1000 being 100% RPM (maximum) and 10 being 1% RPM (minimum). The 3018 software is a little unusual, it has a maximum spindle speed of 10,000 RPM, but is controlled by using a percentage scale of 10 to 1000.

The spindle speed, (S1000) near the beginning of the program, can be changed to suit the machine you are running. If your machine is of better quality than a 3018, then the feedrate can be easily increased using the ‘replace’ function available in your text editor of choice, e.g. To work on the 3018 cnc the depth of cut for each pass was kept shallow and the feedrate used was quite slow. The 3018 is a Grbl based machine but they also loaded with no errors on a Mach3 controlled machine and the toolpaths looked as they should in the Mach3 toolpath window. These machines are the ‘lowest common denominator’, meaning, if the programs can be used on this machine, they can be used on any machine. The G code was programmed with the goal of being able to run on a 3018 cnc engraving machine. You will be able to find out what works and what does not work with your machine.

I would encourage you to play with the speeds and feeds, especially if you try the programs on different materials. The programs will give you a benchline of what your machine is capable of so you know what to copy or not to copy when you are creating your own programs. The aim is for you to get familiar with the process of running your Cnc machine successfully and getting repeatable results.

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