Written by Graham

Test the finished 4040 Reno

There is an expectation that everything will work correctly, but I sit in the trust but verify camp!

I have every expectation that I may have plugged the wrong wire into the wrong socket, this is difficult to do but is not beyond my capabilities. Or, more likely, I may have just missed plugging one in or failed to seat the connector properly.

NOTE: It is important not to place anything on the top of the X and Y extrusions such as an Allen key, cable or anything else. As the carriages move anything on the extrusion will become trapped underneath a V pulley which apart from jamming the movement of the carriage can damage the pulley and or the extrusion. Just mentioning this as it could happen!

Basic checks

Install the CH340 driver and the Gcode Sender software you prefer. Connect the router to your Gcode sender. For some of these you will need to connect to a Gcode Sender. The offline controller does not allow some of the actions.

Do not forget to turn the router on, the control board will light some LEDs and respond to a Gcode sender just from USB power, but it won’t move any stepper or spindle motor without mains power as well.

The power button on the front left end plate will be illuminated with a blue ring when mains power is on.

Backup Grbl settings.

Before doing anything or making any changes take a copy of your Grbl settings. These are displayed at power on and when you send a $$ command to the router. It will respond with a list of $nn=xxx lines along with a parameter description.

In the Gcode sender highlight these, copy and paste them into a text file and save it somewhere. These are your base settings, if you have these saved then it doesn’t matter how much you mess them up you can always use them to restore the settings.

These are the default settings:

You can restore the default settings by sending a $RST=$ command, but as the boards can be made for different, but similar, routers I think the copy and paste method is better although my $RST=$ values are all OK, the same as the factory settings.

By default the board is in 4 axis mode, this means it will show the settings for the optional 4^th rotary axis and will report the rotary (A) position as well as the XYZ. This can only be changed by use of the offline controller (not included) but this should not cause any problems.

Test the limit switches

There are 6 limit switches, one at each end of each axis. To test jog the router slightly past the maximum movement on each axis so it triggers the switch. When the limit of movement is reached the relevant switch should be triggered, the router should stop moving and an Alarm error should be returned. If not, the switch has failed/is not connected/…

To move onto the next switch from the Gcode sender unlock the router and jog away from the triggered switch. This may need to be repeated a few times to finally clear the switch. Then test the next one.

Note: This is a little tedious but only has to be done once and is IMHO worth doing. I did find one error, when I had been removing covers, something you will not need to do, I had dislodged a limit switch connector!

Check movement directions and distances.

Using the jog commands from your controller move the spindle along all the axes individually, something like 20mm at a time. Check that it moves in the expected direction and for the expected distance. Note: this is a basic check, there is no need to measure the distance moved, just that if you said jog by 20mm it moved 20mm, not 2 or 200mm.

Test the spindle motor

Using your controller spindle controls start it rotating at a low speed (~1500RPM) – it should rotate clockwise, if not reverse the motor connections.

Measure and configure the Z-Probe

In order to use it the probe height has to be measured accurately. If you have a decent set of digital callipers use them, a ruler will just not be accurate enough. The height can also be measured by using the router itself. For more details, please see Z Probes.

The height must be set in any Gcode Sender, offline controller or WiFi module you are using along with some other probing parameters.

A Brief note on coordinate systems

Moving an axis takes a position, this can be a distance from the current position or a distance from an origin, machine or work. This position value can be -ve or +ve.

On the X axis -ve values move the bit to the left, +ve to the right.
On the Y axis -ve values move the bit the front, +ve to the back.
On the Z axis -ve values move down, +ve are up.
On the A (rotary) axis -ve values move counter clockwise, +ve are clockwise.

For machine coordinates if the positions are +ve or -ve depends on your home position.

If it is the left, front then all machine positions on the XY axes will be +ve from the origin.
If it is the right, back then all machine positions on the XY axes will be -ve from the origin.

