Hi all,
I have a fair amount of experience wood working and 3D printing but I’m new to the world of CNC and I’m considering backing up the Kickstarter.
I’m curious about the differences between Maslow 4.1 and more traditional CNC machines (x-carve, shapeoko, …)? Obviously the price, but is the resolution comparable? What are some things you could do with a traditional CNC and not with Maslow 4.1?
Thank you!
Replying mostly to boost, as I’ve only been using the Maslow. Its my understanding that having a machine with a rigid gantry can let you push the speed and also cut bigger deeper pockets. Anyone else want to weigh in here?
One main difference to keep in mind with the Maslow is that the sled rides on the stock’s surface. This has 2 effects:
I think there are many differences between the Maslow and most other CNC machines, but the primary difference is the way it moves. Most other CNCs have the router/spindle supported independently above the material on rails or some other gantry system. The only contact that the CNC has with the material is the bit while its cutting. The M4.1, however, has the sled and router resting directly on the material at all times. There are many advantages to a gantry system, but they do not scale very well. With a gantry, the router must be able to slide on rails up, down, and across the material, often resulting in a small(ish) cutting area. The material needs to fit completely on the machine’s bed and the rails of the gantry system must be longer than the dimensions of material. For the M4.1, big isn’t a big problem. You need four sturdy anchor points for your frame that are sufficiently far apart, but, after the belts are anchored, the machine can easily move around in a wide area (though you may start to see issues when getting really close to an anchor). You can get large format gantry-style CNC machines, but they get very expensive very quickly, and they take up a lot of space. For example, the Shapeoko 5 does (I believe) cuts up to 4ft by 4ft sheets and costs $3,500 (about 7 times as much as the M4.1). The X-Carve, at $1,400, only has a cuttable area of about 30 in. by 30 in. There are disadvantages to the M4.1’s support structure. By resting on the material, 3d and 2.5d carvings are more challenging. If you carve out a large section, it may prevent (or at least make it more difficult) the M4.1 from sliding over than section to do other cuts (kinda like if you mop yourself into a corner of a room and are then surrounded with wet floors and no way out). This isn’t a problem for a gantry, since the support structure is completely independent of the material.
With that major difference in mind, I think it ultimately depends on what you want to make. If you want to make small pieces with a lot of intricate detail and carving, you would probably do better with a gantry-style CNC machine. If you are interested in cutting pieces larger than about 2ft by 2ft, then the M4.1 is a really affordable solution. Or, I suppose you could get both a M4.1 and an X-Carve and spend about half as much as you would on a 4ft by 4ft Shapeoko.
On a side note, I also find Maslow’s open source principles really awesome and am happy to support a company doing things for more than profit.
Thank you for the boost! It worked 
Thank you! This is a great point and definitely something to consider.
Andith’s response is excellent. I agree with all of that.
I do have both. I have a MakerMade M2 which is on a sled like all Maslows, and I have a FoxAlien Masuter 4040 which is a gantry machine. I use both machines quite a bit, and often simultaneously.
It is often asked, “Which is better?”, and I honestly say I want both. I use the M2 for larger stuff, although I have made lots of smaller items on it too. Have a look at my thread My Maslow Adventures and you can see some of the things I have done with a sled.
The gantry machine is just easier and quicker to use for small items. Anything that is under 40cm x 40cm I would typically do on the gantry machine.
As for the Maslow, there isn’t much that it can’t do. Just about everything that I have done on the gantry machine I can also do on the sled machine, it just takes more time to set up skirting and stuff. For 3d stuff, you are better off using a gantry.
I totally agree with the notion that you have a M4 for bigger projects, and a small gantry machine for little projects. I do suggest going with a 4040 or larger for size. A 3018 is just too small. The numbers on those machines indicate the size of the bed in centimeters.
@Andith @Jeremiad thank you both for your detailed answers. This is very helpful.
The main project I am thinking of right now is a large office cabinets project with a lot of bookshelves and drawers. I’m wondering if Maslow would be a good way to significantly speed up the process: cutting down parts, cutting rabbets and dadoes, and adjustable shelves pin holes, …
From what I’ve read so far this should all be possible but I welcome your input and suggestions.
That kind of project sounds perfect for the M4 (and difficult to impossible on smaller gantry-style CNCs). The M4 can definitely do those types of cuts and drilling for you.
Before the maslow, I used the DIY a CNC to build a 2’x4’ gantry CNC and then
used it to cut shelf slots for a 6’ tall shelving unit. It was an interesting
game of run a job, reposition the stock very carefully, run the job again…
The Maslow makes this sort of thing really easy.
One drawback to the maslow is tht the accuracy is harder to setup (and on the
pre M4 maslows MUCH harder), it’s very repeatable, so if you find that there is
an error, you can correct for it in the CAD. but it’s easy to end up with a cut
that is distorted by a couple MM over the full cutting area.
The M4 is much better at this, and as we are fixing the software and getting
experience with it, it’s getting better (you need the anchors to be as rigid as
possible, but if you can put anchors in concrete, you have a clear win.)
David Lang
Hi @dlang, thank you for this. I was initially planning on building the wood frame as described here: Wooden Frame — Maslow
But I do have concrete flooring in my garage so I guess I could potentially do anchors if you think there would be a real improvement with accuracy.
I have mine set up horizontally on my garage floor. I really like it for a number of reasons. 1) It’s very sturdy. I drilled into the concrete and put in drop-in anchors. No worries of flexing or warping of 2x4s (unless the Big Quake hits). 2) It’s inexpensive and quick to build out. For drop-in anchors, the hardware required is all easily source and easily acquired for no more than $20-50. (Having a hammer drill helps a lot for getting through the concrete quickly.) 3) When not in use, I can disconnect the belts, and there’s not much left out and around. 4) Easy to extend and anchor the belts. On a vertical frame, two of your belts go to the top corners and may be a bit high, so you will probably need a ladder or step stool handy. Currently, whenever the machine powers off/on, it loses track of the belt placement and must be fully retracted then extended before moving, so this can happen frequently.