Thanks for cutting off the bs and going straight to the point, your review is very helpful and prevent spending money in nonsense advertised in lots of CNC websites
Excellent!!!! review. I have watched so many CNC reviews... which I now categorize as click bait compared to yours. Not only did I learn the pros and cons of this particular model, I also got an education on what to look for in a CNC router and why. Well done!
Thanks, this was super informative! I just picked up a Carve King 2, and this gave me a great sense of the issues I should be looking for and what to upgrade.
Well. . . I appreciate your very well thought out review. Coming from an industrial CNC arena to something for my home shop, I am always looking at other people experiences. I can appreciate every point you made. My initial though was to go with Stepcraft, because they check all the boxes, but also wanted to look at all the options. Looks like Stepcraft for me. Thanks again!
This was a great review on the Mill Right CNC. You commented on two problems and they are common to all CNC Routers, nose and chipped everywhere. I built my second CNC summer of 2020. I used a VFD water cooled spindle. When the spindle is running not cutting at 24,000 rpm the sound is very very low. Of corse when cutting you have the cutting nose, this is nothing compared to a router. The router cooling fan exhaust down around the bit and this helps blow chips everywhere. This air velocity is also a problem with dust collection system. Water cooled Spindle, the cooling water can be a problem. At the time I researched the net for cooling design and everyone was using a 5 gallon bucket with a sump pump and I said I am not going to doing that. My background is 40 years in industrial controls. I design a totally sealed cooling system with 10oz coolant capacity and it works great. If you are running 8hrs jobs water cool spindle is a must. As you well know any design can be improved if you want to install a water cool spindle let me know and I will share my design.
Wow! I concur with everyone else's comment. In my my opinion, You should review every desktop machine and table top laser out there. I would absolutely love for you to review my longmill. If my subscription helps you to do that you've got my subscription!
while the feed rates and depth of cuts on aluminum are much better than most of these types of machines...but like all of the desktop type of machines the finish is horrible ..and another con on this machine is they should have used servo motors as opposed step motors..much faster much tougher ( run them all day every day you won't need heatsinks ) and they're much quieter...but I do like this video,and will be looking for more from you...Im subscribed !!
Good Review Bodhe. I'm a MillRight owner. It's a MegaV and primarily soft materials with occasional aluminum, but I had no misconceptions about limitations for latter. I'll first say for myself that all critiques must be kept within the context of price point but not sure I'd be quite as generous overall with MR. There are a number of things including those that you highlighted that could be done to significantly improve the ability to tune and and realize higher overall cutting performance of their machines. IMO, the combination of cable anti-racking system with ball screw precision makes no sense. Should be a screw and stepper on each side. Not being able to practically tram, square, or remove the spindle mount is also just silly. The stepper and homing switch cables on my machine were not shielded. Lots of EMI issues. I discarded and made new ones. Same with the limit switches, but my replacements were $50/ea but what's the point in homing at +-.015"? More thought to chip control and protection of motion system. The MegaV is rack and pinion. It would be a non starter for aluminum chips. MR strikes me as a company that lives in the low end 3D wood carving machine market and really needs to log more time actually using their own equipment. Have you taken a look at AVID? Think there is more performance potential there at similar price points and you can build/make your own feature based value for money decisions. I'd think a spindle would be a sensible value for money upgrade for you. Also, I'd just say the MR controller is OK not the most well thought through part of the package. I have the same controller. Not sure knowing what I know now I'd ever opt for a Arduino/GRBL based controller. If it's just simple 2D machining, ok, but for more complex stuff, there is much better available. The PP provided in my machine required a mod to work almost at all. After the mod it ran anything I wrote to it. Best, Kelly
Agree with all those comments. In hindsight I wish I had bought an Avid. The anti racking system in the biggest issue. But now I have this investment I don’t want to just write off so it’s tricky. I agree they need to spend more time with their own machines.
