Best CNC Machine for Beginners
I've told thousands of people to stay away from budget CNC machines. They're weak, frustrating, and this all leads to a really disappointing first CNC experience. But then this machine, the Genmitsu 440 Pro Max, came on the scene, and it may make me eat my words. This machine cost under $1,000 and runs as smooth as machines I've paid triple for. Let me show you exactly what I did with this machine, why I think it changes the game for budget CNC's, and give you a full breakdown, including setup, software, and specs.
Genmitsu 440 Pro Max
Out of the box, I thought I'd be in for a long weekend of setup. But from unboxing to getting the machine running, it took me about an hour. If you've never assembled a CNC before, it may take you a little longer, maybe an afternoon, but it's really straightforward. You don't need a lot of experience to get this machine put together and running.
The build quality really surprised me. The frame is all powdercoated aluminum, and it's built around linear rails and lead screws. That is a serious upgrade in this price range. The Z-axis also felt solid. It's built with a lead screw and guide rails, which gives the machine more stability, especially when cutting taller materials.
This machine is completely stock. I haven't made any upgrades yet, although they are available. You can add a fourth axis, a Wi-Fi module, a laser module, control it with a phone, or even expand the cutting area. The first upgrade I will be doing is reinforcing the center of the waistboard. It could use some more support other than just the half inch MDF, but that's an easy fix. I need a six millimeter thick board to slide through the middle. It will provide support to the middle of the waistboard. The waistboard comes with pre-installed threaded inserts and matching clamps. So, you have a good clamping solution right out of the box.
One of the first things that caught my attention when I was looking into this machine was that it comes with Genmitsu’s router. And this is a huge upgrade from traditional budget spindles that are just low powered little tiny things. So this is actually a 65 millimeter mount. If this craps out on you or you want to upgrade it, then you can swap in any 65 millimeter diameter router and be up and going. So, Home Depot, Lowe's, the Makita router, they all have a 65 millimeter version. And so this is a major upgrade to traditional budget CNCs.
To really test this machine out, I decided to do a long carve because I thought if it has any weaknesses, they will show over continuous use. Now, I've done multiple projects with this machine already, but the one that I'm showing you today is the 4 hour continuous carve of the popular 3D crocodile project. So, I used Vectric for my CAD/CAM software and UGS for my control software. Neither of these come with the machine, but Vectric made it really easy. The correct post-processor is already available. I just had to export the tool paths, open and load it into UGS, and we started carving.
Like I said earlier, Vectric or UGS didn't come with the machine, which one of the good things about that is you're free to use whatever software fits your budget or workflow. I'll probably test gSender next, I've read that it's free, more modern, and better suited for first time users. For CAD/CAM, I can't recommend VCarve Desktop enough with this machine. It's not free, but it's incredibly intuitive and makes your experience a hundred times better. There are free options out there, of course, like Fusion 360, but they usually come with more friction and it makes the making experience less enjoyable.
So, let's take a look at the main specs of this machine. The work area is 15.75 x 15.75 x 3 and almost an eighth of an inch. So 16 x 16 x 3 is the work area. The frame is full aluminum linear rails and lead screws like I mentioned. The spindle is a 65 millimeter 710 watt Genmitsu router, but you can upgrade that to an off-the-shelf option like the Makita. Spindle speed range is important and it's 6,500 to 3,000. Up here on the front, it has a dial that controls the RPMs, from 6,500 RPMs up to 30,000 RPMs up at the high end. The max speed of this machine is 78 inches per minute, and it's compatible with all of the major CAD/CAM and control softwares on the market.
Another huge advantage with Genmitsu is the user community. There are tons of people sharing files, helping each other out, and troubleshooting in forums and Facebook groups. Although I haven't had to call support myself on this, I looked into it. I did some research just for you to see what customer service was like, and this is what I found. On Trustpilot, they have over a thousand reviews and most are five stars, even for people dealing with technical issues. One user said they got a replacement control board in just a few days, no back and forth. In my experience, and one of the reasons why I haven't recommended budget machines is typically their technical support is non-existent or very very very slow.
All right, so let's go over the results of this test of the crocodile project and some of the details to go along with it. I carved this crocodile into mahogany. I used mahogany that measured 15 in x 4 in x 2 in thick. I used two bits from IDC Woodcraft, a 1/4 inch down cut bit for the roughing pass and a 1/4 inch shank, but an 1/8 inch tapered ballnose for the finishing pass. Let's talk a little bit about feeds and speeds. For the roughing pass, I ran the 1/4 inch down cut bit at 78 inches per minute, which is the max feed rate this machine can handle. For the finishing pass, I dropped in the tapered ball-nose bit, kept the router at the same setting, and ran it at a really tight step over of 10%. This is the bit that gives you all the detail on the crocodile's back and tail. The final result, it speaks for itself. It's flawless. And that's from this $900 CNC machine. No mods, no hacks, just straight out of the box.
This crocodile relief wasn't just for fun. It's a legit stress test. It combines fine detail, long run times, and dense hardwood. That means if something's going to fail, if it's going to skip steps, if it's going to overheat, if it's going to have run out and bad accuracy, it's going to show up here. It's really interesting because I've tested or owned over 10 CNC's over the past seven years. I'm looking at five of them right now. My go-tos are typically my Shapeoko 5 Pro or my Avid Pro 5x10. And the reason I stay away from recommending budget machines is because of the user experience.
Typically, these sub $1,000 machines feel like DIY science projects. I have worked with clients that want to make things to sell, but they can't get their machine to work. So, I usually stay clear of this. And so, this is really interesting. It kind of flips it on its head. I'm really liking this!
You're going to see this machine in my shop. It's going to be here with my other ones now. This isn't just a one time review video, and you're going to see this gone. This is going to stay here, because I'm truly impressed with what they've done here for under $1,000. With that being said, this machine sub $1,000 cannot do what my Shapeoko 5 Pro can do and it cannot do what my Avid 5x10 CNC can do. And it shouldn't. I mean, my Shapeo is five times the cost of this. My Avid is ten to fifteen times the cost of this.
If you're someone that is looking to dip your toe into the world of CNC and you don't want to spend $5,000, this is a great machine to get started with. And if you buy Vectric, if you buy VCarve desktop and you decide to upgrade your machine, you can still use VCarve Desktop with any CNC on the market.