My preference is to set the home position to the right, back, top. This means all my measurements from this point will be negative values.

From the Work Coordinate origin movements are the same but as the origin will probably not be in a corner both +ve and -ve numbers can be used.

Measuring the cutting area and alignment

The cutting area is the rectangle formed by the maximum travel on the X and Y axes. And the maximum travel on the Z axis. It’s nominally 400x400mm as this is a 4040, but the actual values will be a little different.

I find it very useful to know the exact limits of the machine, these will be used to make a spoilboard, allow me to go to the centre or edge of the cutting area, and know exactly how big an area I can cut.

To measure home the router, this will send the spindle to a corner, by default the left front top. The XYZ machine coordinates will be set to zero at the home position. Then jog along each axis until the limit switch at the other end is triggered and note the machine coordinate, you will have to go through the unlock and jog away process before measuring the next one.

Note: For safety when measuring the Z axis make sure no bit is fitted in the spindle motor and that the end of the collet will not reach the top of the bed at maximum downwards travel.

The maximum travel is the difference between the start and end machine coordinates (ignore any – signs), less a little to avoid actually triggering the limit switch. Mine measured at X=404.753mm, Y=406.633mm, Z=77.009mm.

I am going to round the values down to 404 x 405 x 76mm (15.91 x 15.94 x 2.99”) to be safe.

The alignment of the cutting area over the bed is also important, ideally it will be centred over the bed on the X axis and totally over it on the Y axis. On a fixed bed router, the spindle motor will always be offset from the rear of the bed.

My cutting area is centred on the X axis, on the Y it starts about 4mm in from the front of the bed.

Adjusting the Grbl Settings

Some of the Grbl settings are determined by the hardware used and definitely should not be changed, some are often not set accurately by the manufacturer, some are subject to personal preferences. Some would require testing to see what the actual machine limits are.

Does a lot of this belong in a review? Probably not, the default settings are fine, but a little conservative perhaps. To be honest it is better this way than having the default settings overly aggressive! There is no need to change any of these settings. However---

Homing

There are four settings which directly affect homing:

Home Position

Set by the $23 parameter this selects which corner the router will home to. By default $23=3 which will home to the left, front, top position. My personal preference is $23=0, right, back, top position as this gives better access to the bed but your choice.

NOTE: Setting any of the bottom positions (4-7) is normally a bad idea and will normally result in any bit being dragged into and through any clamps, stock or the bed/spoilboard.

Homing speeds

There are two movement rates, $25 homing seek, this is the rate at which the router will move to find a limit switch, it will ‘crash’ into the limit switch at this speed. The lower the rate the longer homing will take, this is a 4040 so to a federate of 400 will take a minute to move across an axis, but it’s not a lot of time.

Once it has hit a switch it will back off a bit, by the homing pulloff distance to de-activate the switch and then re-approach the switch at the $24, homing feed. A lower rate to get a more accurate reading of when the switch is triggered. However the axis will be a very short distance away from the switch so using a low speed increases the accuracy but does not add a lot of delay.

My preferences are $25=1000 to speed things up and $24=25 to get a more accurate reading.

Homing debounce $26

The default is 250ms, the time for the switch to mechanically settle down and give a consistent reading after it is moved.

¼ of a second is ridiculously long, 25ms is more likely. This will save you nearly 0.7 seconds in the time taken to home the router!!

My preference is $26=25.

Homing Pull Off $27

Once homing triggers a limit switch it will stop and back off by this distance before re-approaching.

After triggering the switch for the second time it will stop and back off by this distance before setting the machine coordinate zero position for the axis.

My preference is $27=1 with is plenty to release the switch and not excessive to reduce the cutting area. This is the default setting.

Minimum spindle speed

$31 is the minimum rotational speed of the spindle. It is not capable of rotating at very low speeds. For example at 5 RPM it just won’t move!

But very low speeds can effectively create a short through the motor which can blow out the controller board.