@@jeffverdin6105 I guess it can depend upon your perspective, but yah on the CNC continuuum , MegaV is low end......it's hobby machine for sure, even for wood carving. Is it better than Chinse desk top systems, well yah, but that's the bottom of the bucket. You wouldn't find one in real production shop that makes their living with the machine, even for wood, not for long anyway. Keep in mind that this video is really about the PowerRoute which is supposed to be MR's flagship system, and Bodhe's review is with respect to cutting aluminum which MR does market the machine for. With respect to metal/aluminum cutting, it's the extreme low end of that capability, and like I said, a cable tramming system for a machine even that that price point is just silly.
The only way to fix the sound... Get rid of the trim router and put a spindle in its place ! Trim routers are only ment for short periods of time. We're even a spindle sold on Amazon will solve the problem. I was watching another u-tuber today with the same sound issue. That is were I got that idea from.
The hot stepper motors may be due to the stepper driver curremt setting being set too high. decrease it and see if the speeds and feeds still are ok. otherwise replace them with something more beefy. I agree with all of your points! I'm not an industria engineer, it's a hobby for me but I've build my own cnc after owning a kit build cnc which was really weak. I use 20mm aluminium toolingplate, great for reference and straight joins. It's used in the Y axis side plates, z plate to carry the spindle with a square profile mount along the entire lenth of the spindle (why are many cnc fitted with those small clamps?) and the bed is also tooling plate which is great as a reference to tram the other axes. the gantry is often subject to torsion forces, especially with more z travel like 200mm. I used a steel square tube to reinforce the gantry/x axis. that made a big difference compared to aluminium extrusions, which isn't very stiff torion wise. Really interesting review, thanks!
About the router, I'd recommend replacing it with a chinese spindle with a VFD. Water cooled is most quiet but aircooled is cheaper and less of a hassle. Toolchanger spindles are also available on aliexpress but are a lot more expensive. The air cooled spindle is sealed (IP56 iirc), so even though it's air cooled, no dust, liquid or chips can get in the rotor or stator part, air is blown through a separate channel in the housing. I bought mine from RATTM Motors and after 3 years it still works fine. It's an aircooled 1.5KW spindle with er11 collet. I'd recommend the 2.2KW version as these come with ER20 collets. There are versions with a square aluminium extrusion for a solid mount to your cnc. Get AAA grade collets with less run out, it really makes a difference and are not that expensive when bought as separate units. kits cost more for some reason ie 100 euros compared to about 40 euros separate for 14 sizes. There are also constant torque 6000rpm spindles, a bit more expensive but is better for metal machining. I do woodworking too so I have the 24000rpm spindle. I use single flute aluminium bits from aliexpress. It's cheap and works reasonably well, especially with coolant.
One more observation, I think the chatter marks could be due to the router collets run out and the speed drops under load a lot and goes up and down in speed, that doesn't help either. A spindle with vfd controls the power and speed much better and the runout is probably better too, especially with AAA grade collets. It's quieter and with lower run out the cuts are quieter too, to keep your girlfriend happy ☺️ I get a mirror finish with a single flute 4mm bit at around 17000rpm. Same finish with a 6mm 2 flute at 12000rpm. I haven't tried those removal rates yet, have to install a mister and learn how to use fusion 360 with better tool paths (I use vectrix aspire which is not really suited to metal machining).
Yes the plus is the new version. Dual Y ball screws is definitely an improvement and linear rails instead of shafts is nice. For the additional $1000 over the legacy power route, I wouldn’t buy it though. They have not fixed the inability to tram the router to the bed which is a major performance limiter.
Thanks for the great review! We just purchased the Power Route Plus for my school shop/robotics team and so far the results are very promising. I'd like to add the coolant system you showed in the video, but I'm wondering about the quantity of each of the parts you listed. Do you have any plans or even a sketch for that system? Anything you would change about it now?
I think the best sketch is actually the patent for a fog buster. You can search that on google patents. That’s what I used for reference. The key idea is to mix pressurized air and pressurized coolant upstream of the nozzle, that way it doesn’t atomize and get foggy.
