[Palmhoej]

After having read a lot of posts in here about different routers from china, i decided buying af 6040 type of router from china. The reason for choosing this one was primarily the price and the relative small space it required (i am living in a dorm in central copenhagen). I was prepared to change all the electronics with gecko, but i figured that i might try my luck... there wasnt really much saving in getting the router without the electronics.

I looked at ebay, but saw that another guy had bought from carving-cnc with succes. As they had the newest version of the 6040 router i ordered one from them.

After roughly on week i got the tracking number and roughly one-two week later i received the router (shipped with DHL). I had an electronic engineer from my work look at the electronics and the only complaint was a bit of metal chip that hot wired the y-axis. After removing this, it poured like a kitten. It also seems like the stepperdriver has been upgraded. They are now in a seperat plasticbox (each).

I have now used it for 4-5 hours and the electronics seems to hold up. The only thing i cant get to work properly is the z-probe. It worked at the beginning (sporadically), but then stopped working. This might have something to do with earthing the machine. My dorm is very old and have no third earth wire in the electrical socket. Just next to were it stand is an iron radiator. After getting electrocuted several times touching the router and the radiator i decided to ground it to the radiator with some wire to the router table. I then used the z-probe and the got electrocuted touching the z-probe and the router table (which know was grounded). I then grounded the electronic cabinet, but since then the z-probe hasnt worked. Maybe i fried the pin on my parallel port? (any suggestions?).

Well, besides from this, it has worked like charm. I am new to cnc so i am still learning and experimenting, but i have cut 12 mm aluminum bars at 1mm passes at 800 mm/s@18k RPM and the finish is almost mirror-like. I was using 4 mm single flute carbide end mills like these:

5X 4mm Carbide CNC Router Bits Single Flute Tools 22mm | eBay

I have to add that i am using a DIY FogBuster on it to get this finish. I have used regular 96% alcohol (BE AWARE that alcohol is flammable and in conjunction with pressured air can form explosive gas vapors. I use mine under heavy suction, else DO NOT USE IT!!!!).

The precision seems to be in the rough end of 0.05 mm but definetly within 0.1 mm.

I haven't tested it for repeatability, but i am pretty sure it is good, else i would not have gotten a mirror like finish on 12mm aluminum [email protected] passes.

The newest version comes with the 1.5 Kw spindle and the VFD is now an integrated part of the box. So far this spindle seems like the right choice. It seems really powerfull (have really nothing to compare against). I have used a regular 3mm jobber drill to make holes i aluminum @ 4000 rpms and there was no complaints, even though this is way out of its prefered torque range (if i have understood the theory correctly). Be aware that you need to buy ER11 collets in the right size. Only a 6 mm ER11 collet comes with the machine.

Some points that still needs attention is the table which isnt aligned with the z-plane. I used and old wooden plate and faced milled it, so i am sure that it is now aligned. I have thought about buying a thick aluminum plate and do the same thing, but the nice thing with a wooden plate is that i can screw in it anywhere and when it gets to holed, i just take another one.

The summary is that this is a great little machine for a relative small amount of money. It seems that with the new electronic they have sorted out the past errors (or maybe i was just lucky?). So far i have no intention of changing the electronics, which was my initial plan. With this machine the 6040 routers has taken one step closer to be a machine that works out of the box (not completely there yet!).

Any questions, just ask

[paulkane1]

After having read a lot of posts in here about different routers from china, i decided buying af 6040 type of router from china. The reason for choosing this one was primarily the price and the relative small space it required (i am living in a dorm in central copenhagen). I was prepared to change all the electronics with gecko, but i figured that i might try my luck... there wasnt really much saving in getting the router without the electronics.

I looked at ebay, but saw that another guy had bought from carving-cnc with succes. As they had the newest version of the 6040 router i ordered one from them.

After roughly on week i got the tracking number and roughly one-two week later i received the router (shipped with DHL). I had an electronic engineer from my work look at the electronics and the only complaint was a bit of metal chip that hot wired the y-axis. After removing this, it poured like a kitten. It also seems like the stepperdriver has been upgraded. They are now in a seperat plasticbox (each).

