Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

What a great product! Simply put: if you like building things, have a love of working with computers, and want to make AMAZING things, this is the product for you! The instructions with full-color large photos are extremely detailed and helped make assembly an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend downloading the entire instruction packet from their web site and reading through it prior to placing your order. If you enjoy working with your hands, you will have no problem getting this wonderful machine built. Expect to spend 6-7 hours in assembly, 1-2 hours hooking up the electronics to communicate with your computer, and another few hours to learn the basics of CNC Routing from Bob's web page or online video tutorials. After completing the build, I did have some issues getting my laptop to communicate with the Arduino board on the E3. Turns out, my board was either accidentally not pre-loaded with the GRBL firmware or I accidentally deleted it during installation of the drivers on my PC. Regardless, the original firmware was able to be downloaded directly from Bob's site and with the help of a little googling on how to flash this to the board, I was up and running! I was a bit leery about purchasing a kit for cutting wood... made out of wood! I have never used Baltic Birch plywood before... but now I know why this stuff is so popular overseas for making furniture: it's light-weight, durable, and ROCK SOLID!!! Once built, you will find that the ingenious design of this machine utilizes the substrate to it's fullest potential. Superbly designed and extremely fun to build! So far, I've made about a dozen sample projects to test out different software for creating the G-Code. The Universal G-Code Sender was easy to use as well as the recommended F-Engrave software (both have extensive how-to videos online). I am extremely pleased with the outcome! If you don't like making things with your hands and don't have basic understanding of computer programming, stay away from this kit (it is not for a newbie to woodworking or computer technology). However, if you enjoy building, working with computers, and love turning your designs into a reality - this is the machine for you! - UPDATE - After making about 50 pieces, this system is still running like new and I couldn't be happier! I've been experimenting with several of the free programs from Scorch Works (creator of F-Engrave) and have been thrilled with the results (the large penny was created using the Dmap2Gcode program with a 1/8" ball nose end mill bit). - April 2019 Update - I've had this system for 2 years now and have made hundreds of items. This machine is still working like the first day (if not better) and has paid for it'self ten-fold! I really can't say enough good about this machine!!!