For a desktop “mill” I think you have to go real mill and I wish I would have done so. I’ve done some research on precision Mathew’s machines with CNC upgrade kits and they look legit. For a router Avid or Stepcraft have more polished, higher performing products.
Good review here. You might have seen that the new Power Route Plus model has dual ball driven y-axis. I'm wondering if they will sell just the parts to upgrade the y-axis drive for your model? Otherwise, I also agree, the lack of positioning features is crazy. Locating pins and square datum edges would have been so helpful. I ended make several mods to improve positioning accuracy.
I did see that. For $4200 though I wouldn’t buy it. You can get something much better for that. If they sold an upgrade kit though, I’d buy it. What upgrades have you made? Very interested in improving accuracy and rigidity
I think a real mill is the way to go. Way more expensive but a Tormach would be ideal. Precision Mathew’s with a CNC kit is an option. AVID routers seem like a decent bang for your buck
Perhaps, but with the aluminum and coolant I think it’d be more hassle than it’s worth. The coolant is the main thing - when mixed with chips they tend to clump up. You’d also need need a system to drain the liquid out of your vacuum system
I've got one of these. I could not abide by it the way it came from Millright. I thought the cable anti-racking system was a total joke and went with dual ball screws instead and I mounted the motors on the back so they are out of the way. I added lots of bracing in the bed and used adjustable feet on all four legs. I beefed up all the leg bracing and used the same extrusion size for all. I thought actually the electronics box was a joke. There is live 120V right under the clear cover at the E-stop switch. There is no fuse. And OMG - how hard would it be to label the plugs in the back? And the limit switches can be plugged into the stepper jacks. How stupid is that? There are a whole lot of other changes I made, too many to list. The packaging of the parts was abysmal and many parts arrived broken. Some of the linear bearings didn't even have threads in their mounting holes. The parts that were water-jet cut had a taper on the kerf that did not allow the Z axis motor plate to sit in the correct plane. The Y-axis extrusions were not accurately cut to the same length so I had to fabricate my own. But the worst part by far was the attitude of the owner of Millright - he acted like he thought he was a super-genius and that anyone who had any criticisms of his designs were just stupid. It's ironic that the newer Poweroutes incorporate many of the changes I made to mine.
I really need to make a “2 years later” video because I agree with all of that. The cable anti racking system is the biggest issue by far for me. It is a complete joke and renders the machine inoperable. I wish I had the time to replace it with dual steppers. I replaced the steel wire with Kevlar and that is holding up but the rigidity is awful. I do hope they are learning as they go
Bodhe, if you would consider selling your 3D printed parts please let me know. My Power Route Plus is on its way and I'm looking forward to adding your mods to my machine. Any help you'd be willing to provide, I'd compen$ate and be very grateful.
Outstanding, concise and detailed review. Thank you!
Thank you Bodhe. A very comprehensive review. Great insight. You took us to where the rubber meets the road. Very professional.
Thanks for cutting off the bs and going straight to the point, your review is very helpful and prevent spending money in nonsense advertised in lots of CNC websites
Excellent!!!! review. I have watched so many CNC reviews... which I now categorize as click bait compared to yours. Not only did I learn the pros and cons of this particular model, I also got an education on what to look for in a CNC router and why. Well done!
Thank you!
Finally a very knowledgeable great review
Thanks, this was super informative! I just picked up a Carve King 2, and this gave me a great sense of the issues I should be looking for and what to upgrade.
This is the best review I have seen 👍. Great job
This is a superb example of an intelligent, detailed review.
Thank you!
Excellent review, just what i was looking for! thank you!
Well. . . I appreciate your very well thought out review. Coming from an industrial CNC arena to something for my home shop, I am always looking at other people experiences. I can appreciate every point you made. My initial though was to go with Stepcraft, because they check all the boxes, but also wanted to look at all the options. Looks like Stepcraft for me.
Thanks again!
This was a great review on the Mill Right CNC.
