FoxAlien CNC Router Machine 4040-XE, 300W Spindle 3-Axis Engraving Milling Machine for Wood Metal Acrylic MDF Nylon Carving Cutting Arts and Crafts DIY Design, Black

The media could not be loaded. I just got into CNC machining this year, and this is my second 3-axis CNC router. I am so excited to have it! I bought the 3018-SE from FoxAlien about 3 months ago, and it has been the absolute most perfect machine to get started with to learn the entire CNC machining process on. There is so much to learn, and many steps involved, to go from an idea in your head, to a finished product in your hand. Although I was able to make some beautiful carvings with my 3018-SE, I quickly wanted to get something bigger, faster, and stronger. My girlfriend and I are starting a small business together making pet huts, feeders, toys, and accessories. I wanted a machine that would be suitable for the task of cutting out hut panels and be able to engrave names and designs into the wood. I believe the 4040-XE will serve this function very well! In my pictures, you can see the very first thing which I setup to cut and engrave on my 4040-XE. It is the front panel to a hut that we're making for my girlfriend's pet bunny, Millie. It came out absolutely perfect! I was very impressed and proud of myself for getting it right the first time! That isn't by coincidence though, it is thanks to the experience and knowledge I accumulated owning the 3018-SE for a few months. I made a few mistakes with the 3018-SE, and the first few cuts and engravings were failures, but thankfully that machine has a lot of forgiveness and not enough power to destroy itself. The 4040-XE is a much more serious machine, it is no longer just an educational and hobbyist tool, but a very capable legitimate CNC router. I'm hoping to be able to mill small aluminum parts and brackets with this machine, that is one of my next things to learn. I heard there will be a 500W spindle upgrade for the 4040-XE, as well as a spindle bracket which accepts one of those big Dewalt routers. That will really wake this beast up!Pros:-The control box is very nice. I like that it comes with an offline controller. I prefer to use a laptop since it allows me to see the workpiece, toolpaths, and make adjustments much easier, but for production runs, it's nice to be able to run the programs from the offline controller. It is the nicest looking GRBL offline controller I've seen so far, has a nice big touchscreen interface. The connector style on the rear of the control box is one of the nicest and most reliable, the cable plugs screw into every jack so there is no fear of them getting yanked out or slowly wiggling themselves out during a long run.-Super easy to use software to get you up and going. I've been using Easel to generate my g-code files, then run them through Candle to stream to the controller. Those are very intuitive and simple, but you can use any of the big name CAD/CAM packages to create designs and generate appropriate g-code.-Very easy and straightforward assembly. It was much less time and effort to assemble the 4040-XE compared to the 3018-SE. The 4040-XE came in a huge box, so most of it was able to be pre-assembled. There was also very little I needed to do in terms of adjustment and tightening. Nothing seemed to have loosened up during the shipping process.-The 300W spindle feels much more powerful and legitimate compared to the 60W in my 3018-SE. It seems to be very well balanced, it is not as loud as I thought it would be. Replaceable brushes are a big plus.-Strong and powerful NEMA23 motors. These motors move around great! I'm hoping to explore their limits and push the acceleration and jog rates as high as they can reliably go. I'm sure there is room for improvement. A big bonus to these motors, is that they are dual-shaft motors and they have a big aluminum knob attached to the backside. That makes it much easier to move the axis around to fine tune them. I use it a lot with the Z-axis. On my 3018-SE, I had to stick my fingers around the spindle to spin the leadscrew when I needed to.-Very sturdy and well made Z-axis. I wasn't expecting the Z-axis to be as beefy as it is! The spindle bracket is solid aluminum, machined very well, and comes with the notches to be able to clamp in a laser module.-Steel gantry plates, on both sides of every rail. I am very happy that the v-wheels are supported on both ends so that they don't spread apart under heavy loads. The v-wheel tensioning system works very well and allows the machine to be fine tuned very precisely.-Belt system is very well engineered. The belts are squeezed around the stepper motor sprocket with ball bearings for maximum tooth engagement. The belts have a good tensioning system on the ends. All my belts arrived properly tensioned, so no adjustment was needed there.