Frame rigidity and spindle power, then the bed you can clamp to
A desktop CNC router cuts a file out of a solid sheet with a spinning end mill, removing material rather than adding it, and its specifications are mostly about stiffness. Working area is a declared travel on three axes, and the height axis limits how thick a block can be. The frame and rails — aluminium extrusion, steel, linear rails or wheels — decide how much the tool deflects in a cut, and that deflection decides whether hardwood and aluminium are possible or only foam and soft wood. Spindle power in watts and its speed range are published, and a trim-router mount offered as an option is a step up the maker names separately. The collet size sets which end mills fit. Controller type and the software it accepts decide the workflow, and an offline controller lets the machine run without a computer beside it. Limit switches and an emergency stop are safety provisions a listing should state. Then dust: a router makes chips and fine dust, and an enclosure or extraction port the maker lists is part of using one indoors. We compare working area, frame and rails, spindle power and speed, collet size, controller and software, limit switches and published material claims.
300 × 180 × 45 mm working area · 420 × 350 × 270 mm machine · aluminium frame, acrylic baffle · 775 spindle, 24 V, 20,000 rpm · ER11 · GRBL · Windows only
A 3-axis 3018 router whose title prints the machine’s 420 × 350 × 270 mm outer size and whose second bullet gives the actual 300 × 180 × 45 mm working area, with a 24 V 775 spindle and GRBL control.
Best for: A first CNC for PCBs, plastics and soft wood on a Windows computer.
≈ £150 / 164 €
300 × 180 × 80 mm working area · all-metal aluminium profile frame · 500 W spindle · 32-bit board, GRBL · six limit switches and emergency stop
An all-metal 3018 router with a 500 W spindle, six limit switches and an emergency stop, whose 300 × 180 × 80 mm working area is stated in the title and whose seller describes itself as the manufacturer.
Best for: A step up from a basic 3018 for someone who wants limit switches and a metal frame for wood, acrylic and light aluminium work.
≈ 349 €
No working area published · all-metal with dual HG15 linear guides · 710 W spindle, 6,500–30,000 rpm · 1/8 in ER11 collet · offline controller · 60 mm steppers, 7.3 Nm
The dearest of the three routers on this site, an all-metal machine on dual HG15 linear guides with a 710 W variable-speed spindle and an offline controller, whose listing claims 1.5 mm aluminium cuts per pass but gives no working area.
Best for: A maker moving into aluminium and hardwood parts who values rigidity and will check the working area in Genmitsu’s documentation.
≈ $501 / £493 / 552 €
A price quoted in the text of a MakerVerdict page dates from the day that page was written; the live figure beside each product is fetched while you read and replaces it.