My preference is 1500 RPM, I cannot foresee cutting anything with a spindle speed lower than this.

Acceleration

The acceleration rates are often very influential on how long a job will take. The rates for the XYZ axes are set to 15mm/sec² This is very low, what is basically the same Z axis on the 4040-PRO has a default of 20 mm/sec²

It will require some testing to verify what these can be set to. For now these have been left unchanged. And if you were to upgrade the spindle motor to a heavier one these would have to be revised.

Rotary 4^th Axis

NOTE: The 4040-Reno supports the full 4^th rotary axis (Not included), I have changed the settings to those I have measured on my 4040-PRO with the same axis. If you don’t have the rotary 4^th axis ignore the $113,123 and 133 changes.

I am going to set $133, the A axis maximum travel to 360,000 this is measured in degrees and it just rotates, there is no real limit so 1,000 revolutions seem OK.

The other 4^th axis settings I have changed are $113=18000°/min (maximum rotational rate) and $123=200°/sec² (acceleration)

My final Grbl settings

Changed values are highlighted. If you are going to follow my alignment checks and making a spoilboard I suggest you change your home position ($23) to Zero, right, back, top. You can always change it back later but this is the position I have used for work origin etc.

Alignment and level checks

In an ideal world the tip of the bit will move along the X and Y axes in perfect alignment with the sides of the bed, The tip of the bit will remain perfectly level with the surface of the bed and when moved up and down the movement will be at a perfect vertical to the surface of the bed! Does this router exist in a perfect world? That is the question!

Bed XY alignment

Are the X and Y axis movements aligned with the bed? – basically yes.

Bed level

I measured the Z height in 5 places, each corner of the cutting area and in the centre and recorded the machine Z coordinate after the probing, I am only interested in relative values between the positions, not absolutes.

Pretty good, the centre of the bed seems to be the high spot and the greatest deviation from level is ~0.5 mm. Without any levelling or other adjustments, I am well pleased.

Tramming checks

As this applies to all routers and the method is the same I have written a separate guide to tramming which can be found here. The following is an extract.

Tramming is the process of adjusting the spindle motor mount so that it is vertically aligned to the bed on the X and Y axes.

Consider the picture (it is a little exaggerated), the green is a representation of a bit which is perfectly trammed or aligned with the bed, as it cuts it will leave a level surface. The red, which is un-trammed, will cut a groove out of the stock (the shape depends on which way the bit is moving) The larger the bit the more the effect will be.

This can be noticeable when you surface a large area and the bit will leave a ‘ripple’ effect on the surface as one side cuts deeper than the other.

Unless it is really out of alignment, which is very unlikely, the importance of tramming depends entirely what work you are going to be doing, if you are just using V carving to make signs or engravings then it will be very difficult to see any difference between a perfectly trammed router and one which is a little out.

However, if you are trying to leave flat surfaces, cutting something like Inlays or parts to assemble the effects can become important.

Initial tests show using my small tramming bar that there is a tilt on the Z axis around the X axis of about 0.45° The tilt on the Z axis around the Y axis is pretty much zero.

I used 1.1mm of shim washers between the lowest mounting bolts on the motor mount and the Z frame.

HINT: I used very light smears of a glue stick onto the washers to keep them in place while the screws are inserted and located.

If you are going to make adjustments then you need to measure YOUR tram first. These adjustments should only be needed because of manufacturing tolerances, yours may need none or could be out in the other direction which means these adjustments would just make your router worse, however I would say that 0.45° is a relatively large error.

Later after fitting and surfacing a spoilboard I will make the final checks and adjust as needed.

Making a spoilboard

A spoilboard is a piece of sacrificial material attached to the top of the bed, it can be surfaced to make the top perfectly level with the movement of a bit on the XY axes. It can be cut through (spoiled) as it can be easily and cheaply replaced. Normally a thinnish piece of MDF is used, I use 6mm MDF.

