9:35 I run large 5' x 10' CNC machines by Kongsberg, Zund and AXYZ. They are not toys. They ALL have computers connected to control them. I am leaning toward this machine opposed to the Onefinity because the Altmill has a rail system that is like all of those industrial machines.
I was one of the first orders when the Altmill went up for pre-order back in March, and have been very happy thus far. No previous CNC experience though, so maybe I don't know better? Interesting that you had some problems that I have not run into (like loose wires). Majority of my issues have been self-induced as well lol, although I think I ran into a similar issue as you (which I ran into before they patched the fix in with a version of GSender). Re: the 120 warranty - based on what I've seen in the Facebook group, even if you're out of warranty, they'll try to help you out if something goes wrong that shouldn't. Obviously not something you can count on, but was one of the things that pulled me to Team Altmill vs. the 1F. Another thing that I appreciate - they're extremely open about everything. A month back or so, there was a small batch (~35) of machines that went out with a bad left side gantry plate; they could have just contacted those folks, but they put out a IG post (and UA-cam short too I think) outlining the issue and their plan for resolution. They definitely didn't need to do that, and I don't think most companies would have done that.
I have a 48x30 MK2 Longmill, but I am planning to eventually upgrade to this machine. I think it is important to note that the machine was just released this year. In fact, I think they were still taking product ideas in Jan/Feb. Very happy to see they went with a four inch dust boot that I recommended. Scienci Labs just got this to market and is working out kinks and make improvements. I think they just noticed an issue with the gantry mount, and they are sending out free plates to address the issue. They stand by their products and I am sure the altmill will be even better in the next year. The 1F is interesting, but you can't beat what you get for the price with sienci. Thanks for the vid and looking forward to see the comparison next month.
I have had their entry level CNC (the longmill MK2) for about 2 years. Honestly I have never felt limited by it, it is a great machine and I totally reccomend it (it is less than $2,000 for a 48x30). Also, I have used scienci support as a "nobody" and they are top notch. I can just text them if I have any questions and they will either text back or just call me back very quickly. I think Scienci is an awesome company and I love how affordable they are making CNC machines. My only complaint is also like you said having to hook up a PC to run it. But I hope they will have the panel PC out soon and that should solve it.
I don’t have a youtube account and can say Sienci customer service has been top notch with me so far. I get the feeling that it is one of those companies that runs like employees are family rather than positions. They have pride and attachment to the products they create.
I have had nothing but great experience with their customer service. You hit the nail on the head that they are more like family than a company, and it shows. All my issues were resolved within a day, and new parts were sent and arrived within a couple days.
I just received my Altmill. I ordered in April. A long anticipated arrival. Meanwhile I’ve watched videos from the company. It seems to be extremely robust. Watch their video where they machine a chunk of aluminum into a guitar. Very impressive. I have not assembled it yet to spite watching the assembly videos quite a bit. I ordered a PWN 80 mm water cooled spindle for my Altmill. Also a great company to do business with.
Thanks for this! I have a Sienci Labs LongMill MK1 and have considered adding the AltMill to my shop beside it. I've debated going OneFinity but you've convinced me that my initial instinct was right. Back to Scienci I go!
I've even got a panel PC on my MakerMade M2! I'm an industrial controls engineer and got the panel PC for free when I replaced one at work, but they can be found used on Ebay for very little money, then you just use a monitor mount, install your software, and bam!!
Great video! Im eyeing this unit up, I was maybe going to upgrade my eleite Jurneyman to 4x4 but what they just did to pwn was waaaay dirty, i only own a cable and balanced collect spindle nuts from pwn, no fanboi tears to play with just went wow. Hope the next video will also be neutral!
You might have to take into consideration the Black Friday deals from OneFinity when you do your review/comparison. I had an original woodworker and just purchased the woodworker elite combo that includes the spindle and tool changer. So yes it's smaller than this one obviously, but the capabilities are huge. ❤❤❤ Thanks for another great video!
Hoss, CNC literally stands for COMPUTER Numerical Control. 😂 I've worked on million dollar manufacturing machines connected to PCs/laptops/Industrial PCs, so it's a poor litmus test for how "professional" it is. I still appreciate your video. Thanks for the in-depth review. 👍
Ive had the altimill for about 3 months and I definitely agree about the wiring aspect. Personally I don’t mind the computer being connected since it’s the same area I do my design work. I haven’t had any lose wire issues but the usb cable does feel lose (though I haven’t had any connection issues) and the on off switch is cheep feeling but I also have it on a beefy surge protector so don’t really use it. Legs are definitely wobbly but a rack solves that. Overall I agree with everything you said in the video including my respect for the company as a whole. Also love the vortex rotary.
I have a 1F Journeyman BB and absolutely love it. I'm a retired teacher so what I do with mine is 100% hobby I don't sell stuff (if I sold stuff then it's a job and I don't want one of those). I run a Makita router--I absolutely don't have to push it to the limit for production work so there is food on the table so waiting a bit longer for a cut is of no real significance to me. I did spend and inordinate amount of time researching what I needed and wanted prior to it showing up on my doorstep. I built a Mitz inspired enclosure (thanks Mitz--he is awesome!). Are there things that are a bit of a rub yes but nothing huge. I don't have it networked my shop is 12 steps (yes, I have counted) away from my office. Would I do it again? 100% yes! Hamilton thank you for your insight, style, honesty, and friendly nature.
i have the Sienci Longmill MK2.5 30x48 with an 80mm water-cooled spindle from PWNcnc. There are a few differences between it and the Altmill, but not enough for me to upgrade at this time. The main difference obviously is the size, though mine will cut 32x50. The closed loop stepper motors would be nice and I'm going to look into getting them, if they are compatible. I already have the Super Long Board, so I don't think there should be a problem. I like having the computer, because I can design projects with Vectric vCarve Pro, load the gcode into gSender all in the same place and off you go.
@@HamiltonDilbeck Thanks for the response. After doing a little research, I found out that my current setup will not support the closed loop stepper motors. In order for it to work, I'll have to get the SLB-EXT instead of the SLB (Super Long Board). The SLB-EXT supports the 48V stepper motors, where the SLB does not. SLB has drivers for the motors soldered in, where the drivers for the closed loop motors are on the motors themselves. So, it is doable, but at what cost. I haven't contacted Sienci yet about the cost and availability of the board and the motors. One more thing I forgot to mention is that I have the fourth axis as well and I think that stepper motor will have to be replaced as well. We'll see, I'll let you know. Sienci is super responsive and has excellent customer support.
As someone who owns two avid machines - i couldnt pass up the chance to order an altmill for the price. So far im loving it. Gsender is awesome and i love that this thing has low sides for putting material in. I might have to do some changes and upgrades to it the way I did for my avid machines and post a video of it but overall this things kicks butt for the price. 🎉 Did you see the video where they tested a heavy spindle on it too? Dang! Excited to see the community that builds up around this machine.
I'm currently using the longmill version and I love it. The only thing I cannot stand is having to deal with tightening or loosening the v- Wheels. Doesn't look like the altmill uses them so that is awesome. And yes I had some issues with tightening down the nuts as well causing my machine to jam up.
@@HamiltonDilbeck Good point. I'm old and using a discarded PC to control my Sienci Long Mill with the super long board controller. One of the major reasons that I bought this controller - basically, the same one controlling the AltMill - was to get away from the inconsistent control through USB. I am betting that, when Sienci comes out with the panel computer, it will connect with ethernet.
@@HamiltonDilbeck It really does make a difference IME. I'm using the Super Long Board on my Onefinity, and the ethernet connection has been rock solid. It really works best withy a dedicated machine rather than a multi-purpose laptop that you move in/out of the CNC setup, though. I picked up a little N100 mini pc and run it with a big 4k monitor mounted over the cnc. Great setup IMHO.
Been researching CNCs for a while, leaned Shapeoko 5 for a bit, then this channel and others made me lean 1F Elite, then started looking at the Altmill. Just bought a ‘new’ Longmill 30x30 Mk2 that someone bought then never assembled for a good discount as a starter machine, hopefully moving up to the Altmill if all goes well. Eagerly looking forward to your Black Friday video!