You commented on two problems and they are common to all CNC Routers, nose and chipped everywhere. I built my second CNC summer of 2020. I used a VFD water cooled spindle. When the spindle is running not cutting at 24,000 rpm the sound is very very low. Of corse when cutting you have the cutting nose, this is nothing compared to a router.
The router cooling fan exhaust down around the bit and this helps blow chips everywhere. This air velocity is also a problem with dust collection system. Water cooled Spindle, the cooling water can be a problem. At the time I researched the net for cooling design and everyone was using a 5 gallon bucket with a sump pump and I said I am not going to doing that. My background is 40 years in industrial controls. I design a totally sealed cooling system with 10oz coolant capacity and it works great.
If you are running 8hrs jobs water cool spindle is a must. As you well know any design can be improved if you want to install a water cool spindle let me know and I will share my design.
Do you have a recommendation for a spindle?
@@BodheKnows Here is a good review of a spindle : ua-cam.com/video/h9q6j7POgOI/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for this review, super useful
That was a good and informative review
Wow! I concur with everyone else's comment.
In my my opinion, You should review every desktop machine and table top laser out there.
I would absolutely love for you to review my longmill.
If my subscription helps you to do that you've got my subscription!
Great video.building myself a Queenbee CNC with a 2.2kw router. I like all the tips you give. I made notes through the video and I'll be using them. 👌
Best of luck!
Fantastic video! Thank you
Very interesting, thank you for sharing!
while the feed rates and depth of cuts on aluminum are much better than most of these types of machines...but like all of the desktop type of machines the finish is horrible ..and another con on this machine is they should have used servo motors as opposed step motors..much faster much tougher ( run them all day every day you won't need heatsinks ) and they're much quieter...but I do like this video,and will be looking for more from you...Im subscribed !!
Good Review Bodhe. I'm a MillRight owner. It's a MegaV and primarily soft materials with occasional aluminum, but I had no misconceptions about limitations for latter. I'll first say for myself that all critiques must be kept within the context of price point but not sure I'd be quite as generous overall with MR. There are a number of things including those that you highlighted that could be done to significantly improve the ability to tune and and realize higher overall cutting performance of their machines. IMO, the combination of cable anti-racking system with ball screw precision makes no sense. Should be a screw and stepper on each side. Not being able to practically tram, square, or remove the spindle mount is also just silly. The stepper and homing switch cables on my machine were not shielded. Lots of EMI issues. I discarded and made new ones. Same with the limit switches, but my replacements were $50/ea but what's the point in homing at +-.015"? More thought to chip control and protection of motion system. The MegaV is rack and pinion. It would be a non starter for aluminum chips. MR strikes me as a company that lives in the low end 3D wood carving machine market and really needs to log more time actually using their own equipment. Have you taken a look at AVID? Think there is more performance potential there at similar price points and you can build/make your own feature based value for money decisions. I'd think a spindle would be a sensible value for money upgrade for you. Also, I'd just say the MR controller is OK not the most well thought through part of the package. I have the same controller. Not sure knowing what I know now I'd ever opt for a Arduino/GRBL based controller. If it's just simple 2D machining, ok, but for more complex stuff, there is much better available. The PP provided in my machine required a mod to work almost at all. After the mod it ran anything I wrote to it. Best, Kelly
Agree with all those comments. In hindsight I wish I had bought an Avid. The anti racking system in the biggest issue. But now I have this investment I don’t want to just write off so it’s tricky. I agree they need to spend more time with their own machines.
“Low end 3D market”? The mega v is for the most part- the fastest machine out there for the price point and doing 3D carves.
@@jeffverdin6105 I guess it can depend upon your perspective, but yah on the CNC continuuum , MegaV is low end......it's hobby machine for sure, even for wood carving. Is it better than Chinse desk top systems, well yah, but that's the bottom of the bucket. You wouldn't find one in real production shop that makes their living with the machine, even for wood, not for long anyway. Keep in mind that this video is really about the PowerRoute which is supposed to be MR's flagship system, and Bodhe's review is with respect to cutting aluminum which MR does market the machine for. With respect to metal/aluminum cutting, it's the extreme low end of that capability, and like I said, a cable tramming system for a machine even that that price point is just silly.
