cheaper at their site and probably better support (as a direct from manu buy)
If you scan down that page you’ll see that cheaper price is for the 1810PRO. The 3018PRO is $249.99 on their website, which is the model here on Woot.
The stepper motors on this machine are very weak. It is a nice machine but don’t expect it to be accurate because the threaded rods have a hard time turning on the X and Y axis. The Z axis seems to be fine. I have tried to tune the guides many times and also lubricated the thread but they keep on getting stuck. Maybe some day the thread will wear out enough and they will move freely. You get what you pay for.
I think you just got a defective machine. I’ve had the 3018Pro for about a year now, and haven’t had any issues at all with the any of the threaded rods getting stuck. Outside of regular cleaning and lubrication, I haven’t needed to make any adjustments or repairs to the machine at all. Great little machine for the price imho. I’ve made more money with it, than I spent to buy it.
Pair this up with the “Jack Sparrow” version of Aspire that’s floating around in the bay, and some 1/8" end mils from drillman1 on eBay, and you got a nice little machine.
All these Chinese CNC machines are made with cheap parts, so don’t expect a whole lot. But, itt cut and carve wood, although slowly
After passing on the recurring Woot deal for this printer multiple time, I finally pulled the trigger and bought it this time. Just received it today and was pleased to confirm this version (which I assume is the latest/current version) includes the newer mainboard in the clear plastic case as well as the Offline Control Board…both options I was thinking I might have to buy as upgrades for controlling a laser and running the router w/o my PC. It also looks like it has some wrap-around cable protectors…another improvement over prior versions of the same model I’ve seen videos about this router.
For $190 it seems like a great entry point into DIY CNC (same as the Ender 3 Pro I bought last year as an entry into 3D Printing). If I like it, then I can always get something more expensive w/o feeling like I wasted to much money. And my experience has been that when first learning, a device like this will help you learn a lot more than something that works better out of the box but can’t be easily upgraded or customized.
I got it yesterday. Put it together, started playing with the Offline Control Board, it worked for a bit, but apparently something broke. Only the 24V LED (the bottom one of the 3 LEDs on the top left side) blinks. I have been reading that the power supply is not strong enough. Anyway, contacted their support, waiting for an answer.
What was the outcome with your power supply?