Those b-roll shots are 🔥 and to be fair most people will have a computer at home and even if you had a longer run to a desktop the AM has cat6 connection as well right?
I dont have a cnc, but i do have an 80w co2 laser, and hooking up ethernet to that was a huge game changer. Being network connected means you can just send files to the laser and it just goes. prior to the 80w i did have a k40, with a spare laptop running k40 whisperer, and that was suboptimal. I can see where it would be a pain to plug and unplug a computer to work on files away from the shop only to have to come back, and/or load up files to the "shop laptop".
I can't speak for the Altmill, but I have the Longmill with the upgraded SLB controller so I could ditch the USB cable. Ethernet connectivity is much more stable than a USB connection. You *could* connect it to your network but I connected it directly to the miniPC I have for the machine. I like the panel PC but I do a lot more with the computer at the machine and have multiple monitors and USB cameras connected
I’m curious how the altmill tool change process works for cuts with multiple tools. Onefinity and shapeoko is an easy process with the auto tool probe but I don’t see that feature for the altmill unless I’m missing it.
I can highlight that for sure! I also don't think that they currently offer a tool setter / auto probe. But they do have a probe for manual tool changes.
Something you may not be aware of is that there is a phone app for gsender that allows you to use your phone as a controller for the motors to jog them, in addition to or instead of a mouse or game controller. Very handy for z-zeroing after a bit change
Curious to see specs on this and how they compare to the more superior and rigid onefinity machines. Items such as ballscrew size/pitch; rapids/carve times deflection on aluminum extrusion rails, etc. Also I can bring my tractor over to ride onto the rails… now that would really be fun!!!
The specifications are on the website, 16mm ball screws, etc. It is more rigid than the 1F that was documented in testing on video quite a while back on their website or UA-cam video (can't remember)
I also have an Elite foreman, and i think the materials, and all the machined parts are very high quality, and very durable. I can’t say whether or not it’s better than the Altmill since I’ve never used one, but I think it’d be hard to top it for sure!
Enjoyed this video. I was very much planning to get the ALTMILL next year, but I lucked into a gently used Elite Foreman for a great price recently. It does appear to be super capable & I’m anxious to see what you think of it after you use it more & more.
I remember you posting about getting the Elite! You're going to love it long term for sure. I'm also really interested in seeing how things work with the longmill as the weeks go on. But don't worry, I'll be using both machines here on the channel.
I’d like to see comparisons between the two, specifically accuracy, speed, and rigidity. I have an elite, I don’t feel that advertised speeds are sustainable over longer carves. Let’s see a comparison between the two machines, 2hr plus carves at top or near top speed. Last, Onefinity limits motor resolution to 400, what is the Altmill set at? Round carves on the 1F leave a lot to be desired.
Also, not a big fan of 1F customer support, especially on the forums, they seem very snarky and condescending, not really interested in customer opinion. I love the MASSO control, but think they’re really missing the boat with lack of Spindle support….what are they afraid of?
@srleitch75 I agree completely. 1F support is horrible, they were actively antagonist towards me for asking a question on how to obtain better results
I was really struggling between upgrading to either a Onefinity Elite or the Altmill, but for me the most important reason to upgrade was to be able to add Automatic Tool Changer capability and the Altmill's SLB does not have that ability. So I stuck with Onefinity and bought a PWNCNC ATC.
something complex has to be good cutting a sqaure is to easy lot of machines can do that. Even aluminum would be good i doubt that onefinity couldn't even cut 1" at 320ipm. 🤣
Should be a lot of up and down movement to compare the velocity feed rate of 3-d carves acceleration and deceleration it makes a huge difference on the time it takes to do a large 3-d carve.
I know shopmate runs a little different way than most CNCs seem to. But it would be nice to see a comparison with them. Yes, they are probably more $$$
0:35 well, if you compare it to the Onefinity Elite, price wise, shouldn’t you subtract the price of the Masso controller? Since the Altmill doesn’t come with a controller? (at least I haven’t yet noticed one, after 4 minutes into the video, but only mentioning that it’s required to use a computer and g sender)
oh, ok... I should shut up and finish the video before commenting anything else :) But in my opinion, the fact that you still need a computer to jog the machine and other things that are build into the Masso is such a huge difference that I wouldn't call the "SBL" a controller. But maybe that's just me. If they call it a controller, then I guess we'll have to see it as a controller, and it's just a huge difference between them. Ultimately, if it controls the machine, I guess it's a controller, even if you need a laptop to use (or "control", if you will) the controller itself :D
Customer service? I don't even have an Alt Mill or Longmill CNC. Mine is a 12x18 Fireball CNC. I purchased an SLB controller to control it. Sienci Labs has given me fantastic support to make their controller for my system! Clearly, my next CNC will be an Alt Mill.
I just ordered their new "Gcontrol" panel computer, same one they had at the Vetric user Conf. seems to be a pretty good deal at $479. Its not a full windows machine (in my mind not a bad thing) but it comes with Gsender installed ..... its a sealed convection cooled machine so how well it will work in a hot shop.... time will tell Cheers
great list, as I put my together I come to the same conclusions. One thing I think you missed is the Tool Length Sensor, or lack of one. While gSender does support one, they neither include one or sell one as an add on. They kind of push it as a semi production machine, but lack of tool sensor is a major miss on that. very few production jobs are single tool.
@@fallerdwhat Sienci sells are touch plates for finding initial zero on x,y and z. a TLS, tool length sensor, is used to measure when you change tools in a project to adjust the new tool height to the initial z .without one, you need to re-zero the z axis everytime you change a tool.
@@HamiltonDilbeckPlease look at them from a first time CNC owner perspective. I’m still assembling after four weeks I think. Work takes a lot out of me. I don’t know what I’m doing. The documentation is less than ideal. I have nothing to compare it to. Thanks.
When you revise the price comparison table to include the panel computer, to be fair, you should also add the QCW/stand to that comparison. Apples/Apples thing, don' cha' no.
The list in this video does include the Onefinity stand in their pricing. I had to add the Kreg table for the Xcarve and the Shapeoko due to them not offering stands. But I've been trying to keep it as true and close as possible! hopefully the Panel Computer will be out by Black Friday and I'll have an actual price for it!
I love the idea of the altmill. never seen one yet, and prob will soon. i have multiple oneinfity both original buildbotics and elite machines, including foreman. i've had cnc4newbie tk4848 as well, with g540, and uccnc(pc based). they have option for closed loop now, but my machine was not. things about hobby 4x4 machines. hard to hold down parts when you don't have much over 48x48 material size. even on foreman, running bit setter which i love, gets in way of material. also when you cover that much spoilboard with 1/2 sheet of ply, you are limited on where you can zero on spoilboard. that can be hugh issue. i didn't like usb cable connected to my machine. had to get shielded and ferrite bead cable to keep usb happy. i liked flat work area of cnc4newbie. little harder on foreman to load material, with overhaed dust collection, and just shop stuff. cnc4newbie was easier than video of altmill to build. less details, like screw drives come assy. but buiiding legs was a bit more work, to build, and get level and flat / square / straight. wiring was good on cnc4newbie, with terminal strips on each connection to drag chain. clean way to run, then clunky usb from back side back to computer. not a fan of that. also steppers stick out the back of cnc4newbie. onefinity has wires out the front, i'm always worried that they will get caught. not happend yes. for reference. i've used longmill, and have about 1200 hours on cnc4newbie, about 2400 hours cutting on onefinity. things i like about the masso controller on onfinity elite. holds offsets, holds zero, remembers last line of code run, even across power down. super accurate homing. screens can be a bit clunky to navigate and don't need to be. can add custom buttons to run quick commands. down side is pendant has to have db9 shell removed and looks like poor add on. also usb drive for memory is not my favoire and has caused some issue on masso. i put drive inside controller and use masso link to load files. masso link has trouble staying connected, but to make it work for me, i open masso link, drop files on and send, then close it when done. no issues when doing it that way. else it tends to loose connection and is a pain, as you have to power down, wait, and power back up. if using bit setter, it homes, then touches off bit on repower. then you get masso link back. my work flow is best on my masso machine. i like it for long carves, but it does not give percent done. connecting masso link does tell that. no esitmate of time. buldbotics controller did that extremely accurate. uccnc did not give that either. biggest down side if cutting panel sheet goods, is that you get accurate cuts for cabients, you need a rigid table and vacuum hold down system. without, the bow or flex of the ply can cause issues. i'll be adding one soon to my 1f and will do video on it. i don't use qcd table as it is shipped i load more mdf on top and use solid sheet. works good and for current work, i put down 2nd layer so that my bit setter is below surface so i don't hit. works well that way. i use pendant on uccnc, which is wirelsss and works very well. on masso it is wired and ok, not as many features. on uccnc, i had select axis and run zero from it. loved that feature. could do a lot from it. used joypad on buildbotics, and it worked well, but wanted a jog pendant to get super accurate. converting journeyman right now to elite. excited to have that as well. let me know if you have any questions on it as i run it a lot and love them all. i also help with a lot of other hobby machines. avid, millwrite, i have a shapeoko and shaper origin as well. i feel like the hobby game is so good right now it is almost unbelivable. could not have imagined this 10 years ago.
