Which Cnc machine did you go with

[dofthesea]

Hi there. I'm curious about which Cnc machine you have and why? 

[Paul McEvoy]

I have a onefinity.  It's pretty well engineered in a lot of ways but the company has been absolutely horrible to deal with and I would absolutely recommend you don't buy one.  

They pay a lot of youtubers to say good stuff about them but I've never had a more dissatisfying experience with a company ever.  The machine is nice, if annoying in certain ways, but the BB controller they sell it with is absolute garbage and after 3 years it still crashes regularly.  They delete all negative or critical comments on their forum so it looks like everyone loves it.

I am not sure what I'd get now instead.  An AVID obviously is a huge step up but much more money.  I would definitely not get any belt driven machine (Shapeoko etc).  I'm interested in Sienci Labs but I have a friend who has had issues with them as well.  

There's a lot of machines out there that are kinda decent but come from sort of fly by night manufacturers that really don't do anything like real support.  

My experience, anyway.

On Fri, Jul 18, 2025 at 8:05 PM dofthesea <doft...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi there. I'm curious about which Cnc machine you have and why? 

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Paul McEvoy
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[David Smith]

I have a Shapeoko 5 Pro which is NOT belt driven. I am very happy with it and their support has been wonderful.

For hobbyist guitar making it is great. Pretty sturdy and the 1.2kw ER-16 spindle works well (8k-24k RPM). I use Fusion 360 and Vectric with it. The Carbide Create is nice for simple things but way underpowered for anything complex.

 

Build is sturdy but make sure you have a flat table for it since there can be some play in the spoil board without shimming ( I shimmed).

Accuracy over range is 3-5 mils (around .1mm).

 

I would definitely buy it again.

 

Regards

David

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[Dick Fulco]

I use a Genmitsu from sainsmart. 

A small cheap machine, I upgraded several parts (spindel,spindel holder, laser, biggen table) I only use it for inlays, bridges and laserswork.

It works fine and the support from sainsmart is really great.

Met vriendelijke groet, Dick

Op za 19 jul 2025 om 03:57 schreef David Smith <d...@dolcesfogato.com>

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[Oleg Brovko]

What set of Software do you use for the sainsmart?

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[Dick Fulco]

I use the paid version of Easel 

Met vriendelijke groet, Dick

Op za 19 jul 2025 om 15:30 schreef 'Oleg Brovko' via Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum <obrien...@googlegroups.com>

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[Dick Fulco]

And lightburn for laserwork.

Met vriendelijke groet, Dick

Op za 19 jul 2025 om 15:32 schreef Dick Fulco <dick...@gmail.com>

[Rick Molloy]

I ended up going with a Laguna 2x4 in for my second cnc machine.

My first was an open builds 1200 x 1200 and that one wasn't rigid enough - I kept running into calibration issues and having to tighten bolts / re zero it before every cut.

The Laguna has been great, I also use it frequently as a pin router for template work.

My only complaint with the Laguna is the controller and I have an upgrade for it waiting for me to have enough time to install it.

Rick

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[Brock Poling]

My personal machine is a used Shark Pro Plus.  It has a 2’ x  2’ bed on it, and it has been heavily upgraded, a new (mostly metal) upper gantry and spindle holder made by ThomR, and new motors.  It is very accurate and I have found the NextWave people very great to work with.  Even though I am the 3^rd owner of this machine and it has been modified like crazy they’ve been great supporting it.  I’ve literally spent HOURS on the phone with their tech team trouble shooting problems (mostly software issues).  I don’t know if I’d buy a new one today without the upgrades, but I am very happy with the one I have and I am likely to keep it for the long haul as I continue to get bigger / better machines.

I also use a ShopBot Desktop MAC ATC in the StewMac studio.  We partnered with them to make video content for the StewMac YouTube channel.  They didn’t give us the machine, but we have free use of it to make content.  That machine is a dream to work with.  It is SUPER accurate, the bed is big enough to do anything with, it has a ton of power, it is compatible with just about every piece of software we’ve thrown at it, and the automatic tool changer makes running complex jobs a joy.  If I were going to buy another one for my home shop today I’d save my pennies (or finance it) and buy one of these. 

 

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[Michael Minton]

I have a Laguna IQ with the hand-held controller.  2' in X, 3' in Y.  12 years now and it still runs like a champ.  Solidly built and accurate.  3 hp water cooled 220v spindle.  It has enough Z height so that I can make the full neck heel (going down in Z).  I use Aspire by Vectric, and have never had any gcode/toolpathing issues.  One thing it doesn't give you is the gcode setting the spindle RPM, that has to be done at the machine

[Ray Jenkins]

I built an Ultimate Bee from Bulkman 3d. It has linear rails and ball screw.drive. For the electronics I used Openbuild motors and their Blackbox controllers. Openbuild has very good customer service and extensive online help. Ended up costing much less than any comparable machines.

[Brad Clark]

I have a ShopSabre IS510. It’s a lot of machine (5’x10’), but it fills other of my needs as a woodworker. I started with a 4’x4’ Camaster. ShopSabre is American made and well engineered. What they have that others don’t is a total commitment to customer support and success. Will never look elsewhere.

Brad+

Mobile, AL

261-689-2481

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 19, 2025, at 4:37 PM, Michael Minton <skywa...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Laguna IQ with the hand-held controller.  2' in X, 3' in Y.  12 years now and it still runs like a champ.  Solidly built and accurate.  3 hp water cooled 220v spindle.  It has enough Z height so that I can make the full neck heel (going down in Z).  I use Aspire by Vectric, and have never had any gcode/toolpathing issues.  One thing it doesn't give you is the gcode setting the spindle RPM, that has to be done at the machine

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[JohnParchem]

I got a  Genmitsu pro 30 40  from sainsmart. I like it and it works as I have hoped. access to 2 g code controllers. I have been able to do everything I hoped to do and more without issue. First machine so I can't offer comparisons.   

[dofthesea]

I ended up with a Shapeoko 5 pro 2'x4' with a 65mm spindle but upgrading to the 80mm so I can do 1/2 tooling. I also found some riser blocks made be Pwncnc to increase the entry height an additional 1".  So far it's been a great machine. I must say Carbide 3D has exceptional customer service. Any problems were dealt with immediately. Great Eco system.