A review of currently available consumer grade CNC milling machines

Abstract

This paper is about hobby tier tabletop CNC milling machines. The aim of the paper is to compare their features from the view of mechanical engineering machine design. First it was outlined what features are desirable in CNC milling machines. Then information about the CNC machines was gathered by what is publicly available in the form of content maker reviews, manufacturer marketing materiel and spec sheets, etc. The CNC machines looked at were narrowed down by first them being currently available on the market, their price being an affordable investment for western consumers or small businesses, their size being such that it can easily fit in a person’s garage and their milling performance being such that they are able to at least mill aluminium proficiently.