Thanks for another great video. This looks very promising. I've had my eye on a Shapeoko 5 Pro for my second machine, but for the cost, and what looks like serious considerations given to things like factory support for a spindle, I now have to make a decision with this new contender.
Same here. I was going to purchase the Shapeoko for Black Friday but now I am waiting for the lead time for the Altmill to get to something reasonable. It’s about 24 weeks right now looking at their order tracking.
Thanks for this video. While I would love a OneFinity or Altmill but I don’t the space for the big machines but I am looking at the Long Mill as they are much cheaper than the base model OneFinity. Keep up the great content
Hi . Thanks for the video. I like watching your stuff. I`m looking into getting either the 1F or Alltmill. But as the 1F Elite series are a lot more in price. I was wondering if you could include a comparison with the 1F "X50" in your next video. As they play more in the same price range. I know the biggest different will be the stepper motors. But still I would like what you would choose between the too. Thanks looking forward to the 29th.
Not sure if you've done any videos on PrintNC CNC, but that is the route that I was planning on taking until I found the Alt Mill. I don't have a machine yet so I really don't know if I go simple to start with something like foxalien or just go with OneFinity for the Plug-and-Play nature of thier machines. While Alt Mill looks fantastic for the price, my fear is the tinkering or addons that I would need to get to have the experience of something like OneFinity. I really do like that it comes with a stand, and your idea of putting storage underneath might have convinced me that the AltMill is the way to go.
Never have used a printnc, so I cant really speak to them. I do know that from what I've seen so far the Onefinity or Altmill are both great options that will serve you well.
Meh R&P for 4ft or longer travel Ballscrew for Z always Twin spring the R&P properly and you'll get ballscrew precision I get 0.05mm over 3.6m with R&P which is not to be grumbled at and damn is it rapid But I build my own or repair commercial ones so lol We're assholes, when you work big machines everything is toy ha ha ha Commercial routers are cheap on Ebay but they come with hassle Not everyone can deal with them And the small router scene is fascinating, I love what you guys do The more ghetto it is, the more fun it is
Noise is a bit of a concern for me. What is louder about this machine? Is it the spindle or the motors? Perhaps your other machines have water-cooled spindles? Noise is a bit of a concern for me.
@@HamiltonDilbeck I run a longmill MK1 with a mini computer, and wireless mouse and keyboard, and gsender. I use a 32" TV as a monitor (old eyes) and this setup works Great!
I own a Onefinity (Original 32" Woodworker) but I'd be super happy with the Altmill. When I was first researching what machine to buy it was actually between the Sienci and Onefinity. Kind of nice to have two great options right here in Canada.
Good information. GSender is a good program I used it briefly with my CarveKing2 prior to getting my Elite. I do not miss it. I like Cad in Vectric, send to Masso via WiFi and go. (Or save to thumb drive and go) The Masso ability with the ‘start at line’ has saved time and projects. I have seen the premarket Altmill videos and I am impressed with it. I wonder if their spindle would work with the Masso? Side by side it would be interesting to take a complex job and see the paths each would take and finish the quickest but if there any quality differences as well.
Good points and I assume the spindle would work fine with the masso. Maybe some work on the front end to get them playing nice at the start. For sure going to do some side by side carves and test for speed, accuracy, and finish. Thanks for the comment!
Honestly I was fully team onefinity before the altmill, but I really think the altmill is a better value. I haven't used either, and am still saving for one, but the altmill is looking really nice. Looking forward to your black friday video.
I mean, for ~39% off the cost of a onefinity, I think I sure could stomach a lot more gripes than you mentioned... that's a pretty large gap to cross, and the general consensus is onefinity has its own set of flaws as well. A cumulative set of the largest flaws compared between the two machines would be nice to have, if they can be sensibly and consisely compared.
@@HamiltonDilbeck I use it for my Shapeoko. Almost got the Onefinity, but I am size limited due to city living so a 5Pro 2x2 for me and the Fusion tablet works great. Network share and it’s right to Carbide Motion. AirWeights and a spindle and I am doing some really nice 3D Carves with clean results. 1/32” Tapered Ball Nose carves and it’s amazing.
The spindle wrenches... are actually a green card for me. I always replace my out-of-the-box wrenches with chunky boys because the fit the contours of my hand better than the 1/8" sheet steel ones. The only skinny one I still use is on my dedicated trim router because the guard is in the way of my fatter wrenches, and I'm too lazy to pop the guard off to change bits.
Yeah when he brought that up and showed the wrenches all I could think was "Oh, they send actual, proper wrenches. That's nice!" Don't know how it's a red card at all.
For the same price I got the Queen Ant PRO V2 with the additional 4th axis and an offline controller a jogging wheel and some more stuff. Would have loved to see how it compares to the usual suspects one day.
Seriously though, allow me to tell you my long winded longmill story. It all started back in 2021 when I wanted to get into CNC and I wanted my first machine to be the original 1F woodworker. But I didn't want to wait for the then 8-12 week lead time. So I bought a longmill MK1 (their first cnc) and it was a pain in the rear. Between software glitches, motor breakage, EFI issues, I couldn't get the machine to run consistently for any amount of time. So I bought a 2nd smaller machine (millwright carve king 2) to get me by and basically shelved the MK1. A year or so later the elite series was announced and while I didn't get one immediately I did order one last July with still an 8 week lead time. I got my elite in October last year and have had very few regrets since running it for the last year. It has paid for itself many times over. So yeah I'm pretty sour on any machine that longmill puts out due to my personal experience.
@HamiltonDilbeck Using a high-quality USB cable solved a lot of the disconnect issues with gSender. I use it to run my "Jennymitsu" with one. Disconnects no more.
I really appreciate your in depth coverage of the Altmill. I've been considering moving all my machines over to that platform, having been on a Shapeoko for 4 years and a C4N for 3. Your biggest complaint about having a separate computer doesn't phase me because I've never had a machine with a computer included. I ended up finding a University's surplus dept that has 2-3yr old mini intel machines for all my CNC's for like $30 per computer.
Having a dedicated PC for a machine is fantastic, both for absolute control and ease of use. It would definitely feel janky if it is also your main computer. (I also ran a Kongsberg)
I originally ordered a long mill mk2. Then soon realized the altmill was coming out. I switched to the altmill. At the time of my order altmill wasn’t offering a spindle. I was impressed with Dan from PWN CNC and went on to order the 80 mm spindle. It’s said to be plug and play with the SLB. I’m sure I’ll be up grading with one of PWNs ATC.
I think it is only a bit disingenuous to say adding a computer makes it feel like a toy. I am not team altmill by any means, but the masso touchscreen controller is for all intents and purposes a computer. Otherwise, great overview.
