A CNC Mill For Less Than $200 - Is It Worth Buying? (CNC 3018 Pro) 

Once it was assembled, I think that my first projects would be to machine out replacements for the problematic plastic parts, or at least reinforcing steel plates to go over them

I bought a 3018 three years ago and I've made hundreds of acrylic Edge Lit signs and wood plaques. It paid for itself in the first couple months selling my work. Maybe I got lucky, mine has ran flawlessly. I upgraded the spindle about a year ago, everything else is still original.

I've been watching a lot of reviews of these and this is by far the most thorough and clear, with an actual parts quality viewpoint. Even broke out the indicator. I needed to know these things, thank you!

For my part, I'm a broke Mom who would ultimately love to build my own machine. In the meantime- something like this is exactly what I need. There are so many things I can learn from for a very minimal amount of money. Idc about perfect right now. I'm delighted this exists so I can learn with my hands instead of just watching creator vids kinda just...idk watching the world go by. For me, this video means everything I appreciate it very much, thank you!

I'm used to larger, corded routers ru-vid.comUgkxfQ5_mgwq6PcudJvAH25t-I4D-3cTPz4z so this was a different experience for me. Basically, this is an incredibly sweet machine, fits well in the hand, etc. It has slightly less power than I'm used to, but that's understandable. Maneuvering freehand takes some practice. These days, it's especially nice to be able to avoid power cords. This is above the level of a hobbyist but below a pro level.

Nice! Good of you to bite the bullet for the rest of us. I'm sure you are right, many of us have that unit in our watch list. Waiting for more reviews to come in, it's too good to be true as things are right now. Thank you so much for taking the plunge on all of our behalf!

Great video, I’ve been thinking of getting one of these for PCB milling and plastic engraving, I’ll be very interested seeing how you go with the upgrades. Keep the videos coming, I always get something informative out of them.

Arguably one of the must underrated machining channels on youtube. Loving the content, Mr. Artisan. Would love to see a CAM video at some point.

Visual’s and commentary perfectly aligned as usual. Learnt a few things new 👍

This looks like a good learning tool; I think people would outgrow this pretty quick but they'd be ready for something bigger because of it.

One of the things I've heard is really important for those small CNC routers in aluminum is using a 1 flute cutter to reduce tool pressure, and lowering the spindle speed to get as close to the correct SFM as you possibly can, so you're cutting actual chips instead of dust.

Thanks, excellent review, looking forward to hearing about your upgrades

Very nicely presented! For $200 it's a great deal. Your mention of the parallel port reminded me of a pcb milling machine I made back in the 90s. I controlled the steppers in real time with binary counting over parallel port. Windows 95/98 allowed this and I milled hundreds of pc boards. I wrote my own Gerber 274X conversion software in VB6. I upgraded to Phidgets USB control in 2005 with some code mods. It's now in my garage shop in use! Kind of cool to see this sort of thing has taken off, and 3d printing.

I've always wanted one of those machines and the price on this is Affordable. I appreciate your obvious background and expertise in evaluating this inexpensive machine and I'm interested in how you might improve it for aluminum use. Thank you so much.

Great video I’ll look forward to seeing your progress in future videos. It’s something I’ve been wanting to try for some time but unsure where to start. A great help.

I've been looking into these as a "Intro to cnc" for myself. Looking forward to the modding videos

Speaking of your 3040, I'm currently in the process of upgrading my 6040 with servo motors - which are vastly overkill, of course. But hey, I consider it a test bench! Those iHSV57s should work wonders on an import mill like yours, and I'd already have everything setup! Except for the mill, of course ...

Thanks for making this getting started vid, it is just what I needed.

Thank you. You cover al the important machining aspects such as run out and rigidity.

I bought a CNC2418 some years before... with a 2.5W laser and a drill... kept me entertained five moths... because I basically lasered and drilled about everything I could find and try. My neighbours were lucky to be on vacation... else I would have lasered and drilled them too. The learning curve of these machines is a bit higher due to no end stops etc. But great value for money.

