Buying guide · 3 min read
What materials can a desktop CNC cut? What the makers say
Word-for-word material claims from 26 maker pages, and how carefully they word metal.
Nearly every maker says what its machine can cut, and the wording varies a lot. This guide puts those claims side by side, word for word, for 26 of the 43 machines on this site. They're the makers' claims, copied from their product pages on 4 November 2026. Nobody has tested any of them for this site.
What each maker says
| Machine | The maker's words | Mentions metal |
|---|---|---|
| SainSmart 3018-PRO DIY Kit | “capable of cutting all types of plastics, soft aluminum, woods, acrylics, PVCs, and PCBs” | Yes |
| SainSmart 3020-PRO MAX V2 | “While primarily intended for wood, acrylic, and PCB, it can be used for soft metal carving with proper precautions.” | Yes |
| SainSmart 3020-PRO Ultra | “designed to engrave a wide range of materials, including wood, aluminum, brass, carbon fiber, and acrylic.” | Yes |
| FoxAlien Masuter Pro | “solid enough to engrave different kinds of materials like hardwood and soft metal.” | Yes |
| Two Trees TTC450 Pro (500W) | “balanced spindle power for wood, acrylic, and light-metal milling” | Yes |
| Two Trees TTC450 Ultra | “for precise engraving and cutting on wood, acrylic, and soft metals.” | Yes |
| FoxAlien Masuter Pro Max 2x2 | “you gain the ability to produce high-end custom wood and acrylic pieces.” | No |
| SainSmart 4040-PRO MAX | “for makers working on wood carving and metal-machining projects” | Yes |
| SainSmart PROVerXL 4030S | “cuts through wood, plastics, and soft metals faster and cleaner with its 710W compact router.” | Yes |
| MillRight CNC Carve King 2 | “Mills wood, plastic, foam, carbon fiber, circuit boards, and soft metals.” | Yes |
| FoxAlien Masuter 3S | “powerful enough to achieve a nice finish on wood, acrylic, carbon fiber, and soft metal.” | Yes |
| Makera Z1 | “Suitable for rapid prototyping, small aluminum parts, PCBs, woodworking, and handicrafts.” | Yes |
| SainSmart PROVerXL 4030 V2 | “Cut and carve an irregularly shaped or size of a variety of materials such as wood, plastics, and soft metals” | Yes |
| Sienci Labs LongMill MK3 30x30 | “It can handle materials ranging from softwoods to hardwoods, plastics and foams, to acrylics and even aluminum.” | Yes |
| Two Trees TTC6050 | “Offers high precision for wood, plastic, and metal” | Yes |
| SainSmart PROVerXL 6050 Plus | “Ideal for wood, plastics, and soft metals.” | Yes |
| Makera Carvera Air | “Ideal for Aluminum, brass, copper.” | Yes |
| Onefinity Gen 2 Elite Woodworker | “built for woodworking, signs, cabinetry, furniture parts, jigs, fixtures, production work, plastics, and non-ferrous metals” | Yes |
| MillRight CNC Mega V 2 (19x19) | “Engrave, cut, flatten, or carve almost anything you can imagine with the Mega V 2.” | No |
| Carbide 3D Nomad 3 | “Cuts metal, wood, wax, and PCBs.” | Yes |
| Sienci Labs AltMill MK2 4x4 | “Cuts materials ranging from hardwoods to plastics, foams, composites, aluminum – even steel” | Yes |
| Carbide 3D Shapeoko 5.1 Pro 4x2 | “Shapeoko is a true multi-material machine that works with just about any material you want.” | No |
| Sienci Labs AltMill MK2 2x4 | “Cuts materials ranging from hardwoods to plastics, foams, composites, aluminum – even steel” | Yes |
| Carbide 3D Shapeoko HDM V3 | “Shapeoko HDM cuts wood and non-ferrous metals (aluminum and brass) with ease and accuracy.” | Yes |
| Inventables X-Carve Pro 4x4 | “Works with a large variety of materials” | No |
| Sienci Labs AltMill 4x8 | “Cuts materials ranging from hardwoods to plastics, foams, composites, aluminum – even steel” | Yes |
Reading the claims
Wood comes up in 22 of the 26 claims, plastics in eleven and acrylic in eight. Metal is where the wording gets careful. 22 of these pages mention metal of some kind, and twelve of them qualify it, with phrases like "soft metals", "light-metal milling" or "non-ferrous metals" (aluminum and brass, not steel). SainSmart's 3020-PRO MAX V2 page adds that soft metal is possible "with proper precautions".
A claim that a machine can cut a material doesn't say how fast, how deep, with what bit, or how good the finish is. Those depend on the frame, the spindle, the bit and the person running it. The spec pages on this site list each machine's spindle and drive, and the router or spindle guide explains what's in the box.
Machines not listed here either don't say on their product page, or say it in a way that couldn't be copied cleanly.
Sources
Material claims copied from the makers' pages on 4 November 2026. Quotes are copied from these pages.
- SainSmart 3018-PRO DIY Kit: maker's page
- SainSmart 3020-PRO MAX V2: maker's page
- SainSmart 3020-PRO Ultra: maker's page
- FoxAlien Masuter Pro: maker's page
- Two Trees TTC450 Pro (500W): maker's page
- Two Trees TTC450 Ultra: maker's page
- FoxAlien Masuter Pro Max 2x2: maker's page
- SainSmart 4040-PRO MAX: maker's page
- SainSmart PROVerXL 4030S: maker's page
- MillRight CNC Carve King 2: maker's page
- FoxAlien Masuter 3S: maker's page
- Makera Z1: maker's page
- SainSmart PROVerXL 4030 V2: maker's page
- Sienci Labs LongMill MK3 30x30: maker's page
- Two Trees TTC6050: maker's page
- SainSmart PROVerXL 6050 Plus: maker's page
- Makera Carvera Air: maker's page
- Onefinity Gen 2 Elite Woodworker: maker's page
- MillRight CNC Mega V 2 (19x19): maker's page
- Carbide 3D Nomad 3: maker's page
- Sienci Labs AltMill MK2 4x4: maker's page
- Carbide 3D Shapeoko 5.1 Pro 4x2: maker's page
- Sienci Labs AltMill MK2 2x4: maker's page
- Carbide 3D Shapeoko HDM V3: maker's page
- Inventables X-Carve Pro 4x4: maker's page
- Sienci Labs AltMill 4x8: maker's page