100% agree. CNC machines need computers. I should have been more clear by saying "Hooking my laptop computer up to a cnc machine makes me feel like its a toy."
Budget beast really? Please make a video comparing 1325 atc cnc router 1530 2030 2130 3d wood cutting machine woodworking machinery with linear or carousel tool changer and this. I just did a quick search on Chineseland. Convince me that that extruded aluminum structure is worth paying 1000 bucks more
Was there a joke about the wrenches that i missed? Are they plastic or something? Not sure what that segment was insinuating. Also it comes with er16 not er26
The wrenches have two different heads on each of them. So its an extra step to change bits, making sure you have the right face. And good catch! I had watched this video no less than 50 times while editing it and never caught that!
Its gotta be better on one account. Thats the company and how they treat customers because 1f treats them like dogs. Worst company i ever made a purchase from is 1F
I am hesitant to buy such an expensive machine with only a 120 day warranty. I have had, and appreciate, to have warranty claims well past 120 days for manufacturer defects with some of my (relatively) high-cost toys/machines/ hobbies.
@@HamiltonDilbeck Honestly, if their warranty matched their (primary) competitor's warranty, this is the machine to buy... without question! Thank you for your reply
If you own a 1f you have to do the warranty work they only send parts so you have to be electrician and a mechanical engineer. They wont fix nothing and everything they blame on user error lol
Traitor! LOL Onefinity is still the king of CNC Routers - I am a machine tool builder (yes I know shame using credentials in a comment) and I would offer these plate and beam units are not that rigid in X axis they can suffer "some" side beam deflection on heavier cuts, it sometimes shows up more so when articulating a circle or other shape that requires concurrent movement on the X and Y axis. I do not have that problem with a Onefinity, if this unit was gusseted to an "under structure" on the side plates I would retract my statement. I had a Shark 2500 in 2000 it never ever made a circle only ovals.... but usually I designed and built custom machine tools mostly out of cast iron so I may have some materials bias.
Let me know how I can show that in a test between these two machines so that the average person can understand the benefits and drawbacks! I'd love to test it! Edit: spelling
@@HamiltonDilbeck Hi apologies for the slow reply been working on Christmas Orders! I would do some simple circle interpolation tests varying depth of cuts and feed rates, perform the same tests on both the ALTMILL and Onefinity and then measure the "roundness" with a pair of digital calipers (Use an Optical Comparator or micrometer if you have one) and compare measurements you have taken on multiple points on the diameter. TBH it might be so slight it really does not matter to most people, but I can claim the Onefinity is always as close to perfectly round with heavy cuts (within reason for the machine of course I am not proposing taking 1 inch cuts at 2000IPM) the only time this out of round condition may be a problem would be for inlay work as items may not fit well. BUT there again ALTMILL may of aced it and made an awesome product - for the price it is already awesome to be fair!
China cnc machines you can get the same size for loke 2k CAD. For 3k youncan get either something bugger or something MUCH more rigid and beefy rhan this. For 3k i want the machine to be sturdy enough to machine stainless. They do have nice machines as well its not all junk. You just have to search and sift through the junk. Some of theyre cnc machines are way better than anything in the same proce range and size that ive seen people using on yt from western countries. Isnt the shapeoko this same size and only $1200? Your opinion seems kind of bias since you got ot free. The legs should NOT wobble for $3k. Thats just absurd. Would bet money that they prpfited like 300% they can afford to add support to the froggin legs.
From what you said, I'm convinced to not buy this machine. Overall it sounds like they have very poor quality control. If things are incorrectly wired and loose wires abound. Considering they knew you were doing a review it seems they would have made doubly sure it was right. As a person who does QC for a living, I would be devastated to have that come across my path and see it get to a customer. After pointing all the things that were wrong with it you said overall you haven't seen a better machine. I disagree, however I'm glad you pointed out the issues. I would never buy it though. Thanks for the review...
If I said "I haven't seen a better machine" in this video please let me have the timestamp so that I can clip that out. That type of statement is reserved for the comparison video coming out in a few weeks. And I'm glad the review was helpful for you! I always try to present my opinion as honestly as possible because I know that people are spending their money on these machines and they need to be presented as honestly as possible. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
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9:35 I run large 5' x 10' CNC machines by Kongsberg, Zund and AXYZ. They are not toys. They ALL have computers connected to control them. I am leaning toward this machine opposed to the Onefinity because the Altmill has a rail system that is like all of those industrial machines.
I was one of the first orders when the Altmill went up for pre-order back in March, and have been very happy thus far. No previous CNC experience though, so maybe I don't know better?
Interesting that you had some problems that I have not run into (like loose wires). Majority of my issues have been self-induced as well lol, although I think I ran into a similar issue as you (which I ran into before they patched the fix in with a version of GSender).
Re: the 120 warranty - based on what I've seen in the Facebook group, even if you're out of warranty, they'll try to help you out if something goes wrong that shouldn't. Obviously not something you can count on, but was one of the things that pulled me to Team Altmill vs. the 1F.
Another thing that I appreciate - they're extremely open about everything. A month back or so, there was a small batch (~35) of machines that went out with a bad left side gantry plate; they could have just contacted those folks, but they put out a IG post (and UA-cam short too I think) outlining the issue and their plan for resolution. They definitely didn't need to do that, and I don't think most companies would have done that.
That's awesome news and really great to hear. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
I have a 48x30 MK2 Longmill, but I am planning to eventually upgrade to this machine. I think it is important to note that the machine was just released this year. In fact, I think they were still taking product ideas in Jan/Feb. Very happy to see they went with a four inch dust boot that I recommended. Scienci Labs just got this to market and is working out kinks and make improvements. I think they just noticed an issue with the gantry mount, and they are sending out free plates to address the issue. They stand by their products and I am sure the altmill will be even better in the next year. The 1F is interesting, but you can't beat what you get for the price with sienci. Thanks for the vid and looking forward to see the comparison next month.
Fully agree! Also, its very normal for people to make changes as they see the need to make them. I think Sienci Labs has done a fantastic job so far.
I have had their entry level CNC (the longmill MK2) for about 2 years. Honestly I have never felt limited by it, it is a great machine and I totally reccomend it (it is less than $2,000 for a 48x30). Also, I have used scienci support as a "nobody" and they are top notch. I can just text them if I have any questions and they will either text back or just call me back very quickly. I think Scienci is an awesome company and I love how affordable they are making CNC machines. My only complaint is also like you said having to hook up a PC to run it. But I hope they will have the panel PC out soon and that should solve it.
Very good feedback on the company and your use case. I think the panel computer is going to make thigns much more fluid too. Thankks for the comment!
I don’t have a youtube account and can say Sienci customer service has been top notch with me so far. I get the feeling that it is one of those companies that runs like employees are family rather than positions. They have pride and attachment to the products they create.
Thats great to hear! They have been incredible on my side too!
I have had nothing but great experience with their customer service. You hit the nail on the head that they are more like family than a company, and it shows. All my issues were resolved within a day, and new parts were sent and arrived within a couple days.
I just received my Altmill. I ordered in April. A long anticipated arrival. Meanwhile I’ve watched videos from the company. It seems to be extremely robust. Watch their video where they machine a chunk of aluminum into a guitar. Very impressive. I have not assembled it yet to spite watching the assembly videos quite a bit. I ordered a PWN 80 mm water cooled spindle for my Altmill. Also a great company to do business with.
Nice! Any reason why you went for the PWN spindle over the Sienci Spindle?
Awesome video! We're all in on making sure this product is great.
Heck yeah! Thanks for making such a great machine!
Thanks for this! I have a Sienci Labs LongMill MK1 and have considered adding the AltMill to my shop beside it. I've debated going OneFinity but you've convinced me that my initial instinct was right. Back to Scienci I go!
Thankfully they both seem to be great options! Thanks for the comment!
I've even got a panel PC on my MakerMade M2! I'm an industrial controls engineer and got the panel PC for free when I replaced one at work, but they can be found used on Ebay for very little money, then you just use a monitor mount, install your software, and bam!!