Really cool man, I want one now!
Get the HDM instead
The only way to fix the sound...
Get rid of the trim router and put a spindle in its place !
Trim routers are only ment for short periods of time.
We're even a spindle sold on Amazon will solve the problem.
I was watching another u-tuber today with the same sound issue.
That is were I got that idea from.
The hot stepper motors may be due to the stepper driver curremt setting being set too high. decrease it and see if the speeds and feeds still are ok. otherwise replace them with something more beefy.
I agree with all of your points! I'm not an industria engineer, it's a hobby for me but I've build my own cnc after owning a kit build cnc which was really weak. I use 20mm aluminium toolingplate, great for reference and straight joins. It's used in the Y axis side plates, z plate to carry the spindle with a square profile mount along the entire lenth of the spindle (why are many cnc fitted with those small clamps?) and the bed is also tooling plate which is great as a reference to tram the other axes.
the gantry is often subject to torsion forces, especially with more z travel like 200mm. I used a steel square tube to reinforce the gantry/x axis. that made a big difference compared to aluminium extrusions, which isn't very stiff torion wise.
Really interesting review, thanks!
About the router, I'd recommend replacing it with a chinese spindle with a VFD. Water cooled is most quiet but aircooled is cheaper and less of a hassle. Toolchanger spindles are also available on aliexpress but are a lot more expensive.
The air cooled spindle is sealed (IP56 iirc), so even though it's air cooled, no dust, liquid or chips can get in the rotor or stator part, air is blown through a separate channel in the housing. I bought mine from RATTM Motors and after 3 years it still works fine. It's an aircooled 1.5KW spindle with er11 collet. I'd recommend the 2.2KW version as these come with ER20 collets. There are versions with a square aluminium extrusion for a solid mount to your cnc. Get AAA grade collets with less run out, it really makes a difference and are not that expensive when bought as separate units. kits cost more for some reason ie 100 euros compared to about 40 euros separate for 14 sizes.
There are also constant torque 6000rpm spindles, a bit more expensive but is better for metal machining. I do woodworking too so I have the 24000rpm spindle. I use single flute aluminium bits from aliexpress. It's cheap and works reasonably well, especially with coolant.
One more observation, I think the chatter marks could be due to the router collets run out and the speed drops under load a lot and goes up and down in speed, that doesn't help either. A spindle with vfd controls the power and speed much better and the runout is probably better too, especially with AAA grade collets. It's quieter and with lower run out the cuts are quieter too, to keep your girlfriend happy ☺️
I get a mirror finish with a single flute 4mm bit at around 17000rpm. Same finish with a 6mm 2 flute at 12000rpm.
I haven't tried those removal rates yet, have to install a mister and learn how to use fusion 360 with better tool paths (I use vectrix aspire which is not really suited to metal machining).
Very good review bud
Nothing weird with metric system…
Metric is a lot better, easier and just make more sense
On 195 country only 3 are not on metric
How do you think this machine would compare to the onefinity journeyman?
Probably similar performance but the onefinity has dual Y axis ballscrews which would be a huge upgrade.
whats the machine product number or series i would like to buy one for my shop. exactky as this one
great video! ive been on there website and cant seem to find this one you have? Have they upgraded now to the MillRight CNC Power Route Plus? Thanks
Yes the plus is the new version. Dual Y ball screws is definitely an improvement and linear rails instead of shafts is nice. For the additional $1000 over the legacy power route, I wouldn’t buy it though. They have not fixed the inability to tram the router to the bed which is a major performance limiter.
Thanks for the great review! We just purchased the Power Route Plus for my school shop/robotics team and so far the results are very promising. I'd like to add the coolant system you showed in the video, but I'm wondering about the quantity of each of the parts you listed. Do you have any plans or even a sketch for that system? Anything you would change about it now?
