Desktop CNC guides for beginners
Plain explanations of the parts and specs you meet when you start looking at hobby CNC routers, each tied to what real machines publish.
Buying guides by budget
2 min read
Desktop CNC routers under $500
Every desktop CNC router in the record priced under $500: what the money buys on paper, which leads on each published figure, and what you'll still need.
3 min read
Desktop CNC routers from $500 to $1,000
Every desktop CNC router in the record priced between $500 and $1,000: what the money buys on paper, which leads on each published figure, and what you'll still need.
5 min read
Desktop CNC routers over $1,000
Every desktop CNC router in the record priced over $1,000: what the money buys on paper, which leads on each published figure, and what you'll still need.
4 min read
Desktop CNC for small shops, spare rooms and garages
Footprint, weight and enclosure for every machine whose maker publishes them, and what the spec sheets leave out.
3 min read
Moving up from a 3018: what the next machine adds on paper
The 3018-PROVer V2 against every machine in the record up to $1,500: how much more work area, Z, drive and spindle you get.
Learning the basics
5 min read
How a desktop CNC router works, from drawing to cut
Six steps sit between an idea on screen and a groove in a board. Here's what each one does.
2 min read
Work area, travel and footprint: the three sizes on a CNC spec sheet
A machine with a 400 mm work area can take up nearly three times that much bench. The numbers from the spec sheets in the record.
3 min read
Leadscrew vs ballscrew: how a CNC router moves
Two ways of turning a motor's spin into straight-line motion, and which machines in the record use each.
3 min read
Router or spindle: what "spindle not included" means
Twelve machines in the record ship without anything to cut with. What they expect you to add.
3 min read
GRBL, grblHAL and the controller box
The free firmware inside many hobby CNC machines, where it came from, and what the makers in the record use.
2 min read
Open-loop vs closed-loop stepper motors
Most hobby CNC machines assume their motors did what they were told. Some check.
2 min read
Rods, tubes and profile rails: what the axes slide on
The guides that keep each axis straight come in a few shapes. What the makers in the record say they use.
2 min read
Where CNC spec sheets contradict themselves
Reading 35 product pages line by line turned up 41 places where a page gives two answers. What they were, and what to ask.
2 min read
What a desktop CNC router costs, from $219 to $10,390
Prices for every machine in the record, what each price band gets you in size, and which ones include something to cut with.
2 min read
What's in the box: what a desktop CNC price includes
The frame and the electronics always come with the machine. The router, the software, the offline controller and the legs might not.
2 min read
Offline controllers: running a CNC without a computer
A handheld box that runs a job from a memory card. Which machines in the record offer one, and what it does and doesn't replace.