NOTE: The spoilboard is nearly, but not quite, the same for the 4040-PRO. The clamping hole spacing is the same but their position on the shorter bed is different.

Why fit a spoilboard?

Sticking a piece of MDF onto an MDF bed, does this make sense?

The advantages are:

Surfacing the bed or spoilboard is highly recommended to give a flat and level surface relative to the movement of the bit. Having the bit 0.2mm higher at one side of an engraving than the other can be a serious problem.
Surfacing could be performed directly onto the bed, however this would leave a lip around the edges of the cutting area which would make it very difficult to mount stock larger than this accurately.
Unless you never cut through the stock, over time the spoilboard is going to soak up a fair amount of abuse. It can be re-surfaced a few times. But when it reaches the limits of resurfacing it will need replacing. Currently a replacement bed for the 4040 is £36. It is a lot cheaper to replace, a 6mm MDF spoilboard will cost me £8.50
The bed is in two pieces, adding a spoilboard will increase the rigidity.

The disadvantage is that the bed will effectively be raised by 5-6mm reducing the maximum stock thickness that can be used.

Design

I am going to use a piece of MDF secured to the bed using blue tape and superglue.

Measurements!

I am going to surface the board using an RB03A 24mm surfacing bit, this has a 6.35mm (1/4'') Shank so you will need a ¼” ER11 collet to use it. Due to the bit diameter the board can easily be 10mm larger at each edge than the cutting area, with a little safety margin. There is plenty of space for the spoilboard on the left, right and back however the front of the cutting area is only 4mm from the front edge of the bed. So my X dimension is 10+404+10=424mm and the Y dimension is 4+405+10=419mm. I don’t have a wood shop so will be buying the two pieces of MDF I will need cut to size.

Material

I prefer to use a higher quality MDF for my Spoilboards. Medite has a low formaldehyde content which means less harmful dust when inadvertently cutting it and less harmful fumes if the laser cuts it. It also has a higher moisture resistance than generic MDF. A thickness of 6mm (0.25”) is a good compromise, it lasts a while depending on the abuse it takes and reduces the maximum Z stock thickness by a minimum. Note: in this case the Medite was out of stock so I used generic MDF instead.

Making

I always make two boards the first time, there is no spoilboard fitted so using two pieces allows the bottom piece to act as the spoilboard while cutting the top one, then to cut the bottom piece they can be flipped over. If you are replacing the spoilboard then you can use the spare, just make one more, or do as I do, search for the second one, decide it is lost, order new MDF and machine it, then find the second one.

There are three machining operations.

Cut the holes allowing access to the bed clamping holes. Maybe this is 2 operations as I cut one spoilboard at a time then flip them over and cut the other one.
Surface the spoilboard, after a spoilboard has been fixed to the bed this operation levels it in relation to the movement of the bit by cutting layers off the top.
Engrave, I like to engrave a grid of lines across the cutting area on the spoilboard. This is useful for aligning stock to the router.

What you will need

Perhaps more precisely what I used, other options are available.

Item	Description
Surfacing bit	SainSmart RB03A, 1/4'' Shank, 3-Flute, 1'' Spoilboard Surfacing *(Note the ¼” shank, you will need a ¼” (6.35mm) ER11 collet)*.
Spoilboard	424 x 419 x 6mm (16.69 x 16.50 x 0.24”) MDF (Two pieces)
Painters tape	3M Blue Painters tape 25mm (1”)
Superglue	Lots of options, I often use a spray activator.
V Engraving bit	20° V bit from the sample bit set supplied with the router.
Machining bit^*	SainSmart 3.175mm (1/8”) 2 flute flat end from the MC40A set

^* Any straight edge 3.175 (1/8”) bit can be used, the holes are going to be 8 mm in diameter, the supplied Gcode is for a 3.175mm (1/8”) diameter bit. As the operation is making holes I do not recommend downcut or compression bits.