I have now used it for 4-5 hours and the electronics seems to hold up. The only thing i cant get to work properly is the z-probe. It worked at the beginning (sporadically), but then stopped working. This might have something to do with earthing the machine. My dorm is very old and have no third earth wire in the electrical socket. Just next to were it stand is an iron radiator. After getting electrocuted several times touching the router and the radiator i decided to ground it to the radiator with some wire to the router table. I then used the z-probe and the got electrocuted touching the z-probe and the router table (which know was grounded). I then grounded the electronic cabinet, but since then the z-probe hasnt worked. Maybe i fried the pin on my parallel port? (any suggestions?).

Well, besides from this, it has worked like charm. I am new to cnc so i am still learning and experimenting, but i have cut 12 mm aluminum bars at 1mm passes at 800 mm/s@18k RPM and the finish is almost mirror-like. I was using 4 mm single flute carbide end mills like these:

5X 4mm Carbide CNC Router Bits Single Flute Tools 22mm | eBay

I have to add that i am using a DIY FogBuster on it to get this finish. I have used regular 96% alcohol (BE AWARE that alcohol is flammable and in conjunction with pressured air can form explosive gas vapors. I use mine under heavy suction, else DO NOT USE IT!!!!).

The precision seems to be in the rough end of 0.05 mm but definetly within 0.1 mm.

I haven't tested it for repeatability, but i am pretty sure it is good, else i would not have gotten a mirror like finish on 12mm aluminum [email protected] passes.

The newest version comes with the 1.5 Kw spindle and the VFD is now an integrated part of the box. So far this spindle seems like the right choice. It seems really powerfull (have really nothing to compare against). I have used a regular 3mm jobber drill to make holes i aluminum @ 4000 rpms and there was no complaints, even though this is way out of its prefered torque range (if i have understood the theory correctly). Be aware that you need to buy ER11 collets in the right size. Only a 6 mm ER11 collet comes with the machine.

Some points that still needs attention is the table which isnt aligned with the z-plane. I used and old wooden plate and faced milled it, so i am sure that it is now aligned. I have thought about buying a thick aluminum plate and do the same thing, but the nice thing with a wooden plate is that i can screw in it anywhere and when it gets to holed, i just take another one.

The summary is that this is a great little machine for a relative small amount of money. It seems that with the new electronic they have sorted out the past errors (or maybe i was just lucky?). So far i have no intention of changing the electronics, which was my initial plan. With this machine the 6040 routers has taken one step closer to be a machine that works out of the box (not completely there yet!).

Any questions, just ask

Hello ,I am a complete novice on all things CNC, I was looking too buy a machine from China, Like you, I am stuck for space,so 600x400mm work foot print would suit me.Could you please tell me ,which supplier you bought your machine of? I live in Belfast Ireland,I would need to work out Delivery Cost .I hope to engrave 3d on wood? Would your machine do 3D wood engravings?Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yours Kindly Paul

[Palmhoej]

Hello Paul.

I haven't tried any 3d engraving but i am absolutely confident that it can do that. The machine is, as the title says, bought from Yoocnc 3020 3040 6040 series - carving-cnc.com. Its the newest and biggest they have. Just put it in your shopping basket and add your country and it will tell you how much the shipping costs.

It toke me 2 days of fiddling around with the CAM-part (MasterCam) before i could make my first successful cut. I am pretty experienced in CAD (Pro Engineer), so this was no problem for me. This also helped me alot in learning the CAM-part. If you are a total newbie that dont know anything about CAM, CAD or dont have any machining experience, you face a very step learning curve. Not saying that it cannot be done, but i would recommend taking a course (either physically or over the internet). But if others have learned everything from scratch, they might like to comment and give you a good way?

It is well worth the efort though. I was high for two days after my first cut. Im studying mechanical engineering and currently working on a project with automation of tasks in a lab. Last weekend i just constructed a whole section of a machine, using only my router.

Here i am drilling some aluminum sheet steel. The finish is ugly, because the aluminum is not suitable for routing (if you want good finish, anyways!).

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff2NVm_vJEc&feature=plcp"]CNC 6040 80Z miling aluminum with homemade FogBuster system - YouTube[/ame]


Sincerely Kristoffer.

[paulkane1]

Thanks for your help and advise.I went onto their website, and looked at the latest model,seems to be a bit of power behinde it.What Software are you using ? Did DHL deliver it to your door? Did you have to pay much extra duty on the machine? Did you have to pay your bill in total or can you pay a % of Deposit , balance paid when goods are received?

Yours kindly Paul

[Palmhoej]

Everything has to be payed upfront over paypal or Western Union (i used the first, beause that gives you some kind of protection).

