Your 3018 came without software. Here's free, easy software.
Most 3018 kits are the same GRBL machine under different names, and many ship with a sender on a USB stick but nothing to design with. Surfacecraft fills the gap: free CNC design and G-code in your browser, with a 3018 preset ready to go.
For the Vevor, Mostics, Two Trees and other 3018 kits. Nothing to install. Mac, Windows, Linux and Chromebook. Updated .- Work area
- usually about 300 × 180 mm (check your listing)
- Firmware
- GRBL (almost every 3018)
- Spindle
- A small DC spindle that GRBL controls, so speeds go in the G-code.
- Preset
- 3018 Desktop CNC
- Output
- G21 G90 G94 · M3 S… · one .nc per bit
What to know about the 3018 CNC
Same machine, many names
If the controller runs GRBL and the bed is about 300 × 180 mm, the 3018 preset fits. Check the work area and spindle range ($30) against your listing and you're set.
Limit switches or not
Some 3018 kits have limit switches and some don't. Without them the machine can't home: zero by hand where the G-code header says, and Surfacecraft keeps the job inside the bed.
The sender on the USB stick
GRBLControl or Candle on the USB stick runs files fine on Windows. On a Mac, get a current Candle release (10.11.1 or later has a macOS download), gSender or Universal Gcode Sender, all free.
3018 CNC feeds and speeds to start with
Starting points for solid carbide 2-flute end mills, worked out for the 3018 Desktop CNC preset and kept under its 1,000 mm/min top speed. They're the numbers Cut Studio suggests when you pick the bit and material.
| Material | ⅛″ 2-flute end mill |
|---|---|
| Softwoodpine, spruce, fir | 1,000 mm/min* 4,629 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| Hardwoodsoft maple, cherry, walnut | 1,000 mm/min* 6,097 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| Plywoodbaltic birch, birch plywood, cabinet plywood | 1,000 mm/min* 5,000 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| MDF / particle boardmdf, hdf, particle board | 1,000 mm/min* 4,166 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| Acrylicacrylic, cast acrylic, plexiglass | 875 mm/min 6,250 rpm · 1.27 mm per pass |
Chiploads come from bit makers' published ranges (Onsrud, Amana Tool, Whiteside), kept at the gentle end for hobby machines. * The machine's top speed holds the feed here, so the spindle is slowed to keep the chips thick. Every machine and bit is a little different: listen for chatter on a test cut and adjust.
From box to first cut
Surfacecraft makes the G-code. A sender runs it: the one that came with your kit, gSender or Universal Gcode Sender (all free), or Surfacecraft itself over USB with Pro.
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01
Create a free account Open Cut Studio in your browser. Nothing to download.
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02
Add your machine Pick the 3018 Desktop CNC preset. Check the top speed against your manual.
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03
Make a design Draw text and shapes or import an SVG. Give each shape a depth, a cut and a bit.
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04
Check the 3D preview It's built from the real G-code, so what you see is what the bit will do.
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05
Download and run Load the bit the file's header names, zero where it says, and run it in your sender.
3018 CNC test G-code
A first cut to check your machine before you design anything: a 40 × 30 mm pocket and a 40 × 30 mm outline, both 3 mm deep, with a ⅛″ 2-flute end mill in pine. Made by Cut Studio with the 3018 Desktop CNC preset, at the softwood numbers in the table above, and it runs in about 3 minutes.
Clamp a piece of pine at least 100 × 60 × 6 mm. Zero X and Y on its front-left corner and Z on its top, then run the file in your sender.
A V-carved name sign
Type a name, pick the V-bit from the kit and set a 3 mm depth on scrap pine. Download the file and run it in your sender.
3018 CNC software questions
Two kinds. CAD/CAM software turns a design into G-code; a sender streams the G-code to the machine. Most kits only include the sender. Surfacecraft is free CAD/CAM in your browser.
Yes. Surfacecraft runs in the browser on Mac. For sending, gSender and Universal Gcode Sender are free and run on Mac too.
If its controller runs GRBL (almost every 3018 does), yes. Start from the 3018 preset and check the work area and spindle range.
Yes. Designing, toolpaths, the 3D preview and G-code export are on the Free plan with no time limit. Pro adds sending jobs straight to the machine, more machines, AI tools and commercial use.
Free software for other machines
Your 3018 CNC is ready. Now it has software.
Design and G-code are free, with no time limit. Send to your machine over USB with Pro.