I like the straight to the point narrative and the comments on the various aspects that affect the build and working of the machine. About 6 months back I went on EBAY or was it AMAZON....can't remember....and bought one of these 3018 CNC routers mainly to see how it went together as I knew just by watching the various videos that it was a bit weak at the knees for a machine that cuts into materials more harder than soft wood...........it's still in the box untouched, but looked at in depth and will be sold on after the build, and from that I designed a more improved version and bought a swag of 2040 extrusions, 10mm aluminium plate along with a couple of SBR linear rails and 1204 ball screws..........I intend to make it perform like a pocket battleship as the motor is a 150watt brushed type. I already have a CNC mill so this is just an amusement exercise in off the shelf component design to pass the time and keep the marbles well oiled. So far, as this is yet another iron in the fire, the build is 3/4 finished and gets worked on a couple of hours at a time just as the fancy takes me. The new build will be more expensive than the bought in item but that was not the object of the exercise......it also worked out slightly bigger in the X,Y and Z due to the off the shelf components that I didn't want to cut.

What an explanation, so neat and clean. Superb

I have the non PRO 3018. I really like it. I made really precise pieces made of plywood and made a bigger CNC with this one. For wood I use fast feed rate and small depth of cut. I t works better for me than slow feed with large depth of cut. Also end switches are nice upgrade.

If you only do model making and mainly work with balsa wood or plastic, then this small C&C machine is absolutely sufficient. But if you want to work on aluminum or even steel, you should choose a C&C machine with at least 1.5 HP or approx. 1 kilowatt of power and a machine frame made of solid aluminum or, better yet, cast steel.

Got one of these a few weeks ago, came with 2.5W laser for $289 AUD, crazy low price for a beginners machine. There are some guys who have got the 3020 Pro Max which addresses the rigidity, linear slides on X,Z and bigger rails on the Y, 300W motor. However it is double the price, if you want to make small aluminium parts slowly then it is probably worth it.

Seems perfect for a hobbyist, thank you for the review.

if you add a spray mist to the machine it will help with the finishes by reducing re-cutting chips . I was an aerospace machinist for 43 years , there are off the shelf replacement bushings/bearings for that machine by the way that are vastly superior but there's nothing to do about the plastic other than replace with aluminum .

Great video I've been looking into getting one of these glad to see they are somewhat capable

I would love to see the upgrade options and I would love to see a full tutorial on acrylic with this machine!

I set these up for a living the huge versions of this, haas and makinos. Kinda cool to see what I would consider a pocket sized version of what I work on.

Toss the endmill and replace it with a roughing mill - which is sort of a cross between and endmill and a tap. With this machine, a roughing mill will produce a better finish and be able to cut deeper than an endmill, because it cuts in nibbles rather than slices.

man you just brought to light for me something I thought was beyond reach

WOW! Thank you so very much. Knew nothing about this type of machine and at the price would have ignored anyway. On Amazon for £159 or £249 now when I work out what’s going on I may purchase and that s because of you!!! Bob England

Plastic, aluminum and steel have one thing in common, they all flex under stress and tensile loads. For industry applications use steel or granite bed, enable increase production rate at optimum profit usually at a priming price. For hobby aluminum and or plastic bed to lower production rate (to obtain same flex in steel) for nonprofit applications to a least market price.

I got the cheaper version and the frame is all extruded aluminum, so it's a little more ridged. I cut plastic and mdf all the time with it. I have used the v bit that came with the machine to etch lines into aluminum so I get my holes and cut lines correct and was able to get a logo on it as well. It just took multiple passes of about 0.05mm each time until I found it reasonable. The tip did break so it is no longer a point on the end but still works. I recently got a drag bit for engraving and that worked great on aluminum. I do find you really need a spoil board that you can flatten because the work plate doesn't ever seem to stay level.

