3018 Pro Max CNC Router Machine: 500W LUNYEE vs the 775 Pro Max Kits

Read any 3018 Pro Max review with that split in mind. A note about chatter in aluminium on a 775 kit says nothing about a 500W frame. A complaint about a heavy crate says nothing about a light kit.

• LUNYEE 3018 Pro Max: 500W spindle at 0–12,000 rpm, a 300 × 180 × 80 mm work area, 12 mm optical axes, six limit switches, an E-stop and an offline controller.
• VEVOR 500W (3018-PRO MAX): the same 300 × 180 × 80 mm envelope and 12 mm rods, with a 1.8-inch offline screen and handwheels on all three axes.
• CNCTOPBAOS 3018-PRO-MAX: a 120W 775 spindle at 10,000 rpm on 24V, a 45 mm Z, and a cased GRBL 1.1f board with an offline controller.
• RATTMMOTOR 3018-PRO MAX: a 775 on 12–24V, moulded frame ends on an aluminium table, and a GRBL 1.1 board wired for an E-stop and limit switches.

The first pair belong to the 3018 500W CNC router machine class. The second pair are 3018-PRO kits with better electronics, a smaller step than the name suggests.

Kits without the Max badge, such as the Genmitsu and Twotrees builds, are laid side by side in the 3018-PRO kits compared entry.

A brushed 775 slows when the bit loads up, and a slowed bit rubs aluminium instead of cutting it. A 500W DC spindle holds speed better under the same load, which keeps chips forming and stops the flute packing with gummy metal.

Those depths are starting points, not limits. They shift with bit sharpness, stick-out from the collet and how tightly the stock is clamped, so a test pocket in scrap comes first.

• Top movement speed reaches 5,000 mm/min, useful for rapids between features rather than for cutting metal.
• The machine weighs 13 kg, and that mass damps vibration a light kit passes straight into the bit.
• A 12 mm optical axis is stiffer than the 10 mm rods found on many 3018-PRO kits.

Every measurement sits in the LUNYEE 3018 Pro Max spec log, including the bundle that adds 40 end mills.

With 80 mm on the LUNYEE and the VEVOR 500W, a small machine vise, a spoilboard stacked with stock, or a 50 mm hardwood blank for relief carving all clear the bit. That is the real gain for anyone carving bowls, deep stamps or tall signs.

1. Measure stock, spoilboard and clamp height together.
2. Add the length of bit hanging below the collet.
3. Leave a few millimetres of lift for rapids between pockets.
4. Compare the total with the Z figure: 45 mm, 60 mm or 80 mm.

Safety hardware comes with the long Z. The LUNYEE carries six limit switches, two per axis, so GRBL can home to a known corner and stop a runaway move at either end.

The E-stop cuts motion at once. Handwheels on X, Y and Z let the origin be set by hand with the power off, a small comfort when lining a bit up over the corner of a blank.

The 775 kits handle limits differently: their boards have the ports, and a limit switch and E-stop kit with six switches fills them later.

For wood, acrylic, PVC and circuit boards, that combination is plenty. A 775 at 10,000 rpm on 24V takes a 1/8-inch bit through birch plywood in shallow passes, and V-bit isolation cuts on copper-clad board need a steady feed more than spindle power.

• Board ports: E-stop, tool-setting probe, X/Y/Z limit inputs and a fan header on the CNCTOPBAOS casing.
• Spindle headroom: both boards drive up to a 20,000 rpm spindle, so a faster 775 drops in without new electronics.
• Laser support: the CNCTOPBAOS board takes 12V three-pin PWM or TTL modules from 0.5W to 20W.
• Offline control: an SD-card controller runs G-code files and jogs each axis with no computer attached.

Motors are standard Nema 17 steppers. CNCTOPBAOS quotes 1.33A and 0.3 N·m; RATTMMOTOR quotes 1.3A and 0.25 N·m, with injection-moulded frame ends, an aluminium work table and stainless lead screws.

Aluminium is possible on these kits, but as engraving and thin-sheet work in very light passes. Anyone planning brackets or pockets in 6061 should budget for a 500W frame from the start.

Versions with and without the offline controller are logged in the CNCTOPBAOS 3018-PRO-MAX entry.

• Wood, acrylic, PCB, occasional thin aluminium: a 775 Pro Max kit is enough, and the money saved buys bits and clamps.
• Weekly aluminium or brass: the LUNYEE 3018 Pro Max, or the VEVOR 500W with its screen-equipped offline controller.
• Deep reliefs and thick blanks: either 80 mm-Z frame.
• Metal every day: step past the Pro Max to the linear-guide Pro Ultra.

Power is the quiet difference. The 500W frames run from a heavier supply than the 24V bricks of the 775 kits, and LUNYEE specifies 48V for its spindle.

Plan a stable surface, too. A 13 kg frame plus spoilboard and clamps is too much for a folding table that sways with every direction change.

Rails instead of rods are the subject of the LUNYEE 3018 Pro Ultra entry, and both VEVOR builds sit in the VEVOR 3018 entry.