-The wasteboard serves it's purpose well. However, I do not want to waste it, lol. I always try to stick another scrap piece of plywood under my actual workpiece so that I'm not constantly digging into the original wasteboard. The threaded inserts and clamps are super easy and convenient to use, you don't have to fiddle with t-slot nuts. The only damage I hope to do to the original wasteboard, is to laser-engrave a grid with dimensions for easier workpiece alignment.-Upgradeability! I already have long 2040 aluminum v-type extrusions and longer belts purchased. After I play with this machine some more, I plan to expand it's size a little bit in the X and Y axis. It's very easy to do! I have already expanded the size of my LE-4040 the same way (turned it into an LE-6040!).-Incredibly good and friendly customer support and Facebook FoxAlien CNC group! Honestly, this is perhaps the most important pro. When you buy a FoxAlien machine, you are not alone, there are many people on the Facebook group who are always helping each other out. It's almost like having a constant live technical support group. There will be many hiccups along the way when trying to operate such a sophisticated computerized machine, but it is good to know that you can ask specific questions and get worthwhile answers and help.Cons:-Doesn't come pre-wired for use with a laser module. Not a big deal for me, I have all the connectors and pins and made my own long cable to go through the drag chains.-Although most of the pre-assembled parts were done very well, one of my Y-axis gantries had it's v-wheels overtensioned. It is not really a con, since you should check over all the v-wheel and belt tensions regardless, just to make sure everything will run as best as it can for you the first time. The machine has a long journey to get to you.-The offline controller serves it's purpose, but it missing certain buttons/functions which I hope can be later added by flashing the firmware.This machine has not only lived up to my expectations, but it has exceeded them! This is not my first FoxAlien machine. I started off with buying the LE-4040 laser engraver about 4 months ago. After discovering the great quality of the product and support team, I knew I could confidently purchase a CNC router from them and receive a stellar product. I bought the 3018-SE a month after the laser machine so that I could delve into the 3D machining world. I am very glad I got the 3018-SE, it costs the same as any single college text book I've had to buy, yet it has taught me more than any of those books have. That machine is great for getting you started in the CNC machining world, but once you are ready to get serious, I believe the 4040-XE is the way to go!

Fox Alien 4040-XeQuality/BuildEasy to assemble, made of good quality parts, and overall rigidity is excellent.RequirementsStrong math skills using fractions, decimals, and millimeters/centimeters are a must.Ability to use a ruler and dial calipersKnowledge of CAD/CAM softwareKnowledge of different router bits and what they achieveCapability **Light to medium duty cutting of various materialsEngraving, carving, and cutting woodEngraving acrylic and cuttingUsesMaking ornaments/decorationsEdge Lit signsWood SignsMy wife sells crafts at craft shows and she always has me cutting out shapes on a scroll saw which can be time consuming. I purchased this CNC Router to replace the scroll saw and I am very pleased with the results. I work in a machine shop and have excellent knowledge on setting up and using CNC Mills so that helped with the learning curve of using this CNC Router. The Fox Alien 4040-Xe is a fantastic, well-built machine but there will be a heck of a learning curve if you are not familiar with how the machine works and how to set it up to get it to do what you want it to do.I have had a good experience engraving and cutting out 1/8-inch and ¼-inch plywood. I also etched 1/8-inch acrylic sheets for making edge-lit signs with great results. I mainly use small diameter CNC router bits. You will need to purchase an ER-11 collet which is good for small diameter bits with ¼-inch shanks.The draw backs to owing this machine are the cost to operate. The CNC Router bits can be expensive. You need to purchase good quality bits to get good quality results. This machine does not come with software. You will need to purchase CAD/CAM software to create designs and tool paths.After I have the cut files and tool paths written, my wife knows how to secure the work piece and send the G-Code to the machine for cutting. I have turned her into a CNC Router operator.I am very pleased with the purchase and results of owing this machine. It serves my purpose for cutting out small projects from 12” x 12” material up to ½” thick. For the size of the bed and the price of this machine, I would say it’s the best bang for your buck. I would purchase another one in a heartbeat and would highly recommend.**This information is only my conclusion from my 6 week experience with using this machine and by no means am I stating whether or not I am right or wrong or that the limitations of this machine are correct.