The Gcode files needed are included with the .zip version of this document.

Securing a spoilboard

If you are familiar with the Blue or Painters tape and superglue method skip this section. It’s not just for spoilboards!

You cannot clamp a spoilboard down to the bed! You can screw or bolt it to the bed, you could glue it directly to the bed, or the best method is to tape it down.

Pieces of tape are stuck onto the bed; a matching pattern of tape is stuck onto the bottom of the spoilboard. Then superglue is applied to the tape on the bed, activator on the spoilboard if needed, then align them, press them together until the glue sets and the tapes are secured together. To remove it use something like a scraper to separate the tape from one of the surfaces, bed or spoilboard and remove the tape from both the parts.

Blue tape is a synonym for a better quality of masking tape than the cheapest paper stuff. The quality is important as then the tape sticks to the parts and the glue holds the tapes together without seeping through the tape. (Other colours are available!) Also, the tape adhesive lasts a lot longer without drying out than cheaper alternatives.

Double sided tape, preferably woodworking tape, as it is made with a stronger adhesive than, for example, carpet tape can be used. But it can be thicker and more expensive than the Blue Tape method. I would suggest that you never cut through double sided tape as the adhesive will stick to the bit and clog it up. The superglue sets hard and is far less likely to adhere to a bit cutting through it.

Do not overlap the tape, it creates bumps where one piece passes over the other and do not cover any of the holes, if the tape overlaps or covers holes use a sharp knife to trim the tape and remove any excess.

To remove a part, I use a paint scraper to gently lever the tape apart. Once the tape has been separated or removed from one side it should peel off, if necessary, use the scraper to remove any tape and possible glue residue left behind.

Cutting the holes

First mark up and join the boards, you will need a square, ruler, pencil and a sharp knife to trim any tape.

There are many ways of mounting these, this is just what I used, follow it if you wish! If you are using the Gcode supplied then the only critical point is the WCS origin (XY Zero point) is 200mm in from the front of the bed along the centreline of the bed.

I am using tape at the front and clamps at the rear, clamps cannot be used at the front as the spoilboard will obscure all the clamping holes!

Rest the spoilboards on top of each other and align the edges, they will slip as they are moved so keep them aligned.

Identify the longer side (424mm), this is aligned along the X axis, front of the bed.
Using a ruler measure and mark the centre point of the front edge and extend the line down the front edges of both boards.
Measure in from the front edge by 60mm at each side, mark and extend a line down the side edge of both boards.This will mark the line to apply tape across the X axis at the front of the spoilboards and avoids any clamping holes.
Separate the boards, I find it easiest to mark a side of each as an Inner, or outer face.
Both inner faces need a line of tape above the 60mm mark, so extend the line across the boards using a ruler, or by measuring up 60mm at different points and joining them up.
Apply masking tape along the 60mm lines with the tape to the rear of the line. Apply a line of superglue on one tape and making sure they are aligned join the boards together.
Mark the Work Coordinate origin. Extend a line from the front centre mark down the board using a square and ruler.
Mark a point 200mm from the front edge of the board.
Repeat this on the other side.
Extend the 60cm line along the outside of one of the boards, and apply tape above the line. This will be used to secure the front of the spoilboards to the bed.

You will now have the two spoilboards joined together with the WCS origin for cutting the holes marked.

Now attach the joined spoilboards to the bed.

Measure from the front of the bed by 60mm and draw a line across the bed parallel to the front edge of the bed and apply tape above the line.
Apply superglue to the bed tape. Align the spoilboards front edge to the bed with the centre mark over the join at the centre of the bed and glue together.
Use two clamps to secure the rear edge of the spoilboards to the bed.If you don’t have any other clamps than the ones provided, use an extra line of tape along the back edge of the spoilboard, and across the bed. The provided clamps are a little short for this job.
If needed trim back any excess tape which could possibly get caught in the bottom Y carriage wheels.
Fit a 3.175mm (1/8”) bit to the router and set the Work Origin XYZ Zero position at the marked point on the upper spoilboard. You will end up with something like this.

