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Entry-level CNC router with a 500W spindle and a dual-rail X-axis
Use with Easel Pro →
The 3018 Pro Ultra is Lunyee's upgraded entry-level all-metal CNC router, with a 300 x 180 x 80 mm working area, a 500W spindle (0 to 12,000 RPM), and Nema 17 stepper motors (1.68 A, 0.55 Nm torque) driving a dual steel X-axis guide rail and screw drive structure.
Every cut starts with one formula: Feed Rate = Spindle Speed (RPM) x Chip Load x Number of Cutting Edges (flutes). Chip load is the thickness of material each cutting edge removes in one revolution of the bit. This number comes from the manufacturer of the bit, which publishes a chip-load chart for each bit diameter and material. Look up your exact bit and material, start from the middle of the published range, and you have the third number in the formula. The chart below shows the recommended spindle speed for each material and bit type.
The 3018 Pro Ultra's 500W spindle runs from 0 to 12,000 RPM, near the middle of most chip-load charts, so you have real range to match bit and material. Its dual-rail lead-screw drive and hobby-scale frame are light duty, not a heavy industrial gantry, so depth per pass is where you have to be conservative. A truly rigid machine with a powerful spindle can cut as deep as the bit is wide in a single pass, but that takes real spindle torque, a drive train and clamps that hold firm, a gantry that will not flex, and enough mass to soak up vibration. This machine falls short of that bar, so take shallower passes: push too deep and the bit deflects and chatters, leaving scalloped edges, or it rubs instead of cutting and burns the material. The fastest way to dial in a cut is to see what has already worked for other people.
Worked example for feed rate: 1/8in (3.175mm) two-flute solid carbide end mill in hard wood. The chart says 16,000 RPM, but this spindle tops out at 12,000 RPM, so run 12,000. With the bit maker's 0.025mm per tooth (0.0010 in): 12,000 x 0.025 x 2 = 600 mm/min (24 in/min) feed. For depth per pass, start shallow and check Community Cut Settings in Easel for what works on this machine. If the cut sounds strained, reduce the depth, not the feed. Slowing the feed below the chip load makes the bit rub instead of cut.
Community Cut Settings shows the spindle speed, feed rate, and depth per pass other makers actually run for your machine, material, and bit.
The 3018 Pro Ultra connects over USB through the free Easel Driver: install the driver on your Mac or Windows computer, plug the machine in, and Easel talks to it in real time. You design in the browser, Easel generates the toolpaths, and the Carve button walks you through homing, zeroing, and starting the cut. Pick 3018 Pro Ultra from Easel's machine menu during setup and the canvas is sized to the machine's 300 x 180 x 80 mm working area, so your preview matches what the machine can actually cut.
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