[Ricklee]

I want to share my opinions about the amazing products from CNC Router parts. Before I begin, I have to clarify, I am in no way affiliated with this company. I found their products online while searching for routing machines. I have been a journeyman machinist for 25+ years, mostly in nuclear and fossil power production. I have designed and machined new parts and applied for patents. As a machinist, I have operated and repaired all types of machines. However, they were all manual, no computer control, only DROs. I built my first CNC machine out of wood 10 years ago. Then I recently built another from wood, which was a better design but still not as sturdy as I wanted. I wired all the components (Gecko drives, PMDX and ESS) in a NEMA box. It was a great machine but again, not as sturdy as I wanted. So, I sold it to a friend started my search for a solid, quality machine. After months of research I finally decided on a Pro48x48. I'm assuming there are folks out there who want to upgrade to a sturdier or larger machine and want the best value on a quality machine. And if you are like me and experienced sticker shock (more like electrocution), it might have stalled the process. I am so pleased with this machine I have to let folks know why. It is expensive but after assembling and operating the machine, I have to say it is worth every penny.

I had some concerns about the stability since it was extruded aluminum and not welded steel. After assembling the parts I have no further concerns. The design is awesome. It's extremely sturdy and you will think its welded steel once its together. I made some dolly wheels for the corner posts so I can move it around my shop (I have limited space). Let me reassure anyone who questions its rigidity. I use a bottle jack to raise it up to roll the wheels under the legs and there is no flex whatsoever. I put the jack near one leg, (not in the center, so I could check for flexing) under the cross brace and measured the distance to the floor on both legs. Both legs were raised the same distance from the floor, which indicated no flex in the machine.

Every detail in the design was meticulously engineered, as is the assembly instruction manual. It has everything I was looking for in a machine, Rack and pinion drives, linear rail bearings, proximity switches, and a true plug and play electronics package. It really is plug and play. They even give you the Mach3 XML file and it has all of the limits set perfectly. I didn't change any settings and the soft limits worked like a charm! I don't want to sound egotistical but I do have many years of experience in the machinist and mechanical field. It is difficult to impress me when it's related to anything mechanical but the folks at this company did it. Not only is this machine well designed, it is beautiful, a work of art. It's like a new truck. You pay a lot for it and you don't want to get it dirty! It's such a nice machine you will want to clean after each use. One last thing to comment on is its speed. It is extremely fast as well as accurate.

If you are looking to purchase a new machine but are scared of the prices, I can tell you these machines are fast, accurate, beautiful, and rock solid. In addition, I have had a few questions while assembling and they have always returned calls in a timely manor. The customer service is awesome. They are pleasant to work with and are very helpful. I spoke with 3 different people and they all were very knowledgable.

The reason for this post is to help those who are on the fence about a purchasing an expensive machine. I was making myself crazy trying to decide which one to buy. If I had it to do over again I would buy the same thing although if I had the room, I would purchase the 4x8 machine. I am very happy with the purchase and would highly recommend their products to anyone.

[wmgeorge]

I did not build their machine but used the control box and Plug and Play electronics. As a industrial controls electrician who has build many control panels in my past career I was impressed. Great support when needed.

[Ricklee]

Agreed, the placement of the components within the NEMA enclosure is well thought out. The cooling fans are also placed so they hit the motor drivers. The design detail is very impressive. I am one who is not easily impressed and looks to improve any design or feature. In their design there is nothing to improve. The only changes I made were personal preference add-ons. I installed green LED control lights to the front of the NEMA boxes to indicate the power is on at a glance. I bought 5 of them on Amazon for 10 bucks. I also added an industrial power strip to the front corner of the machine to plug in my computer and any other items. I installed handles at each end of the machine so I have a something sturdy to grab and move it around the shop while on the miniature dollys I made. I used 3/4" black iron threaded pipe connected to flanges and screwed to the T slots. They are extremely sturdy. I will blast them and paint them black to mach the machine when I get time. I can't have them looking shabby on such a fine piece of engineering artwork. It wouldn't look right. I will attach some pics if I can figure out how to post them. Can someone guide me on how to post a few pics please?

[MajorTendonitis]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am very close to ordering a Pro4848 myself . I have to say after going threw some other threads that I was getting concerned .
But I’m assuming they were not assembled properly ,unless the extrusion tolerances were the issue . I don’t recall seeing many issues a few years back

[GME]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am very close to ordering a Pro4848 myself . I have to say after going threw some other threads that I was getting concerned .
But I’m assuming they were not assembled properly ,unless the extrusion tolerances were the issue . I don’t recall seeing many issues a few years back

Major

80/20 extrusions have a cut tolerance. Square cut ends is +/- .002" per inch of extrusion and +/- .015" in cut length. It all adds up. I have found that 80/20 sometimes lets pieces get through that are more .002" on square tolerance. It can be hard to assemble properly, when ends are not square and lengths are all different. On my current build, which I designed, I used my benchtop mill to mill the ends square and to cut the lengths equal. Hours of messy work on a manual mill.

Gary