There was no duty on mine... dont know if the chinese just put the invoice at zero value or i just was lucky.

I am using the following software:

Proe Engineer 4.0 as CAD-software. This is used to sketch the 3d models. You could use google sketchup, which is a freeware (if you want to experiment right away).

MasterCam X4 as CAM-software. This generates the g-code. G-code is a way of telling the router which toolpath it has to use (go x, go y, go z etc.). I could have used Proe Engineer for this, but i saw a survey saying that most people used MasterCam X4, hence why i choose this one.

Mach3 as the controlling software for the router. This takes the g-code and translate it into steps for each stepper engine.

Try to google G-code. This is a crucial step for understanding CNC machine.

Sincerely Kristoffer.

[jbod]

I also ordered the 6040Z-S80 directly on the carving-cnc web site a few days ago. After the order was placed I felt being fooled by them.

They have a currency selector on their web page which can display the price for the item in US Dollar, Euro and Australian Dollar. I live in Germany so the Euro price is interesting for me. But they will charge you in US$! The currency selector is of no use for potential buyers.

The currency selector uses a phantasy exchange rate you will never get from Paypal. I noticed it after the order was placed and it costs me 8 Euro Cents per Dollar more than their currency selector made me believe... It is a bit of a rip-off.

Greetings,
Gerhard

[tgdavies]

I hope you'll post a review of the machine when it arrives. Are you able to measure spindle run out?

Tom

[paulkane1]

I hope you'll post a review of the machine when it arrives. Are you able to measure spindle run out?

Tom

I would not know how to measure spindle run out, Don't mind me asking what is signifance of the question? I am a complete novice, When your machine comes ,would you mind posting what are you views of the machine? What model did you order?

Yours Kindly Paul

[paulkane1]

I hope you'll post a review of the machine when it arrives. Are you able to measure spindle run out?

Tom

I also ordered the 6040Z-S80 directly on the carving-cnc web site a few days ago. After the order was placed I felt being fooled by them.

They have a currency selector on their web page which can display the price for the item in US Dollar, Euro and Australian Dollar. I live in Germany so the Euro price is interesting for me. But they will charge you in US$! The currency selector is of no use for potential buyers.

The currency selector uses a phantasy exchange rate you will never get from Paypal. I noticed it after the order was placed and it costs me 8 Euro Cents per Dollar more than their currency selector made me believe... It is a bit of a rip-off.

Greetings,
Gerhard

Sorry to hear that you feel you have been (short-changed),as they say in Belfast,I am converting from Pound -Dollar,so that I know what I am spending,(I hope).So did you pay 8%more overall for your machine?

Yours kindly Paul

[tgdavies]

Hi Paul,

I don't own a CNC machine, although I am interested in the 6040.

Here's a description of run out, how to measure it, and a lot of other interesting info about cnc: Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting (look at section 2.1.3)

Tom

[victorofga]

if your goods, under 2000 dollar then import is simplified... over 2000 you have to get trough on custom..

otherwise dhl and other companies makes the custom..

i learned it when i imported mine..

[Edabeads]

I've bought a 6040 last month and i've changed the controler for a g540 not a week after receiving it. i've started with some aluminum and a 6mm endmill. i'm starting to think that the machine is not rigid enough to handle a endmill that big and i'll have more success with a 3mm endmill... Anybody ever tried a 6mm endmill in aluminum ?

I'm running at about 250mm/min with the 6mm and more than 850mm/min for the 3mm... Different rpm but same depth...

Thanks for your inputs,

Luc

[jbod]

@paulkane1

All items on the order are priced in EURO. The total amount inclusive shipping and handling is EURO 1663.17. But at the end they write "Grand total to be charged $2183.50". I had to pay $2183.50 via Paypal and that costs me about EURO 1770. Carving CNC uses a exchange rate of 1.31 US$ per EURO on their order page and the real exchange rate of Paypal is 1.23 US$ per EURO. So what sense does it make for carving CNC web side to offer prices in EURO and then charge in US$? Their phantasy exchange rate let their product look cheaper than it really is.

[MarcusWolschon]

The real rate is 1.28 at the moment. Not too far off.
Paypal just gives you a bad exchange rate (because there are heavy fees hidden in there) and you could have told Paypal to charge your credit card in USD instead t get the slightly better exchange rate of your credit card company (plus the foreign currency fees in your contract).

