The A150 is too small to mount the rotary—you need at least an A250, but there were no longer any of the midsize units available by the time I hit the kickstarter and I didn’t have the space for the A350, so I opted for the smallest model.
Embarassingly, I’ve used it mostly as a 3D printer. The blue diode laser originally shipped with the unit is a decent etcher but too weak to cut through anything very thick (best I’ve heard of anyone managing was 1/4" of wood, and that took a lot of passes and patience on their part), and it has some limitations on what materials it will handle (I’d have to scour the forum for details, because it’s been a while). I didn’t buy the more powerful laser that later became available as an add-on. Unless their software has improved a lot since the last version I downloaded, you’ll need 3rd party software to make the most of it.
I never actually tried milling with it because of potential dust removal issues, but according to reports it once again suffers here from being a compromise device with limited software. The frame isn’t quite as rigid as a dedicated CNC, the bits are Dremel-sized and a bit fragile due to that, and the provided software I have won’t, for instance, handle what should be simple tasks like drilling all-vertical holes or doing multiple passes with different-sized bits. Unlike the laser, I can’t recall any reports of anyone using alternative CAM software for the CNC, but it’s been a couple of years since I last looked.
In the end it’s kind of like a Swiss Army knife: great if you have limited space (my issue) and just want to try stuff out, but if you can manage it you’re better off with dedicated machines for each function.
It’s unfortunate that the design compromises result in a tool with limited usability. I’m slightly interested in the desktop mills and lasers but haven’t done much research on them. Your comment about printing being slow actually perked my ears up as that suggests increased rigidity needed for milling. It sounds like if I ever do decide to get a tiny mill or laser, I’m better off with a purpose built machine.
As for software, G-code for a specific machine is all about the post at the professional level. Unfortunately, pro-grade CAM is around $20k a seat. A good post is often $4k or a lot of time painfully producing and testing it yourself. CAM/CAD is the only thing keeping me from Linux at work and on my primary home PC. I wasn’t impressed with the 1.0 release of FreeCAD. The UI still seems to be designed by aliens.
(Lemmy weirdness: I only received notification of your response last night.)
Could you please give your thoughts on its milling and laser capabilities? Do you own the 4th axis rotary?
The A150 is too small to mount the rotary—you need at least an A250, but there were no longer any of the midsize units available by the time I hit the kickstarter and I didn’t have the space for the A350, so I opted for the smallest model.
Embarassingly, I’ve used it mostly as a 3D printer. The blue diode laser originally shipped with the unit is a decent etcher but too weak to cut through anything very thick (best I’ve heard of anyone managing was 1/4" of wood, and that took a lot of passes and patience on their part), and it has some limitations on what materials it will handle (I’d have to scour the forum for details, because it’s been a while). I didn’t buy the more powerful laser that later became available as an add-on. Unless their software has improved a lot since the last version I downloaded, you’ll need 3rd party software to make the most of it.
I never actually tried milling with it because of potential dust removal issues, but according to reports it once again suffers here from being a compromise device with limited software. The frame isn’t quite as rigid as a dedicated CNC, the bits are Dremel-sized and a bit fragile due to that, and the provided software I have won’t, for instance, handle what should be simple tasks like drilling all-vertical holes or doing multiple passes with different-sized bits. Unlike the laser, I can’t recall any reports of anyone using alternative CAM software for the CNC, but it’s been a couple of years since I last looked.
In the end it’s kind of like a Swiss Army knife: great if you have limited space (my issue) and just want to try stuff out, but if you can manage it you’re better off with dedicated machines for each function.
Thank you for the thorough response!
It’s unfortunate that the design compromises result in a tool with limited usability. I’m slightly interested in the desktop mills and lasers but haven’t done much research on them. Your comment about printing being slow actually perked my ears up as that suggests increased rigidity needed for milling. It sounds like if I ever do decide to get a tiny mill or laser, I’m better off with a purpose built machine.
As for software, G-code for a specific machine is all about the post at the professional level. Unfortunately, pro-grade CAM is around $20k a seat. A good post is often $4k or a lot of time painfully producing and testing it yourself. CAM/CAD is the only thing keeping me from Linux at work and on my primary home PC. I wasn’t impressed with the 1.0 release of FreeCAD. The UI still seems to be designed by aliens.
(Lemmy weirdness: I only received notification of your response last night.)