Free, easy software for your Genmitsu 4040
The 4040 has room for real projects: signs, coasters, trays and cut-out parts on a 400 × 400 mm bed. Surfacecraft is a free CNC design and CAM tool in your browser. Draw or import a design, give each shape a depth and a bit, preview the cut in 3D and download GRBL G-code.
For the 4040-PRO. Nothing to install. Mac, Windows, Linux and Chromebook. Updated .- Work area
- 400 × 400 mm
- Firmware
- GRBL
- Spindle
- A 75 W spindle (up to 9,000 rpm) that GRBL controls, so speeds go in the G-code. SainSmart sells spindle upgrades.
- Preset
- Genmitsu 4040-PRO
- Output
- G21 G90 G94 · M3 S… · one .nc per bit
What to know about the Genmitsu 4040
A bed for whole projects
At 400 × 400 mm you can cut a sign and its frame in one job. Surfacecraft lays parts out on your real stock and warns you before anything runs off the edge.
A big bed, a light spindle
The stock spindle is 75 W, so it's happiest with ⅛″ bits and shallow passes. The feeds table below is worked out for it and kept under the 4040's 2,000 mm/min top speed.
Limit switches and a Z-probe
Home the machine, touch off Z with the probe, and the G-code header tells you which corner to zero and which bit to load.
Genmitsu 4040 feeds and speeds to start with
Starting points for solid carbide 2-flute end mills, worked out for the Genmitsu 4040-PRO preset and kept under its 2,000 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 | 1,215 mm/min 5,625 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| Hardwoodsoft maple, cherry, walnut | 923 mm/min 5,625 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| Plywoodbaltic birch, birch plywood, cabinet plywood | 1,125 mm/min 5,625 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| MDF / particle boardmdf, hdf, particle board | 1,350 mm/min 5,625 rpm · 1.51 mm per pass |
| Acrylicacrylic, cast acrylic, plexiglass | 788 mm/min 5,625 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. 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.
-
01
Create a free account Open Cut Studio in your browser. Nothing to download.
-
02
Add your machine Pick the Genmitsu 4040-PRO preset. Check the top speed against your manual.
-
03
Make a design Draw text and shapes or import an SVG. Give each shape a depth, a cut and a bit.
-
04
Check the 3D preview It's built from the real G-code, so what you see is what the bit will do.
-
05
Download and run Load the bit the file's header names, zero where it says, and run it in your sender.
Genmitsu 4040 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 Genmitsu 4040-PRO preset, at the softwood numbers in the table above, and it runs in about 2 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 coaster with raised letters
Pocket around a name with a ⅛″ end mill, chamfer the edges with a V-bit, cut it out with holding tabs. Two bits, one project, and our coaster tutorial walks you through it.
Genmitsu 4040 software questions
Two things: design software that makes G-code (CAD/CAM), and a sender that streams it to the machine. Surfacecraft does the first part free in your browser. For the second, use the free sender that came with your kit, gSender or Universal Gcode Sender, or Surfacecraft Pro sends it over USB itself.
Yes. Surfacecraft runs in the browser, so it works on Mac, Windows, Linux and Chromebook with nothing to install.
No. Choose the bit and the material and Surfacecraft works out the feed from chipload × flutes × RPM, kept under your machine's top speed.
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 Genmitsu 4040 is ready. Now it has software.
Design and G-code are free, with no time limit. Send to your machine over USB with Pro.