This type of machine is the best introduction into CNC machining. If you manage to become proficient in making little trinkets on this ( which includes) learning CAD and CAM software) , you can confidently step up to a bigger machine than you can use to make practical parts.

Token comment for the algorithm- awesome video! Can’t wait to see the aluminum upgrade, as I bought one of these things a while back to see if it could do some actual aluminum milling, and have as of yet not gotten very far with it, as I didn’t realize CNC would be as hard as it has seemed to pick up… I thought it’d be easy like 3D printing is, hehe

I have what may be dumb questions, but I have always wondered how much comes for $200. I think the money bought a very capable little starter machine that someone starting out would have loads of fun learning and using it. Now for the questions. Can you use the machine parts as patterns and build it up larger in size and out of aluminium instead of plastic. That way you can mount a proper router or HD motor, some beefy stepper motors, but use the little mills electronics controller, to run the larger steppers motors. If so that would be great because you said you like the way it works easily with your computer etc.

That intro had some fantastic This Old Tony vibes. Bravo.

Hi. For proper cuts in wood you have to use Wood cutters. The geometry is different (chips evacuation) and it makes a huge difference. Try 2 flutes bits designed for handheld routers. Spiral ones if you can find them. And in wood, the results vary a lot when you cut endgrain or inline. And also wheter the bit is Upcut or Downcut.

Now I want a cnc mill.... Great review, thanks!

Great video! Appreciate the small details and explanations👏

10 years ago I bought something like this on ebay, it was made from bunch of polypropylene blocks, no profile. It still cuts a pcb's. But I tried alu and It was decent. It was a long journey that started from this little plastic CNC.

G’day & thanks, sir!

Your speech and editing really reminds me of this old Tony, this is great

We, I run a small charity, have been running one of these machines for the past three years. We use it to cut out a product from HDPE, and the little thing runs 8 hours a day 5 days a week. We have never had an issue with it, it just runs and runs, we haven't had to replace the motor or any other parts. We did dump the supplied controller, added a Raspberry Pi, so it works wirelessly now, and some micro end stops. Overall it has been a great machine that has paid us back thousands of times over. It is being replaced by a larger CNC so we can cut more product quicker, but i'm sure we will find something for it to do. It engraves brass quite easily so maybe name plates.

Excellent video review

I use the same machine for facing 3d printed parts. It works great for that. But I don't need engine piston precision for what I'm doing. If you need super precise parts, the 3018 won't do you justice. But if all you need is 0.1mm precision, it's great, and you don't need anything more. With that being said; the 775 motors are not the highest quality. They'll burn out after 100 hours, or so. but the replacements are, only, about $10-$15USD; depending where you look. However, there's plenty of 3D printable mods, that will allow you to add a Makita, or similar router. But, for my needs, the 775 does a great job.

Sure, it’s not a 6040 with linear rails, but it can do a LOT for 200 bucks! I upgraded mine with an all aluminium z-axis/spindle holder and a more powerfull spindle motor for like 100 bucks more and I’m doing carbon fibre plates at around .5mm depth and 100mm/m feed with really nice results. Next step will be linear rails but that is probably at the edge of the amount of cash im willing to spend on it before buying a more proper machine. Still, great machine for learning and very easy to transition to from 3d printing

Wonderful. Looking forward to see this series! And maybe a video on 3d designing?

Very useful guide

Thank you! Looks like the home hobbiest entry

Thanks for the review, I was hoping to see some pcb milling before taking the machine apart.

Looking forward to see some upgrade videos to that machine.

Wow, this is the exact machine I was looking at getting in combination with a printer. Thank you, this is precisely what I wanted to see.

🇬🇧 Wow! incredible value. Great review 👍

Thank you for telling us about that CNC.

Report back in six months after you’ve put it thru paces!