Great video! Im eyeing this unit up, I was maybe going to upgrade my eleite Jurneyman to 4x4 but what they just did to pwn was waaaay dirty, i only own a cable and balanced collect spindle nuts from pwn, no fanboi tears to play with just went wow. Hope the next video will also be neutral!
You might have to take into consideration the Black Friday deals from OneFinity when you do your review/comparison. I had an original woodworker and just purchased the woodworker elite combo that includes the spindle and tool changer. So yes it's smaller than this one obviously, but the capabilities are huge. ❤❤❤
Thanks for another great video!
Hoss, CNC literally stands for COMPUTER Numerical Control. 😂 I've worked on million dollar manufacturing machines connected to PCs/laptops/Industrial PCs, so it's a poor litmus test for how "professional" it is. I still appreciate your video. Thanks for the in-depth review. 👍
Thanks!
Ive had the altimill for about 3 months and I definitely agree about the wiring aspect. Personally I don’t mind the computer being connected since it’s the same area I do my design work. I haven’t had any lose wire issues but the usb cable does feel lose (though I haven’t had any connection issues) and the on off switch is cheep feeling but I also have it on a beefy surge protector so don’t really use it. Legs are definitely wobbly but a rack solves that. Overall I agree with everything you said in the video including my respect for the company as a whole. Also love the vortex rotary.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Also glad to hear you like the rotary- I don't have any experience with it so glad its being recieved well!
I have a 1F Journeyman BB and absolutely love it. I'm a retired teacher so what I do with mine is 100% hobby I don't sell stuff (if I sold stuff then it's a job and I don't want one of those). I run a Makita router--I absolutely don't have to push it to the limit for production work so there is food on the table so waiting a bit longer for a cut is of no real significance to me. I did spend and inordinate amount of time researching what I needed and wanted prior to it showing up on my doorstep. I built a Mitz inspired enclosure (thanks Mitz--he is awesome!). Are there things that are a bit of a rub yes but nothing huge. I don't have it networked my shop is 12 steps (yes, I have counted) away from my office. Would I do it again? 100% yes! Hamilton thank you for your insight, style, honesty, and friendly nature.
Thanks for sharing your experience! and yep, Mitz is the man! I love the CNC community, there is something for everyone here!
i have the Sienci Longmill MK2.5 30x48 with an 80mm water-cooled spindle from PWNcnc. There are a few differences between it and the Altmill, but not enough for me to upgrade at this time. The main difference obviously is the size, though mine will cut 32x50. The closed loop stepper motors would be nice and I'm going to look into getting them, if they are compatible. I already have the Super Long Board, so I don't think there should be a problem. I like having the computer, because I can design projects with Vectric vCarve Pro, load the gcode into gSender all in the same place and off you go.
Nice! thanks for sharing your experience!
@@HamiltonDilbeck Thanks for the response. After doing a little research, I found out that my current setup will not support the closed loop stepper motors. In order for it to work, I'll have to get the SLB-EXT instead of the SLB (Super Long Board). The SLB-EXT supports the 48V stepper motors, where the SLB does not. SLB has drivers for the motors soldered in, where the drivers for the closed loop motors are on the motors themselves. So, it is doable, but at what cost. I haven't contacted Sienci yet about the cost and availability of the board and the motors. One more thing I forgot to mention is that I have the fourth axis as well and I think that stepper motor will have to be replaced as well. We'll see, I'll let you know. Sienci is super responsive and has excellent customer support.
As someone who owns two avid machines - i couldnt pass up the chance to order an altmill for the price. So far im loving it. Gsender is awesome and i love that this thing has low sides for putting material in. I might have to do some changes and upgrades to it the way I did for my avid machines and post a video of it but overall this things kicks butt for the price. 🎉 Did you see the video where they tested a heavy spindle on it too? Dang! Excited to see the community that builds up around this machine.
Yep! I wish I had a spindle that big hah! maybe one day
I'm currently using the longmill version and I love it. The only thing I cannot stand is having to deal with tightening or loosening the v- Wheels. Doesn't look like the altmill uses them so that is awesome. And yes I had some issues with tightening down the nuts as well causing my machine to jam up.
One thing that you could have mentioned wrt connecting to a PC is that you can use ethernet instead of USB.
True! My laptop doesn't have an ethernet port, so I didn't have that as an option. But I could get an adapter and that should work well enough!
@@HamiltonDilbeck Good point. I'm old and using a discarded PC to control my Sienci Long Mill with the super long board controller. One of the major reasons that I bought this controller - basically, the same one controlling the AltMill - was to get away from the inconsistent control through USB. I am betting that, when Sienci comes out with the panel computer, it will connect with ethernet.
I hope that it does, having that secure connection brings a lot of peace of mind.
@@HamiltonDilbeck It really does make a difference IME. I'm using the Super Long Board on my Onefinity, and the ethernet connection has been rock solid. It really works best withy a dedicated machine rather than a multi-purpose laptop that you move in/out of the CNC setup, though. I picked up a little N100 mini pc and run it with a big 4k monitor mounted over the cnc. Great setup IMHO.
Been researching CNCs for a while, leaned Shapeoko 5 for a bit, then this channel and others made me lean 1F Elite, then started looking at the Altmill. Just bought a ‘new’ Longmill 30x30 Mk2 that someone bought then never assembled for a good discount as a starter machine, hopefully moving up to the Altmill if all goes well. Eagerly looking forward to your Black Friday video!
Awesome! I hope it turns out to be helpful. Thankfully I think that either machine will serve you well. But time will tell more!
Loving the fancy filming 😁
If only it didn't take a full day of filming for 70 seconds of b-roll, I'd do it every week! I'm sure you feel my pain
@HamiltonDilbeck I certainly do...and I think you need a vote button for people just being team Hamilton 😉
I love James and Hamilton!! Both of you are amazing ambassadors of the CNC community!!
Those b-roll shots are 🔥 and to be fair most people will have a computer at home and even if you had a longer run to a desktop the AM has cat6 connection as well right?
Would't have the b-roll without you! You crushed it brother. and also great points!
I dont have a cnc, but i do have an 80w co2 laser, and hooking up ethernet to that was a huge game changer. Being network connected means you can just send files to the laser and it just goes. prior to the 80w i did have a k40, with a spare laptop running k40 whisperer, and that was suboptimal. I can see where it would be a pain to plug and unplug a computer to work on files away from the shop only to have to come back, and/or load up files to the "shop laptop".
I can't speak for the Altmill, but I have the Longmill with the upgraded SLB controller so I could ditch the USB cable. Ethernet connectivity is much more stable than a USB connection. You *could* connect it to your network but I connected it directly to the miniPC I have for the machine. I like the panel PC but I do a lot more with the computer at the machine and have multiple monitors and USB cameras connected
I’m curious how the altmill tool change process works for cuts with multiple tools. Onefinity and shapeoko is an easy process with the auto tool probe but I don’t see that feature for the altmill unless I’m missing it.
With gsender, meh. It does handle tool changes, but unlike my Masso, it does not show the tool number or what the tool is...
I can highlight that for sure! I also don't think that they currently offer a tool setter / auto probe. But they do have a probe for manual tool changes.
Something you may not be aware of is that there is a phone app for gsender that allows you to use your phone as a controller for the motors to jog them, in addition to or instead of a mouse or game controller. Very handy for z-zeroing after a bit change
You're right, I didn't know! Thanks for pointing that out!
Curious to see specs on this and how they compare to the more superior and rigid onefinity machines. Items such as ballscrew size/pitch; rapids/carve times deflection on aluminum extrusion rails, etc.
Also I can bring my tractor over to ride onto the rails… now that would really be fun!!!
lol love it
The specifications are on the website, 16mm ball screws, etc. It is more rigid than the 1F that was documented in testing on video quite a while back on their website or UA-cam video (can't remember)
Can someone explain why the wrenches are bad?
I also have an Elite foreman, and i think the materials, and all the machined parts are very high quality, and very durable. I can’t say whether or not it’s better than the Altmill since I’ve never used one, but I think it’d be hard to top it for sure!
