tools, materials & knowledge for model makers
Should we just measure the quality of the machine by just weighing it?
Squaring up the Genmitsu 3018-pro after some upgrades. Normally this would be done with a DTI held in the chuck. Rotate it back and forth to understand the fore-aft tilt of the head. Rotate it left to right to understand the tilt of the head. In this way it is possible to very accurately adjust … Read more
This is my homemade conversion of a Genmitsu 3018-pro to a 3020-max. Maybe not exactly a 3020-max, but a lot of the changes have been included. Plus I think the spindle upgrade I’ve made is better. The spindle upgrade was designed and made some time ago. It has significantly improved the stiffness of the spindle … Read more
Just bought a Tiamu Z-axis for Genmitsu 3018, my original plan was to machine this complete assembly from scratch. Then reason kicked in and I thought that as I could buy this for around £100 it was not worth me spending probably 3 days designing and making parts. Plus it was delivered really fast. However, there … Read more
I was wondering how accurate is the Genmitsu 3018 pro? A first approximation of this can be done by measuring the piece of aluminium I machined as a test case. I engraved the circle and square to a depth of 1mm in 0.1mm steps. I must admit that I slowed the feed rate down to 60mm/minute … Read more
Machining aluminium with the Genmitsu 3018 has been a challenge ever since I bought this cheap desktop CNC. The challenge has been I have had to update so many aspects. The spindle is now belt driven, the Z-axis rails are now size correctly and backlash springs are stiffer. Quite a few updates, but even so … Read more
First trials of the 3018 CNC after z-axis upgrades show it is all moving in the right direction. The z-axis linear bearing rail size was incorrect in the original as bought condition. Correcting this has had a significant effect. Increasing the spring stiffness of the backlash nuts on the X and Y axes has also … Read more
Whilst upgrading the Genmitsu 3018-pro CNC I started measuring the linear bearing rail size. This has made me realise that the bearings are not a match to the rail. I swapped the linear ball bearings out for brass bearings. However, when I made these I did a quick measurement and saw something close to 8mm. … Read more
Thoughts around upgrading the Genmitsu 3018-pro CNC and a look at what has been upgraded to date. This is a basic CNC machine and very cheap. Let’s start by looking at the basic machine: First venture into CNC The reason behind the purchase is primarily to make brass nameplates for some of the engines, including the … Read more
For flycutting a saddle I’m using the example of the cylinder saddle for the miniature traction engine. The saddle was flycut on a manual milling machine (Sieg SX2.7) with a flycutter. The flycutter doesn’t have any fine adjustment, it just has grub screws to hold the tool in place. Here I will show you my … Read more
Why am I sand bagging the milling machine? A great way to add damping to a structure is to use sand. Loud speaker stands are commonly damped using sand. Thus adding mass and damping to the structure. This means the stands don’t vibrate and so radiate sound. The milling machine in question is the Sieg … Read more