Onefinity CNC

Ballscrews on every axis at hobby CNC prices — that is the Onefinity's genuine differentiator, and it is worth paying attention to. The machine's openness story is more complicated: it started life with an open-source Buildbotics controller (GPL v2), then moved to the proprietary Masso G3 Touch, and the current Gen 2 Elite uses a fully proprietary RealTime controller. The CAM ecosystem has stayed open and the machine has no cloud dependency anywhere. Excellent hardware; a progressively closing firmware layer.

What it is

The Onefinity is a gantry-style desktop CNC router made by Onefinity CNC, a Canadian company (formerly in Québec, now with US distribution) that launched the original machine in 2020. The defining design choice — maintained through every generation — is precision ballscrews on all three axes. In the hobby CNC space below $3,000, most machines use belt drive on X and Y and a lead screw on Z. Ballscrews eliminate belt stretch, give better repeatability per step, and allow higher feedrates before losing position.

The current lineup (as of mid-2026) covers three generations. The Gen 1 Original/PRO Series (X-35 and X-50 variants) uses the open-source Buildbotics controller and is still sold at reduced prices as stock lasts. The Gen 1 Elite (introduced 2023) kept the Gen 1 frame but swapped in the Masso G3 Touch industrial controller and added closed-loop (anti-skip) steppers. The Gen 2 Elite (November 2025) is a ground-up redesign — 60 mm X-axis tubes, 2 Nm closed-loop motors, the Redline HMI 15" touchscreen, and the proprietary RealTime RTX-2 motion controller.

The machine routes wood, plastics, foam, soft aluminium, and carbon fibre. It ships as a quick-assembly kit — the rails arrive pre-assembled and setup is claimed to take under an hour. Onefinity sells directly, with distribution through resellers in the US, UK and Europe.

Openness

The Onefinity's openness depends heavily on which generation you are looking at. The CAM and ecosystem layer is open across all; the controller layer has moved steadily toward proprietary.

• Firmware — open on Gen 1 Original, proprietary on Elite. The Gen 1 Original/PRO runs a fork of the Buildbotics firmware, published on GitHub at OneFinityCNC/onefinity-firmware under the GNU GPL v2. The Buildbotics upstream is itself fully open — firmware source, hardware schematics and PCB layouts are all public. The caveat: Onefinity's firmware is a custom fork, and flashing the upstream Buildbotics build on an Onefinity controller is unsupported due to hardware differences and may brick the unit — use the Onefinity-published releases only. The Gen 1 Elite uses the Masso G3 Touch, a well-regarded industrial controller from Australia that is completely proprietary. The Gen 2 Elite uses the RealTime RTX-2, a custom embedded ARM controller from RealTime CNC — also proprietary. Neither Elite controller can be re-flashed with open community firmware.
• Controller hardware — open-hardware design on Gen 1, proprietary on Elite. The Buildbotics controller is notable precisely because its hardware design is fully public: schematics, PCB layouts, and the Raspberry Pi host are all documented. This is genuinely unusual in the CNC space. The Masso G3 and RealTime RTX-2 are proprietary black-box units — well-built and well-supported, but you are buying into a vendor hardware stack.
• Klipper — not applicable. Klipper is 3D-printer firmware. CNC routers use GRBL-family or motion-controller equivalents. No open Klipper/grblHAL/FluidNC port exists for the Onefinity's proprietary controllers; the Gen 1 Buildbotics platform is custom and not GRBL-based (it uses a Python-based CAM pipeline on the Pi). The community has discussed third-party controller swaps on the forum but there is no widely-adopted open-controller replacement for Gen 2 Elite machines.
• CAM and sender — fully open. All Onefinity machines accept standard G-code from any CAM tool with a suitable post-processor. Fusion 360 CAM, VCarve/Aspire, Carveco Maker, Easel (Inventables), and FreeCAD Path all work. No external sender is required — the controller handles file execution directly (Gen 1 via a web browser interface over WiFi/Ethernet; Elite via the integrated HMI touchscreen). Files are loaded via USB stick or WiFi. The Gen 2 Elite ships with a 12-month Carveco Maker subscription (paid licence after that — ~$20/month), but any G-code-generating CAM tool is usable without it.
• Ecosystem — no cloud, no subscription lock. There is no cloud service in the cutting workflow at any Onefinity generation. No account is needed to run the machine; no internet connection is required at job time. The CAM subscriptions (Carveco, VCarve) are optional — the machine accepts G-code from free tools. This is a clean result and one area where the Onefinity is unambiguously open, regardless of which controller it ships with.

AI tooling

There is none. No Onefinity model ships with machine vision, AI failure detection, adaptive toolpathing, or any AI feature. The Gen 1 Original's Buildbotics controller runs a Raspberry Pi under Linux, which makes it technically possible to attach a camera and write custom monitoring software — but nothing ships out of the box, and no community project has made this mainstream.

The closed-loop steppers on the Elite series (both Gen 1 and Gen 2) give real-world benefits: the controller detects step loss and can halt rather than continue cutting off-track. That is a hardware quality improvement, not AI, but it addresses one of the common failure modes that camera-based spaghetti detection exists to catch in 3D printing.