Agreed, the Onefinity is an absolute tank!
Enjoyed this video. I was very much planning to get the ALTMILL next year, but I lucked into a gently used Elite Foreman for a great price recently. It does appear to be super capable & I’m anxious to see what you think of it after you use it more & more.
I remember you posting about getting the Elite! You're going to love it long term for sure. I'm also really interested in seeing how things work with the longmill as the weeks go on. But don't worry, I'll be using both machines here on the channel.
Also, I’ve used G-Sender for quite awhile with my old CNC & found it was quite good
@@tpsooner7816 Interesting! Its a first for me. I do like it a lot so far
@@HamiltonDilbeck If you didn't notice it yet, gSender can create the gcode to flatten your wasteboard on the fly. One checkmark in it's plus column.
Is the apples to apples comparison really Onefinity Elite, considering Masso? Wouldn’t Onefinity Pro be the comparable line?
Can you run a noise test in comparison to the onefininty ?
I can do that! Already have the decible meter in the shop!
I love the Super Long Board and Gsender it has versatility but the 2 CNC’s I got from them don’t come close to my Onefinity Elite.
I’d like to see comparisons between the two, specifically accuracy, speed, and rigidity. I have an elite, I don’t feel that advertised speeds are sustainable over longer carves. Let’s see a comparison between the two machines, 2hr plus carves at top or near top speed. Last, Onefinity limits motor resolution to 400, what is the Altmill set at? Round carves on the 1F leave a lot to be desired.
Also, not a big fan of 1F customer support, especially on the forums, they seem very snarky and condescending, not really interested in customer opinion. I love the MASSO control, but think they’re really missing the boat with lack of Spindle support….what are they afraid of?
@@srleitch75 agreed
I think that should be easy enough to test! I have seen that both machines chose accuracy over speed when it comes to curves lol
@srleitch75 I agree completely. 1F support is horrible, they were actively antagonist towards me for asking a question on how to obtain better results
nicely done. very informative and well thought out.
Thank you for that incredibly kind comment!
I was really struggling between upgrading to either a Onefinity Elite or the Altmill, but for me the most important reason to upgrade was to be able to add Automatic Tool Changer capability and the Altmill's SLB does not have that ability. So I stuck with Onefinity and bought a PWNCNC ATC.
Thats a great point and not to be overlooked! Thanks!
@@HamiltonDilbeck Welcome! (Fades back into the shadows as a lurker who never comments)
Check out the Rapid change atc system
@GGGG_3333 I already bought the PwnCNC kit. Wanted to support a business from my home state.
Lol thanks for commenting it means a lot!
I want to see the onefinity and the altmil side x side doing the same projects at 500ipm. Lets see who can do it......
I think thats easy enough to do- maybe just a big square in 3/4" baltic birch?
something complex has to be good cutting a sqaure is to easy lot of machines can do that. Even aluminum would be good i doubt that onefinity couldn't even cut 1" at 320ipm. 🤣
Should be a lot of up and down movement to compare the velocity feed rate of 3-d carves acceleration and deceleration it makes a huge difference on the time it takes to do a large 3-d carve.
I know shopmate runs a little different way than most CNCs seem to. But it would be nice to see a comparison with them. Yes, they are probably more $$$
0:35 well, if you compare it to the Onefinity Elite, price wise, shouldn’t you subtract the price of the Masso controller? Since the Altmill doesn’t come with a controller? (at least I haven’t yet noticed one, after 4 minutes into the video, but only mentioning that it’s required to use a computer and g sender)
No, they both have controllers. The onefinity uses the masso and the altmill uses the SBL. But the sbl needs an external computer to work.
oh, ok... I should shut up and finish the video before commenting anything else :)
But in my opinion, the fact that you still need a computer to jog the machine and other things that are build into the Masso is such a huge difference that I wouldn't call the "SBL" a controller. But maybe that's just me. If they call it a controller, then I guess we'll have to see it as a controller, and it's just a huge difference between them. Ultimately, if it controls the machine, I guess it's a controller, even if you need a laptop to use (or "control", if you will) the controller itself :D
Looking forward to the comparison video
Thanks!
The board hanging on the wall behind you with the circle saw marks did you create them on the CNC machine?
No, thats old reclaimed oak strips. That would be a cool project, though!
Customer service? I don't even have an Alt Mill or Longmill CNC. Mine is a 12x18 Fireball CNC. I purchased an SLB controller to control it. Sienci Labs has given me fantastic support to make their controller for my system! Clearly, my next CNC will be an Alt Mill.
I just ordered their new "Gcontrol" panel computer, same one they had at the Vetric user Conf. seems to be a pretty good deal at $479. Its not a full windows machine (in my mind not a bad thing) but it comes with Gsender installed ..... its a sealed convection cooled machine so how well it will work in a hot shop.... time will tell
Cheers
1:46 You said 80mm ER26 spindle and the on-screen graphic said ER16.
Yep, it was a mixup. The spindle has an ER16 Collet
great list, as I put my together I come to the same conclusions. One thing I think you missed is the Tool Length Sensor, or lack of one. While gSender does support one, they neither include one or sell one as an add on. They kind of push it as a semi production machine, but lack of tool sensor is a major miss on that. very few production jobs are single tool.
Thats a good thing to bring up in the next video, thanks!
@@HamiltonDilbeck is this guy talking about something other than the two touch plates that sienci does sell for use with the altmill?
@@fallerdwhat Sienci sells are touch plates for finding initial zero on x,y and z. a TLS, tool length sensor, is used to measure when you change tools in a project to adjust the new tool height to the initial z .without one, you need to re-zero the z axis everytime you change a tool.
Wondering if this is also in the same bracket as something like the Avid CNC system.
I don't think so, but the gap is not huge.
I hope the Onefinity remains “The Tippy-Tippy Top of Hobby CNCs” because I own one now.
You're not the only one! Any specific areas or things you want to see tested between the two?
@@HamiltonDilbeckPlease look at them from a first time CNC owner perspective. I’m still assembling after four weeks I think. Work takes a lot out of me. I don’t know what I’m doing. The documentation is less than ideal. I have nothing to compare it to. Thanks.
When you revise the price comparison table to include the panel computer, to be fair, you should also add the QCW/stand to that comparison. Apples/Apples thing, don' cha' no.
The list in this video does include the Onefinity stand in their pricing. I had to add the Kreg table for the Xcarve and the Shapeoko due to them not offering stands. But I've been trying to keep it as true and close as possible! hopefully the Panel Computer will be out by Black Friday and I'll have an actual price for it!
@@HamiltonDilbeck Missed that, my bad.
No worries! Still tons to go over about pricing
Please also do pricing without shipping, as the totals will be extremely different for Canadians.
Do you think it's possible to swap in a onefinity Masso controller onto the AltMill?
For sure! Do I know how to? Nope.