I think the best sketch is actually the patent for a fog buster. You can search that on google patents. That’s what I used for reference. The key idea is to mix pressurized air and pressurized coolant upstream of the nozzle, that way it doesn’t atomize and get foggy.
Really enjoyed this. Do you have any recommendations for a desktop mill like you mentioned in the video? A step up by another $1000 or so?
For a desktop “mill” I think you have to go real mill and I wish I would have done so. I’ve done some research on precision Mathew’s machines with CNC upgrade kits and they look legit. For a router Avid or Stepcraft have more polished, higher performing products.
This is an awsome video. What is the actual size of the E-chain bracket? When I put the file into the 3D printer it said the size was 8.4x6.4x2.0mm
Same numbers, but in inches. So scale by a factor of 25.4. You might have to type in 2540 depending on the slicer.
Thank you.
Recommendations for a better cnc mill?
Avid CNC. Little more buck but a lot more bang
Good review here. You might have seen that the new Power Route Plus model has dual ball driven y-axis. I'm wondering if they will sell just the parts to upgrade the y-axis drive for your model? Otherwise, I also agree, the lack of positioning features is crazy. Locating pins and square datum edges would have been so helpful. I ended make several mods to improve positioning accuracy.
I did see that. For $4200 though I wouldn’t buy it. You can get something much better for that. If they sold an upgrade kit though, I’d buy it.
What upgrades have you made? Very interested in improving accuracy and rigidity
@@BodheKnows Contact me on my channel page, and I'll share more details.
@@BodheKnows Could you please share what would you recommend as a better metal cutting CNC Bodhe ? Thanks!
I think a real mill is the way to go. Way more expensive but a Tormach would be ideal. Precision Mathew’s with a CNC kit is an option. AVID routers seem like a decent bang for your buck
@@BodheKnows Thanks I`ll check those out, currently looking at this: ua-cam.com/video/e5TsK2Sp-aM/v-deo.html
Couldn't a dust shoe be added to help with chips getting everywhere?
Perhaps, but with the aluminum and coolant I think it’d be more hassle than it’s worth. The coolant is the main thing - when mixed with chips they tend to clump up. You’d also need need a system to drain the liquid out of your vacuum system
I've got one of these. I could not abide by it the way it came from Millright. I thought the cable anti-racking system was a total joke and went with dual ball screws instead and I mounted the motors on the back so they are out of the way. I added lots of bracing in the bed and used adjustable feet on all four legs. I beefed up all the leg bracing and used the same extrusion size for all. I thought actually the electronics box was a joke. There is live 120V right under the clear cover at the E-stop switch. There is no fuse. And OMG - how hard would it be to label the plugs in the back? And the limit switches can be plugged into the stepper jacks. How stupid is that? There are a whole lot of other changes I made, too many to list. The packaging of the parts was abysmal and many parts arrived broken. Some of the linear bearings didn't even have threads in their mounting holes. The parts that were water-jet cut had a taper on the kerf that did not allow the Z axis motor plate to sit in the correct plane. The Y-axis extrusions were not accurately cut to the same length so I had to fabricate my own.
But the worst part by far was the attitude of the owner of Millright - he acted like he thought he was a super-genius and that anyone who had any criticisms of his designs were just stupid. It's ironic that the newer Poweroutes incorporate many of the changes I made to mine.
I really need to make a “2 years later” video because I agree with all of that. The cable anti racking system is the biggest issue by far for me. It is a complete joke and renders the machine inoperable. I wish I had the time to replace it with dual steppers. I replaced the steel wire with Kevlar and that is holding up but the rigidity is awful. I do hope they are learning as they go
@@BodheKnows I do not believe that they offer the cable system any more.
Bodhe, if you would consider selling your 3D printed parts please let me know. My Power Route Plus is on its way and I'm looking forward to adding your mods to my machine. Any help you'd be willing to provide, I'd compen$ate and be very grateful.
I posted the parts to thingiverse so you can have them for free! www.thingiverse.com/thing:4840397