Where it wins

• All-axis ballscrews at hobby prices. Below $3,000, most CNC routers use belt drive or a lead screw on Z only. The Onefinity's ballscrews — on X, Y, and Z across every generation — give better repeatability, no belt-stretch drift, and higher stiffness per dollar. This is the machine's genuine engineering advantage and the reason it has a loyal base.
• Rapid, clean assembly. The rails arrive pre-assembled; the machine goes together in one to two hours without specialist tools. Competitors at a similar price point typically require more assembly time or more tool knowledge.
• No cloud, no internet in the cutting loop. All generations work offline. Files load from USB or local WiFi. This is increasingly a differentiator as more of the CNC and 3D-printing market adds cloud-connected features.
• Gen 1 Original firmware is genuinely open source. The GPL v2 Buildbotics fork with published hardware schematics is a real open-hardware story. Onefinity's GitHub repo is public and the code builds on a documented open platform. Rare for a commercial machine in this price bracket.
• Strong community and documentation. The Onefinity forum (forum.onefinitycnc.com) is active and well-organised by controller generation, making it practical to find answers relevant to your specific machine.
• Gen 2 Elite mechanical quality. The 60 mm X-axis tubes, 2 Nm closed-loop motors, and Z-20 Z-slider represent a genuine step-up in rigidity from the Gen 1. The five-year mechanical warranty backs that claim in writing.

Where it's locked down

• Gen 1 Elite and Gen 2 Elite firmware is proprietary and closed. The Masso G3 and RealTime RTX-2 controllers cannot be re-flashed with open community firmware. The firmware update path is vendor-controlled. If you want to customise motion behaviour or run custom G-code extensions, you are limited to what the vendor exposes.
• Gen 1 Original firmware fork is not upstream-compatible. The GPL source is published, but reflashing with the upstream Buildbotics build is unsupported and risks bricking the controller. The open-source nature is real, but the practical ability to run community builds is limited.
• Proprietary frame design — not an open-hardware build. Unlike the Voron or MPCNC, the Onefinity is not a published design. You cannot self-source it from scratch, buy replacement linear shafts from arbitrary vendors, or replicate the frame from a BOM. Replacement parts come from Onefinity.
• No GRBL compatibility. GRBL is the de-facto open standard for hobby CNC firmware, with broad CAM post-processor support and a wide ecosystem of senders and utilities. The Buildbotics firmware is not GRBL-compatible (it uses its own G-code dialect), and the Elite controllers are Masso- or RealTime-specific. Switching controllers requires a full hardware swap and different CAM post-processor configuration.
• Windows/Mac-centric official tooling. Carbide Create and Carbide Motion run on macOS and Windows. Linux users need a third-party sender — which works, but the official stack does not support it.

Who it's for

Makers and small workshops who want a well-built hobby CNC router where mechanical quality — specifically the all-axis ballscrew drive — matters more than having the most open firmware. The Onefinity competes directly with the Shapeoko 5 Pro on the ballscrew argument, typically at a lower entry price.

The Gen 1 Original is the right choice if firmware openness is important to you: the Buildbotics GPL firmware and public hardware schematics give you something real to work with. The Gen 2 Elite is the right choice if you want the best machine the company makes and are comfortable with a proprietary controller — the closed-loop system, rigidity, and integrated HMI make it a genuinely capable machine for wood and soft metal work.

If the proprietary controller on the Elite is a deal-breaker and you want ballscrews, consider a DIY build on an open controller (grblHAL, FluidNC) with ballscrew linear modules — more work, but fully open at every layer. If you want the easiest entry to hobby CNC with the most open firmware, the CNC 3018 Pro is cheaper and GRBL-native; the Shapeoko gives better rigidity and community support at the GRBL tier.

Specs & links

• Gen 1 Original/PRO Series (Buildbotics controller):
  • X-35 Machinist — ~16 × 16 in work area
  • X-35 Woodworker — ~32 × 32 in work area
  • X-50 Woodworker — ~32 × 32 in work area (50 mm tubes vs X-35's 35 mm)
  • X-50 Journeyman — ~48 × 32 in work area
  • X-50 Foreman — ~48 × 48 in work area
  • Drive: ballscrews on all axes; hardened steel hollow shafts
  • Controller: Buildbotics (Raspberry Pi, GPL v2 firmware, web browser UI)
  • Price (kit, as of 2025–2026): from ~$1,453 (X-35 Machinist) to ~$3,068 (X-50 Journeyman)
• Gen 2 Elite Series (RealTime / Redline controller):
  • Woodworker — 33 × 33 in cut area; 60 mm X / 50 mm Y tubes
  • Journeyman — 49 × 33 in cut area
  • Foreman — 49 × 49 in cut area
  • Drive: ballscrews on all axes; 2 Nm closed-loop steppers on X and Y
  • Controller: RealTime RTX-2 + Redline 15" HMI touchscreen
  • Includes: 12-month Carveco Maker subscription, 5-year mechanical warranty
  • Price: ~$2,500–$4,000+ depending on size and configuration
• Firmware (Gen 1 Original): OneFinityCNC/onefinity-firmware — GPL v2; based on Buildbotics open-source CNC controller.
• Gen 2 Elite firmware: RealTime CNC (realtimecnc.com) — proprietary, custom embedded ARM platform.
• Compatible CAM: VCarve/Aspire (Vectric), Fusion 360, Carveco Maker, Easel, FreeCAD Path — all with GRBL-compatible or Onefinity-specific post-processors.
• Community forum: forum.onefinitycnc.com — organised by machine generation and controller type.
• Product page: onefinitycnc.com.

← More machines