Load and run the 4040Reno-SpoilboardHoles.nc program. (Takes ~16minutes)

I had to take a short break to research if I had created a scene from Caddyshack or Alien. Possibly both.

Remove both spoilboards, still joined, from the bed. I use a paint scraper to lever the tape apart and then to remove any tape left behind.
If you do not intend to prepare the second board at this time then separate the spoilboards. The top one will be fully cut through, the bottom one will have shallow indentations where the holes are. And jump to step 14. As everything is already set up, I prepare two at once.
Flip the spoilboards around the Y axis.
Re-apply tape to the bed in the same position as before and apply tape to what will now be the bottom spoilboard.
Apply glue to the bed tape, align the spoilboards and glue and clamp them down.
NOTE: If you have not powered off or reset the router the WCS origin will still be set correctly. If you have then redo setting the WCS origin as before.
Reset the 4040Reno-SpoilboardHoles.nc program, or reload, and run it again.
Remove both spoilboards from the bed and split them apart.
Remove any lips left round the edges of the holes on the side you will be attaching to the bed, light sanding or a paint scraper both work.

Mounting the spoilboard

This will be the semi-permanent mounting so I am using a lot more tape. I find it is necessary for the outer edge of the spoilboard to be secured down completely to prevent any lifting, along with sufficient tape through the centre to make it immovable and prevent any vibrations.

It is easy to use the clamping holes to align the tapes on the bed and spoilboard, but remember the spoilboard holes are 8mm but the bed holes are 6mm. This is my tape placement.

To help align the spoilboard I used the threaded rods from the clamps inserted into the clamping holes, and then placed the corresponding spoilboard holes over these. I also aligned the spoilboard ‘dry’ and when the holes in the spoilboard and bed were aligned I adjusted and tightened the rear clamps along the outside edge of the spoilboard to provide an easy fore and back alignment.

It is obviously important that the holes in the spoilboard are aligned with the bed holes and as Superglue sets quickly anything to make it easier is useful.

Add the glue to the bed tape align the spoilboard and stick it down. Of course, if you get it wrong, just prise the spoilboard off the bed, re-apply the tape and try again.

Surfacing the Spoilboard

Do not forget to move the clamps away from the rear edge and remove the threaded rods before proceeding!!!

Fit the surfacing bit (RB03A 25mm (1”) flat end surfacing).

Load the surfacing Gcode file ‘4040Reno-Spoilboard Surface.nc’

The surfacing Work Coordinate Origin is at the Right, Back of the bed. The easiest way to set the WCS origin is to set the home position to the Right, Back, Top position, (send $23=0 to the router using the console pane). Home the machine and set the work origin XY zero at the home position and the maximum possible area will be surfaced.

NOTE: changing the home position ($23) is permanent until changed so if you prefer the default Left, Front, Top position ($23=3) or any other after surfacing the spoilboard reset it by sending a $23= command to the router.

The Z-Zero should be set to the highest point on the top of the Spoilboard. As it is not level yet you don’t really want to start carving great chunks off some high areas, it’s a big bit with a small 775 motor! The aims are to remove the minimum amount of material from the top, cover the whole surface and to leave a good surface finish. The Gcode will remove 0.2mm per pass.

Run the GCode file. You may spend a large amount of time cutting air, where the bit is above the surface, but at the moment the surface of the spoilboard is not level with the bit. The cutting air should decrease with each pass, when no air is cut anywhere on the spoilboard the surfacing is complete!

I could apologise as the process is tedious, but I won’t as I can’t think of a better way to do it.

NOTE: At the end of each pass the Z zero height is reduced by 0.2mm so if another pass is needed just rerun the program, there is no need to adjust the Z height between passes.