I love the idea of the altmill. never seen one yet, and prob will soon. i have multiple oneinfity both original buildbotics and elite machines, including foreman. i've had cnc4newbie tk4848 as well, with g540, and uccnc(pc based). they have option for closed loop now, but my machine was not.
things about hobby 4x4 machines. hard to hold down parts when you don't have much over 48x48 material size. even on foreman, running bit setter which i love, gets in way of material. also when you cover that much spoilboard with 1/2 sheet of ply, you are limited on where you can zero on spoilboard. that can be hugh issue. i didn't like usb cable connected to my machine. had to get shielded and ferrite bead cable to keep usb happy. i liked flat work area of cnc4newbie. little harder on foreman to load material, with overhaed dust collection, and just shop stuff. cnc4newbie was easier than video of altmill to build. less details, like screw drives come assy. but buiiding legs was a bit more work, to build, and get level and flat / square / straight. wiring was good on cnc4newbie, with terminal strips on each connection to drag chain. clean way to run, then clunky usb from back side back to computer. not a fan of that. also steppers stick out the back of cnc4newbie. onefinity has wires out the front, i'm always worried that they will get caught. not happend yes.
for reference. i've used longmill, and have about 1200 hours on cnc4newbie, about 2400 hours cutting on onefinity.
things i like about the masso controller on onfinity elite. holds offsets, holds zero, remembers last line of code run, even across power down. super accurate homing. screens can be a bit clunky to navigate and don't need to be. can add custom buttons to run quick commands. down side is pendant has to have db9 shell removed and looks like poor add on. also usb drive for memory is not my favoire and has caused some issue on masso. i put drive inside controller and use masso link to load files. masso link has trouble staying connected, but to make it work for me, i open masso link, drop files on and send, then close it when done. no issues when doing it that way. else it tends to loose connection and is a pain, as you have to power down, wait, and power back up. if using bit setter, it homes, then touches off bit on repower. then you get masso link back.
my work flow is best on my masso machine. i like it for long carves, but it does not give percent done. connecting masso link does tell that. no esitmate of time. buldbotics controller did that extremely accurate. uccnc did not give that either.
biggest down side if cutting panel sheet goods, is that you get accurate cuts for cabients, you need a rigid table and vacuum hold down system. without, the bow or flex of the ply can cause issues. i'll be adding one soon to my 1f and will do video on it. i don't use qcd table as it is shipped i load more mdf on top and use solid sheet. works good and for current work, i put down 2nd layer so that my bit setter is below surface so i don't hit. works well that way. i use pendant on uccnc, which is wirelsss and works very well. on masso it is wired and ok, not as many features. on uccnc, i had select axis and run zero from it. loved that feature. could do a lot from it. used joypad on buildbotics, and it worked well, but wanted a jog pendant to get super accurate. converting journeyman right now to elite. excited to have that as well. let me know if you have any questions on it as i run it a lot and love them all. i also help with a lot of other hobby machines. avid, millwrite, i have a shapeoko and shaper origin as well.
i feel like the hobby game is so good right now it is almost unbelivable. could not have imagined this 10 years ago.
What’s the issue with the wrenches? Great video!
Nm, I see I’m not the only one lol. Grind one end off?
Eh I think I'm just gonna wrap the "bad ends" in electrical tape lol
@@HamiltonDilbeck well...that works! I will never fault a man for his use of electrical tape.
Thanks for another great video. This looks very promising. I've had my eye on a Shapeoko 5 Pro for my second machine, but for the cost, and what looks like serious considerations given to things like factory support for a spindle, I now have to make a decision with this new contender.
Yep! In house support for spindles is a big deal.
Same here. I was going to purchase the Shapeoko for Black Friday but now I am waiting for the lead time for the Altmill to get to something reasonable. It’s about 24 weeks right now looking at their order tracking.
Thanks for this video. While I would love a OneFinity or Altmill but I don’t the space for the big machines but I am looking at the Long Mill as they are much cheaper than the base model OneFinity. Keep up the great content
Yep, these things are BIG and take up a lot of space. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Can it tile? If you wanted to cut something longer than 48" ?
Yes, it can!
@@HamiltonDilbeck Nice, That's great, will look into getting one :)
Hi . Thanks for the video. I like watching your stuff. I`m looking into getting either the 1F or Alltmill. But as the 1F Elite series are a lot more in price. I was wondering if you could include a comparison with the 1F "X50" in your next video. As they play more in the same price range. I know the biggest different will be the stepper motors. But still I would like what you would choose between the too. Thanks looking forward to the 29th.
Not sure if you've done any videos on PrintNC CNC, but that is the route that I was planning on taking until I found the Alt Mill. I don't have a machine yet so I really don't know if I go simple to start with something like foxalien or just go with OneFinity for the Plug-and-Play nature of thier machines. While Alt Mill looks fantastic for the price, my fear is the tinkering or addons that I would need to get to have the experience of something like OneFinity.
I really do like that it comes with a stand, and your idea of putting storage underneath might have convinced me that the AltMill is the way to go.
Never have used a printnc, so I cant really speak to them. I do know that from what I've seen so far the Onefinity or Altmill are both great options that will serve you well.
Meh
R&P for 4ft or longer travel
Ballscrew for Z always
Twin spring the R&P properly and you'll get ballscrew precision
I get 0.05mm over 3.6m with R&P which is not to be grumbled at and damn is it rapid
But I build my own or repair commercial ones so lol
We're assholes, when you work big machines everything is toy ha ha ha
Commercial routers are cheap on Ebay but they come with hassle
Not everyone can deal with them
And the small router scene is fascinating, I love what you guys do
The more ghetto it is, the more fun it is
I cant wait until you try the touchscreen and add a xbox controller for your zeroing and general movement between jobs. Ur gonna love it.
Noise is a bit of a concern for me. What is louder about this machine? Is it the spindle or the motors? Perhaps your other machines have water-cooled spindles? Noise is a bit of a concern for me.
Mainly just movement. It's not insanely loud. Just louder
Question. You said you disliked the fact of connecting a PC via USB to the ALTMILL. Could the software actually be ran on a tablet instead?
Yes, it technically can!
@@HamiltonDilbeck I run a longmill MK1 with a mini computer, and wireless mouse and keyboard, and gsender. I use a 32" TV as a monitor (old eyes) and this setup works Great!
Team Onefinity? Like this comment!
I own a Onefinity (Original 32" Woodworker) but I'd be super happy with the Altmill. When I was first researching what machine to buy it was actually between the Sienci and Onefinity. Kind of nice to have two great options right here in Canada.
I just got my 1st CNC, 1F Elite Foreman. So far it is absolutely incredible!
Good information. GSender is a good program I used it briefly with my CarveKing2 prior to getting my Elite. I do not miss it. I like Cad in Vectric, send to Masso via WiFi and go. (Or save to thumb drive and go) The Masso ability with the ‘start at line’ has saved time and projects. I have seen the premarket Altmill videos and I am impressed with it. I wonder if their spindle would work with the Masso? Side by side it would be interesting to take a complex job and see the paths each would take and finish the quickest but if there any quality differences as well.
Good points and I assume the spindle would work fine with the masso. Maybe some work on the front end to get them playing nice at the start. For sure going to do some side by side carves and test for speed, accuracy, and finish. Thanks for the comment!
Honestly I was fully team onefinity before the altmill, but I really think the altmill is a better value.
I haven't used either, and am still saving for one, but the altmill is looking really nice. Looking forward to your black friday video.
Certainly a few things I want to look into further for the next video, but its hard to ignore the pricing!
@@HamiltonDilbeck You can buy a lot of tooling with a $2000 dollar savings.
I'm having a hard time deciding between this machine and the queenant pro v2.
Never heard of them!
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I mean, for ~39% off the cost of a onefinity, I think I sure could stomach a lot more gripes than you mentioned... that's a pretty large gap to cross, and the general consensus is onefinity has its own set of flaws as well. A cumulative set of the largest flaws compared between the two machines would be nice to have, if they can be sensibly and consisely compared.
Looked good until you said Gsender. A solid controller is the tipping point for me. The Masso finally made the Onefinity worth it.
I have things on each of them that I like so far!
Congrats, Hamilton!!
Thanks!
Fusion5 Tablet will work fine and comes with Win11. Can even handle VCarve Pro. $300
Agreed! Tons of great 3rd party computers to use!
@@HamiltonDilbeck I use it for my Shapeoko. Almost got the Onefinity, but I am size limited due to city living so a 5Pro 2x2 for me and the Fusion tablet works great. Network share and it’s right to Carbide Motion. AirWeights and a spindle and I am doing some really nice 3D Carves with clean results. 1/32” Tapered Ball Nose carves and it’s amazing.
The spindle wrenches... are actually a green card for me. I always replace my out-of-the-box wrenches with chunky boys because the fit the contours of my hand better than the 1/8" sheet steel ones. The only skinny one I still use is on my dedicated trim router because the guard is in the way of my fatter wrenches, and I'm too lazy to pop the guard off to change bits.
Interesting! I'm going to have to use some electrical tape or something to cover up the sides that are not the correct size.
