With a name only a mother (or Google’s search algorithm) could love, Bantam Tool’s second desktop milling machine, the Bantam Tools Desktop CNC Milling Machine, looks every bit the desktop companion product designers never knew they needed.
Automations, sophisticated software, and the easy processing of aluminum are but a few facets of this new heavy-duty desktop CNC milling machine.
Read on as we spell out all we know about the Bantam Tool Desktop CNC Machine.
The Desktop CNC Milling Machine is the Bantam Tools’ first top-to-bottom development from scratch. Its prior PCB-focused machine was a slightly-improved legacy carried over from Other Machine Co. before Bre Pettis (he of MakerBot fame) acquired the company and rebranded to Bantam Tools.
As such, the company has a lot of heritage in manufacturing milling tools. Its 2013-Kickstarted PCB machine proved to be a highly-capable desktop tool that brought agility to the prototyping stage of PCB production.
In 2019, Bantam Tools moved from Berkeley to Peekskill, New York, and immediately set to work on a larger and more capable machine, resulting in 2020’s Desktop CNC Milling Machine (which, for brevity, we’ll refer to as the Desktop CNC from here on out).
Possibly the most eye-catching feature of the Desktop CNC is its tidy processing of aluminum stock, in part thanks to the 10-28,000 RPM spindle and a beefy aluminum frame surrounding its 20 mm shaft guided motion system. The system can also handle steel (although only for the occasional, well-planned job) in addition to softer metals, woods, tough plastics, and machining wax.
The Bantam Tools Desktop CNC Milling Machine is not a particularly large device. Occupying a footprint of 19.8 x 20.9 x 19.4 inches (500 x 530 x 492 mm), with a working volume of 7 x 9 x 3.5 inches (177 x 228 x 89 mm) inside, it’s similar in size to an Ultimaker S5 desktop 3D printer or, for a more direct comparison, Carbide 3D’s Nomad 883 Pro.
The motion and milling action is contained within a semi-transparent body that gives decent viewing angles on the activity while also containing the inevitable deluge of chips generated by milling. The requisite safety shutoff button front and center for easy access, too.
Workholding is catered for by a T-slot aluminum work table, with an L-bracket and a bevy of easily adjustable toe clamp fixtures provided in the box.
Possibly the biggest thing the Desktop CNC has going for it is its software, the also clunkily-named Bantam Tools Desktop Milling Machine Software.
Playing a large part in enabling Bantam Tools’ vision of foolproof professional milling, this control software (which also offers elements of CAM) gives access to simplified tooling and job setup menus. Here you have command over the Desktop CNC’s material probing abilities using conductive probes and non-conductive offsetting, in addition to a tooling library, and typical control using G-code (generated elsewhere) and myriad other file types, including common CNC extensions. You can also generate new toolpaths for 2.5D milling when importing SVG and other 2D graphic file types.
Several features and continued software developments are locked behind an annual subscription paywall of $199 yearly, a business model that continues to ruffle a few feathers, despite being something of a standard for current software that undergoes constant iterative development.
In return for this continued investment, users get a fuller feature set that, among others, includes PCB milling support. Conversational CAM is a perk for paid subscribers, meaning a wizard-like approach to setting up programs for the Desktop CNC. There is also a commitment that the software will receive monthly updates that introduce newly developed features and improvements.
The Desktop CNC ships with a basic version of its software, including enough functionality to comprehensively use the machine, albeit not at its full and flexible potential. The flip side to this is that you won’t be able to use the control software of your choice with the Desktop CNC. You use the provided software, or you don’t use the machine at all.
The Desktop CNC ships with an ER-11 collet (up to 1/4-inch shank), meaning compatibility with a wide variety of end mills. For the convenience of an “it just works” workflow and to take advantage of the software’s CAM engine, users are better off using the pre-programmed mills in the software’s library.
From all we’ve seen of the Desktop CNC (which included a lengthy online demo and software intro), this is not necessarily a mill for machinists. Or rather, not their primary mill. This is the plug-and-play, hands-(mostly)-off approach to milling for those with little to no prior experience. Tilted towards designers and creative professionals wanting to bring aluminium prototyping and tooling in-house, the Desktop CNC appears to be a pretty versatile solution filling a distinctive niche.
Complementing this notion further is integration with Autodesk’s Fusion 360, with Bantam Tools providing a set of CAM templates for use in the program. This effectively cuts out the need for a lengthy and involved manufacturing setup, bridging the gap between Fusion 360’s modeling workspace and production with a short, preconfigured detour through the CAM workspace.
An SVG-based workflow can be achieved inside the Desktop CNC software, too. Coloring elements of the vector result in different cut types, letting you layer passes for sophisticated jobs.
For a machine that takes a lot of the work out of your hands, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see a premium price tag for such convenience. Available for $3,999 (although at the time of writing, it appears the machine is still available at its discounted release price of $3,599), it’s a little pricier than loosely comparable enclosed systems such as the Carbide 3D Nomad 883 Pro, but appears to be far less fragmented in terms of the actual operation of the machine, and have the edge in raw ability to chew through aluminum.
Given the class of machine, the possibilities it offers, and the people behind the company, we were expecting to be able to point to a solid consensus on the machine already. Instead, there are limited user accounts and few reviews from high profile outlets – the most notable perhaps being Tested, on YouTube, which paints a pretty positive picture.
From all that we saw in our online demo, the machine certainly looked to live up to its promise, but the dearth of commentary online from those with first-hand experience of the machine makes it difficult to draw any kind of conclusion.
⦁ Assembly: Assembled
⦁ Frame:Aluminum
⦁ Cutting area: 7 x 9 x 3.5 inches (177 x 228 x 89 mm)
⦁ Control software: Bantam Tools Desktop Milling Machine Software
⦁ Advertised assembly time: n/a
⦁ Machine footprint: 19.8 x 20.9 x 19.4 inches (500 x 530 x 492 mm)
⦁ Spindle: 10,000-28,000 RPM
⦁ Rated power: n/a
⦁ Maximum power: n/a
⦁ Step Motor: n/a
⦁ Tool holding: ER-11 collet; up to 1/4 inch shank recommended
⦁ OS: Windows, MAC OS
⦁ Power Supply: 100-240 V AC 50/60Hz 1.4A
There aren’t many machines that you could consider directly alongside the Bantam Tools Desktop CNC Milling Machine, with desktop routers a popular entry-level alternative, albeit much less plug-and-play than the Desktop CNC appears to be offering.
Semi-enclosed for partial chip containment, Carbide 3D’s Nomad 883 Pro has roughly the same work volume as the Desktop CNC, automatic tool length probing, and can mill aluminum.
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