I don't see where carving-cnc is at fault here.

[jbod]

I don't want to complain too much. It is as it is and I accept it. I am not really angry about it. I just want to tell possible buyers about it so that they are not as surprised as I was when they place a order at carving cnc web site.

But Marcus, it is hard for me to understand that you do not see where at least my problem is. Maybe I am naive. If you were told that all items including shipping and handling fee on your shopping card cost for example 100 Euro then I expect I can pay in Euro (without any losses due to currency exchange) and will not be charged in US$ or Japanese Yen or Russian Rubel or North Korean Won. After (!) you placed the order you got a order confirmation with all prices in Euro and a notice at the end that you will be charged in US$. I simply find it a bit strange.

If they would have offered a price in US$ only I would not have been surprised. I would have known I have to pay in US$ before I placed the order.

[paulkane1]

In your opinion, Would this Model you have ,be sufficient to do 3D Wood Engravings,Is there good accuracy on repositioning by the Spindle.I am thinking of buying a similar model.

Yours Kindly Model

[paulkane1]

I've bought a 6040 last month and i've changed the controler for a g540 not a week after receiving it. i've started with some aluminum and a 6mm endmill. i'm starting to think that the machine is not rigid enough to handle a endmill that big and i'll have more success with a 3mm endmill... Anybody ever tried a 6mm endmill in aluminum ?

I'm running at about 250mm/min with the 6mm and more than 850mm/min for the 3mm... Different rpm but same depth...

Thanks for your inputs,

Luc

In your opinion would this model be sufficient to do 3D Wood Engravings? Is the repositioning of Spindle very accurate? I am hoping to buy a similar model myself.

Yours Kindly Paulkane1

[Palmhoej]

Hi edabeads.

Just out of curiosity, why did you change the electronics? I was about to do the same with gecko, as i wrote, but it seems to work well with the standard electronics. Is yours also the newest version with the integrated VFD? Just trying to figure out if I have just been lucky or there actually is an improvement in the electronics.

[victorofga]

currencies changing about every30 seconds.. it just not possible to follow them..
it has too many things that can affect xchange..
it is not about ripoff, this is as xchange in the world working.. just need to turn on tv and everyone can see this..

these routers can work even with steel.. but NOT as a METALMACHINE...

if you want to mill daily aluminum, then get a mill, that will start from 3-5K of dollar.. or get a manualmill start from 400...

these routers made for wood, their spindle far better than any known brand handheld router..

yes shipping migth extra cost, but for custom, you have the equipment price..
if it were shipped from the moon, then possible shipping cost millions.. but equipment still 1600 or so..


about accuracy... if it has ballscrews, then you can expect 0.015 -0.02 MM !!!! accuracy...
with rackn pinion, never...
spindle generally has 0.005 runout.. the collets migth sligthly less... like 0.01-0.02 mm ... but far better than a handheld router...

folks just be realistic and please dont confuse users who just started to looking for routers..

yes you you can change for gekko drive or whatever you find.. but in fact who is limited to a price for them will work..
they going to get a turnkey solution..

later when they get out of the hobby level, they have time and money to get more professional solution..
some of will remain hobbyist, and for those will work well..

making on weekends some small projects... really doesnt need 30K cnc router...

[Edabeads]

Paulkane1 : honestly, you might have good results with it in 3d engraving but i didn't test it out. I woudn't do any aircraft parts on it but as for hobby, you might have pretty good results !

Palmhoej : i think that i have some sort of in between controler but after (the vfd is not integreted in the controler but the drive controlers are closed boxes and i don't have the external 5v inlet that others have...) after reading alot about the bad controlers, i've decided to change it even before i've received it. I've plug the original controler once just to see what it looked like as for performances and the stepper motors were so noisy and the machine just doesn't looked like moving right that i didn't lost anytime on that thing and switched it to my gecko. It is now so smooth ! Another good thing about the gecko is that you can plug the vfd and the limit switches on it. Thing that the original one didn't do..

Victorofa : you are absolutely right. In the end, this machine is not build to play around stainless steel with an iscar or valetine insert tool. It is built for hobbying and light duty. This said, i must say that, in my opinion, it is an awesome hobby machine ! I've took a look at other machines that cost more than the double and that won't be as rigid as this machine. They are all pretty much turnkey machines but seriously, i woudn't even thing of putting aluminum on a probotix fireball router. Let's just say that each machine has is own purpous...