Yeah when he brought that up and showed the wrenches all I could think was "Oh, they send actual, proper wrenches. That's nice!" Don't know how it's a red card at all.
It's each wrench having two different faces on them. It's an extra step.
@@HamiltonDilbeck ohhhh! That is silly! Totally understand the red card now.
For the same price I got the Queen Ant PRO V2 with the additional 4th axis and an offline controller a jogging wheel and some more stuff.
Would have loved to see how it compares to the usual suspects one day.
Seriously though, allow me to tell you my long winded longmill story. It all started back in 2021 when I wanted to get into CNC and I wanted my first machine to be the original 1F woodworker. But I didn't want to wait for the then 8-12 week lead time. So I bought a longmill MK1 (their first cnc) and it was a pain in the rear. Between software glitches, motor breakage, EFI issues, I couldn't get the machine to run consistently for any amount of time. So I bought a 2nd smaller machine (millwright carve king 2) to get me by and basically shelved the MK1. A year or so later the elite series was announced and while I didn't get one immediately I did order one last July with still an 8 week lead time. I got my elite in October last year and have had very few regrets since running it for the last year. It has paid for itself many times over. So yeah I'm pretty sour on any machine that longmill puts out due to my personal experience.
Thats fair! Also congrats on the Elite- thats one heck of an upgrade from the previous two mentioned!
You stated your results are already concluded and won’t change , so what’s the point of waiting till Black Friday to post your video ?
That was talking about the customer service portion. Haven't tested the machines against each other yet.
@HamiltonDilbeck Using a high-quality USB cable solved a lot of the disconnect issues with gSender. I use it to run my "Jennymitsu" with one. Disconnects no more.
Thats a great point!
Or use Ethernet connection
Altmill vs Onefinity?
i run my CNC with a Microsoft Surface Tablet, not a new one, bought a refurbished one. Mine is not a AltMill
I really appreciate your in depth coverage of the Altmill. I've been considering moving all my machines over to that platform, having been on a Shapeoko for 4 years and a C4N for 3. Your biggest complaint about having a separate computer doesn't phase me because I've never had a machine with a computer included. I ended up finding a University's surplus dept that has 2-3yr old mini intel machines for all my CNC's for like $30 per computer.
Thats awesome! Thanks for taking the time to comment and share!
Thats about the same cost as the Shapeoko 5 pro 4x4, only main difference is the legs that I see.
The Shapeoko 5 Pro 4x4 is over $1,600 more expensive.
Having a dedicated PC for a machine is fantastic, both for absolute control and ease of use. It would definitely feel janky if it is also your main computer. (I also ran a Kongsberg)
I can see why a lot of people enjoy it!
I originally ordered a long mill mk2. Then soon realized the altmill was coming out. I switched to the altmill. At the time of my order altmill wasn’t offering a spindle. I was impressed with Dan from PWN CNC and went on to order the 80 mm spindle. It’s said to be plug and play with the SLB. I’m sure I’ll be up grading with one of PWNs ATC.
I think it is only a bit disingenuous to say adding a computer makes it feel like a toy. I am not team altmill by any means, but the masso touchscreen controller is for all intents and purposes a computer. Otherwise, great overview.
100% agree. CNC machines need computers. I should have been more clear by saying "Hooking my laptop computer up to a cnc machine makes me feel like its a toy."
Nice but too big for what I do, max parts 4"x4"...
Any CNC machine will be controlled by a computer, buy a dedicated box for it if you don't want to use your personal laptop
You're right, all CNC machines need computers to work! Excited about their panel computer coming out
Budget beast really?
Please make a video comparing 1325 atc cnc router 1530 2030 2130 3d wood cutting machine woodworking machinery with linear or carousel tool changer and this.
I just did a quick search on Chineseland. Convince me that that extruded aluminum structure is worth paying 1000 bucks more
DIY machine > all other brand, less expensive and better option for upgrading your cnc later.
Was there a joke about the wrenches that i missed?
Are they plastic or something? Not sure what that segment was insinuating.
Also it comes with er16 not er26
The wrenches have two different heads on each of them. So its an extra step to change bits, making sure you have the right face. And good catch! I had watched this video no less than 50 times while editing it and never caught that!
@@HamiltonDilbeck ahhh ok gotcha. Thanks brotha
Its gotta be better on one account. Thats the company and how they treat customers because 1f treats them like dogs. Worst company i ever made a purchase from is 1F
I am hesitant to buy such an expensive machine with only a 120 day warranty. I have had, and appreciate, to have warranty claims well past 120 days for manufacturer defects with some of my (relatively) high-cost toys/machines/ hobbies.
The nice part is that I've heard nothing but great things about the company. So I assume they will do their best to make it right.
@@HamiltonDilbeck Honestly, if their warranty matched their (primary) competitor's warranty, this is the machine to buy... without question!
Thank you for your reply
If you own a 1f you have to do the warranty work they only send parts so you have to be electrician and a mechanical engineer. They wont fix nothing and everything they blame on user error lol
Traitor! LOL Onefinity is still the king of CNC Routers - I am a machine tool builder (yes I know shame using credentials in a comment) and I would offer these plate and beam units are not that rigid in X axis they can suffer "some" side beam deflection on heavier cuts, it sometimes shows up more so when articulating a circle or other shape that requires concurrent movement on the X and Y axis. I do not have that problem with a Onefinity, if this unit was gusseted to an "under structure" on the side plates I would retract my statement. I had a Shark 2500 in 2000 it never ever made a circle only ovals.... but usually I designed and built custom machine tools mostly out of cast iron so I may have some materials bias.
Let me know how I can show that in a test between these two machines so that the average person can understand the benefits and drawbacks! I'd love to test it!
Edit: spelling
@@HamiltonDilbeck Hi apologies for the slow reply been working on Christmas Orders! I would do some simple circle interpolation tests varying depth of cuts and feed rates, perform the same tests on both the ALTMILL and Onefinity and then measure the "roundness" with a pair of digital calipers (Use an Optical Comparator or micrometer if you have one) and compare measurements you have taken on multiple points on the diameter. TBH it might be so slight it really does not matter to most people, but I can claim the Onefinity is always as close to perfectly round with heavy cuts (within reason for the machine of course I am not proposing taking 1 inch cuts at 2000IPM) the only time this out of round condition may be a problem would be for inlay work as items may not fit well. BUT there again ALTMILL may of aced it and made an awesome product - for the price it is already awesome to be fair!
7 weeks to do a comparison? Seriously?
Yep!
TRAITOR! you went to the dark side of hobby cnc
They answered the call!
China cnc machines you can get the same size for loke 2k CAD. For 3k youncan get either something bugger or something MUCH more rigid and beefy rhan this. For 3k i want the machine to be sturdy enough to machine stainless. They do have nice machines as well its not all junk. You just have to search and sift through the junk. Some of theyre cnc machines are way better than anything in the same proce range and size that ive seen people using on yt from western countries. Isnt the shapeoko this same size and only $1200? Your opinion seems kind of bias since you got ot free. The legs should NOT wobble for $3k. Thats just absurd. Would bet money that they prpfited like 300% they can afford to add support to the froggin legs.
I show the comparable pricing for the shapeoko three times in this video. and thats impressive that you found such a great machine!
From what you said, I'm convinced to not buy this machine. Overall it sounds like they have very poor quality control. If things are incorrectly wired and loose wires abound. Considering they knew you were doing a review it seems they would have made doubly sure it was right. As a person who does QC for a living, I would be devastated to have that come across my path and see it get to a customer. After pointing all the things that were wrong with it you said overall you haven't seen a better machine. I disagree, however I'm glad you pointed out the issues. I would never buy it though. Thanks for the review...
If I said "I haven't seen a better machine" in this video please let me have the timestamp so that I can clip that out. That type of statement is reserved for the comparison video coming out in a few weeks. And I'm glad the review was helpful for you! I always try to present my opinion as honestly as possible because I know that people are spending their money on these machines and they need to be presented as honestly as possible. Thanks for taking the time to comment!