Hi, I’m new to the site and to the world of CNC “routering.” My darling wife of 53 years apparently took me at my word several months ago after I foolishly said that I think I would like to do CNC builds. She recently purchased a Genmitsu PROVerXL 4030 and gave it to me, and I still love her. That being said my problem is that I have no computer or machining skills to speak of, and I am having a hard time moving forward. Are there any suggestion you can offer on where I should begin. Your help and thoughts are are appreciated. Steve
For that, start with wood and plastic, not metal.
Yes, there’s a lot to learn.
Do you have any ideas of what you actually want to make?
We’ve discussed maybe some small personalized plaques for our grandchildren sport events.
I probably should mention that I am trying to use Easel for my CAD and CAM, but there is no instructions other than a small help section and on info ie. youtube which has helped some.
Ah, Easel I know nothing about, sorry.
But plaques make a lot of sense for this hardware anyway.
What would you recommend for software?
Easel is fine for a beginner. Easel has a forum and you can get a lot of guidance there from people who know about it. I regularly use Easel for my stuff that isn’t 3-D. The free version is fine for that. I don’t know every aspect of it, since I do my drawing in Rhino3d, but stop by and see what you can do there. There is a library of graphics to use as well as the ability to bring in artwork from other places.
Just as an example, I used Easel to cut out a spruce guitar top rosette channel and perimeter last year.
Welcome to the rabbit hole…
you can find too much information if you know where to look. But you need to get up to speed first.
#1 Your CNC machine is made to eat wood and sling sawdust "everywhere’. So ‘we’ hope you have it on a platform where it will stay, and have a ‘dust collection’ system hooked up to it.
#2 You are gonna fail… WE all have broken many bits. So buy the cheap china bits for the first few months… Pleas wear your eye, ear, nose and throat protection…
#3 Depending on whee you live, you can find ‘junk’ wood along the roadway to practice with, or but the cheap stuff from HD. Then once you have ‘kind of’ figured it out, then buy some better wood.
#4 Always double check your:
- Origin. Know where 'X0, Y0, Z0 is relative to your part and your spoil board… that leads to:
- Material/part holding. In the near future you will watch a ‘ton’ of Youtube videos about CNC part holding. That being said I use blue tape and cheap Harbor freight crazy glue in the little squeeze tubes for ‘most’ of my part holding. I have 1./2" dowels I use for placement and when I have my part in place I remove the dowels before I start my cuts… This doesn’t work if you are cutting Aluminum (which you shouldn’t do for awhile).
- Learn what the different toolpaths are and what parameters work with your machine. I bought the Prover 4030 and I loved it… But I could tear-up an anvil.. I bought the extension kit and after I assembled it I found that the machine has too much deflection for what I intend to use it for… So there’s that. YOU don’t need to cut 4’ x 4’ sheets in order to make a thousand cool projects. Nor do you ‘need’ a rotary head…YET.
- Learn how to use your software proficiently. Personally, I get bored with the learning curve. If I can’t figure out how to make a simple cube, and then make a tube, and then make a bracket, and … FreeCAD is a welled program you should learn, and there are a lot of good people here that can guide you through the curve so you can create your own parts. I started my adventure with making trays out of pine. Then I learned how to do some engravings, and then engravings in trays. Then I learned how to make box joints with dogbones … You’ll start having more fun than you can explain once you make your successful part. BUT, IT’S ALL IN THE SOFTWARE!!!
Have fun, and don’t let yourself get discouraged by failing. You were interested in CNCing enough to get here. Remember "Go ask Alice, when she’s ten feet tall
You should be able to find videos on YouTube for how to use Easel. You can also find generic CNC router instructional videos.
And yeah, expect to break a few bits. Buy some cheap bits to start with.
Thanks for the encouragement. I guess I’ll bite the bullet and cutting the c**p out of everything. Thanks again
Thanks for the information, I have started using blue tape and adhesive to hold the wood. I’m a little down after reading you parts on the extension Kit, because I bought one too. Not looking forward to setting up now, but it was half off so we’ll see. I’ll see about FreeCAD. Sounds good, as long as I don’t have to have meet the Queen of Hearts.
OK Thanks for the info
Good job!! You’re already doing better than some people (me: looks in mirror 
).