Final tramming check

I have now surfaced a large enough area to check the Tram, I am checking now before I have surfaced the entire spoilboard as it is easier to adjust it now and look at the difference any adjustment makes.

It’s tricky to get a good photo to show the tramlines but you can just see them here, faint nearly vertical (in the photo) lines. Also along the bottom edge of the photo the lighter area is cut MDF, as it extends from the bottom of the surfaced area this shows uneven cutting.

Along the X axis everything looks good but there is a little tilt along the Y axis, The spindle is leaning forwards by a fraction making the back of the bit lower than the front. I was slightly over exuberant with the initial spacer washers so I am removing a 0.1mm shim washer from both bottom Z-Frame to Motor mount bolts leaving the shim thickness at 1.0mm. I think that is as good as I can get it, back to surfacing! Remember to reset the Z Zero position as the bit has been removed and replaced.

Once the entire surface has been cut I recommend running a ‘spring pass’ this is an exact repeat of the last operation which should eliminate any tendency of the router parts to act as springs and deflect rather than cutting the material. As the surfacing Gcode steps down after each pass this must first be reversed. After a pass has completed in the console pane enter G92 Z10, this will remove the automatic 0.2mm stepdown between passes.

If you normally prefer to home to the Left, Front, Top position then after surfacing reset the $23 parameter to 3.

Removing Lips and steps

It is possible that a lip or step is left around the edge of the Spoilboard depending on your router and the exact dimensions of the spoilboard, my measurements are designed to give you as large a Spoilboard as possible. Just remove any of these so the surface is slightly below the surfaced area of the Spoilboard, chisel, sharp knife, small plane, sandpaper will all work.

This is what you should end up with.

Engraving

Totally optional but I engrave a grid on my spoilboard, just a set of horizontal and vertical lines 1mm deep, 1cm apart centred around the cutting area of the router. The centre lines are also marked. I find the grid useful as an easy method for aligning stock with the bed when mounting it.

Fit a 20° bit from the sample bits into the spindle.

NOTE: The engraving bits are the shortest you will use, the Z axis will be very close to the bottom of its travel so make sure that the bit will reach the spoilboard surface and go down a further 1mm without triggering the limit switch. If necessary, slide the spindle motor down a little in the motor mount.

Load the ‘4040Reno-SpoilboardEngrave.nc’ program. This engraving is centred on the cutting area of the router and the WCS origin is set in the same position as the previous surfacing operation.

NOTE: MDF varies, some are ‘fluffier’ than others and are less likely to allow clean cuts, instead leaving fibres raised. If this is the case after engraving then clean the surface, scraper, sanding…. to remove the fluff and then re-run the engraving operation to clean out the slots.

Summary

A very good entry level router with a larger cutting area. It is a budget version, nothing wrong with that! It has the same ~70W spindle motor as the 3018’s and the 4040-PRO although expansion to more powerful ones are readily available.

Its belt driven on the X and Y axes, not leadscrew driven. Belts tend to be less capable of providing high cutting loads, but are cheaper.

Perfect as an entry level CNC router for cutting Wood and soft materials. It fills a gap for those woodworkers (I would use this for soft metal engraving, but not metal cutting) who want a large cutting area at a very reasonable price.

This fills a gap in the range for a large but affordable hobby router.

What I like the most

It’s big! A Large cutting area of 404 x 405 x 78mm (15.91 x 15.94 x 3.07”). It will take a maximum material width of 50cm (1.97”) a maximum material depth of ~9.8cm (3.86”), the ends on the Y axis are totally clear so using tiling there is no practical limit for the material length.
Very well designed.
Largely pre-assembled meaning a simple and fast assembly.
Robust and sturdy frame and motor mount.
Dual Y axis stepper motors.
32 bit control board with Air assist, MPG port and an A port for a full rotary axis.
The Motor mount has a lot of flexibility for other Motor and laser options.

SHOP NOW: Genmitsu 4040 Reno CNC Router

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