Good Unboxing and Reveiw i think for the Money it appears to be a okay Value ? sure it has a few Quirks and Faults but let’s face it for $200.00 who wouldn’t expect to have to do some tinkering and Modifications a big plus is. it basically worked as it was shipped to you for myself at almost 60 years of age i am still amazed that something like this can be made in another Country then where i reside ,Packaged up safely and shipped to my Doorstep for that type of money i’m a retired ProfessionalWoodworker and the last few CNC machines we purchased for Production purposes in our Shop were in the Millions Of Dollars per Machine Yes a completely different Animal of a higher Quality but it’s Intentions we’re to do high Production with a high level of Precission

Thanks man - Subbed!

Having a little CNC machine to make parts sounds great. I have a few parts I would like to make but this machine couldn't handle it and spending >500 on one just for a couple little parts is pretty expensive. Still, it does seem neat. I would like to own one at some point, which seems possible given how quickly the cost of a capable CNC machine seems to be dropping.

If all else fails you could always attach a big laser to it. Thanks for the videos, very enjoyable.

Hey Josh! I just bought a Sainsmart Genmitsu Prover 3018 This was very helpful.

great vid bud thanks so much. what model was the larger mill you got.... would there be intermediate models by the same manufacturer available?

Thanks for the info

i bought my 6030 about 12 years back for about $1500aud. the electronics failed like straight away and i spent a couple months going back and forward with the ebay supplier getting new parts form them only to have the parts fail instantly until one day they stopped responding. i left it broken for a year or so until i got in contact with a guy who helped me out. another $1500aud saw a brand new custom electronics package, new water cooled spindle, new stepper motors and a re wiring. she works a treat now and i can happly machine brass.

Creative video, thanks :)

Excellent video. In your opinion, which desktop CNC 3018 is best for machining/milling aluminium? The most rigid CNC at the lowest prices.

Very good review

As I CNC op, extra screws are great. They strip and come loose all the time in an Industrial setting and you'll easily replace one or more each week with an aged machine.

Ive had one of these for a while, its a worthwhile purchase but if you use it over time it will need lots of maintenance. Biggest issue is the linear bearings in the head, they are just press fit in so once mine came loose they have never really stayed in properly again.

For my 1st cnc its worth the money and now I’m on the verge of building a small shop and getting a bigger machine I would start small and if you really get into it then I would recommend a bigger machine thanks for the video

That is great, I'm upgrading my 3018 to 5050

I've been doing some custom woodwork lately, mostly birdhouses and indoor trim, but I've been looking into CNC machining, especially since I got into AutoCAD. A machine like that would be a great addition to the shop, and give me an opportunity to expand my business! Thanks for your review.

Great review! Question, what CNC machine would you recommend thats under $2000?

Great video mate, best review I've seen so far. How would the machine go cutting say 3 or 4mm thick carbon fibre? I would like to make some basic shapes like wings and splitters for RC cars

Getting back into CNC after 15years of rusting. The old CNCed X1 needs a Hand Tools Rescue rebuild and the lathe too. Parallel port on tiny PC using FreeDOS and TurboCNC. So much easier theses days, even Raspberry Pi's can do it.

This video is really good

After watching this, I immediately ordered one. I'm not expecting much but I've been wanting some kind (any kind) of CNC machine since the 80's -- just to play with. Now that I'm 71 I just decided to bite the bullet and check it out. Plus, for 200 bucks I can't afford not to. :^) Thanks for the video. Just sane... :^) Saint

Nice review👍

Just a little bit of awesome inside information about some tooling u should be using from now on! Im sure very very few will know this as I have only just learned it today and your the first machinist actually first person I've shared this with! Use P63A metal instead of the common HSS , has acts like mild steel in comparison if you can get it ? Thought it's good to share and yess I know it's not a good time to talk about Russia I don't back there cause but this is just a coincidence that its Russian, anyway buddy I really like your contet all wrapped up with your well spoken and talented results from your loved machines!

I'd check the runout on the bare motor shaft. Also the collet adapter or collet might not be machined concentric ID to OD. When a tool runs out, only the outside (high) flutes are cutting. Two flute far superior. Shorten everything up.

