concern to me. I will eventually build an enclosure but I might buy a spindle from the start. What's the diameter of the Z-mount and can I buy anything basically that will fit inside that diameter? Is there a max weight for example? This'll be my 1st cnc, have used a laser before so know some stuff but still very much on the learning curve! Thanks!
Necessary :Yes. See https://docs.openbuilds.com/blackbox-x32 Necessary, no. Cool, yes. See https://docs.openbuilds.com/interface (Run a Job section has a nice Demo video) Any Grbl/grblHAL Compatible software yes. See docs:software:overview [OpenBuilds Documentation] Most noise comes from the endmill and the material. Spindles are complicated (VFD setup with english-chinese translated instructions, tonnes of High Frequency EMI to contend with, harder to wire etc). Water cooled spindles are too heavy (deflection issues) and Air cooled spindles (65mm body 0.8kw/1.5kw) sounds the same. Can fit 65mm body spindles with the Router Mount Adapter Consider a RoutER11: RoutER11 CNC Kit