1st second: TOT reference 😍❤️

I also want to buy this cnc machine and then upgrade it to also be able to make aluminum parts. So looking forward to your videos!

Thanks for the review - I am very interested in learning about this subject. The thin diameter of the motor shaft, and the sloppy fitment of collets, etc is the big issues with these machines. I use a lot of very small lithium powered dremel type machines and the runout is horrendous! I've found that the runout and vibrations can actually bend the shaft, especially if the idiot manufacturers have milled a flat on it for the grub screws to clamp against. Surely there is a motor available that has a larger 5-6mm shaft and some precision in the diameter and straightness? Do small "stepper shaped" motors go fast enough?

Thanks for sharing!

If you start all of the slot nuts on the screws for the gantry supports then feed the gantry support onto the aluminum frame it is much more simple and less aggravating.

Great video, I’ve been thinking of an inexpensive CNC to make simple parts but I think being able to do Aluminum and Brass would be a must. How would this one be with milling brass?

My dad has a cnc (router) and when i tried to measure tool runout i noticed a preatty big rigidy issue (more like huge) enough to visually identifiy in fact and its all made of aluminium (albeit its a very large router like over a meter long by 200+mm)

Well I will say that I started my CNC fun with one of these little machines. At first the machine worked great. However it came to a point where it would not work anymore. I replaced the control board twice with no luck. Even replaced the power brick. Every time I would plug it in it would start smoking the circuit boards. Ended up selling. Wasn't a Vevor brand. Moved to a 3040 CNC (Vevor Brand) and that was a good machine. The bed size was definitely better than the 3018 but was kinda right there for a useable size. I Found a outstanding deal on a Vevor brand 6040 4 axis machine that was 3 months old so I now have a even bigger machine. I have not owned or tried other Chinese brand CNC routers but it seems like the Vevors don't seem to have all the issues that other machines do. Plus there USB. I run my Mach3 on Windows 11 without any issues. Machine runs great!

But it is still a deal for $200, as long as you replace the table, the motor, the frame of the machine, and the small bits. 🤣 Looks like it would be a nice birthday present for my 6-year-old son to cut out balsa wood unicorns! 👀 👍🏻 🦄 All fun aside though, good video. Thanks for the information. 👍🏻

When you have a plastic edge on mylar I had a old timer show me Zippo lighter fluid on a rag and rub on the edges. instant Glass!! Keep off the faces it will melt and distort the finish. Thumbs up once you try it. My mind was blown. A light clean up with a exacto knife was all the worst cuts needed, then zippo treatment.

I'm interested in something like this. I need to watch some more videos about upgrades and such. What would be the next step up in terms of a machine you can just purchase?

I wonder will the 775 motor spindle withstand the long continuous running of milling or engraving? Can it work continuous for more than 1 or 2 hour ?

Vevor actually makes some ok cheap stuff. Actually I have heard the cooking equipment is great. I have a 2 ton vevor motor hoist it has been great. I have the 5 ton hydro 3 jaw puller it’s great too.

I bought it once and now it's in the closet. Everything worked fine except for setting the spindle to the "home" position - the spindle tried to break through the base or go to the ceiling, and overall it went crazy.

Thanks for reviewing this machine. Looking forward to seeing your upgrades, and also some CAD/CAM tutorials with Fusion!

Thanks for the review, wonder if to begin with what would be a better choice so I could eventually cnc aluminium. Cheers

I don’t know if you upgraded it yet but I would love to see you changing stuff and modify what needs to be fixed

I've been casually considering a machine of this sort, or a similar one. I've been watching a fair number of videos on both this machine and also for a fair number of similar ones of varying sizes. I figured that there would be some nontrivial limitations to one of these, but wasn't sure where they were. You showed where some of them were, and that has pretty well decided me to not buy one of these, but instead to hold out for some kind of a machine that deserves to be called a mill... Maybe if you come up with some ideas about how to overcome some of the shortcomings of the machine I might change my mind.