Rownd is a new CNC benchtop lathe with the ambitious goal of opening the door to “machining for everybody.”
The Rownd CNC lathe is said to be user-friendly and welcoming even to newcomers to the space.
From everything I’ve seen, it’s a machine for makers, artists, and maybe even engineers looking for a quiet, small, and affordable machine for prototyping parts.
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A metal lathe is used for “turning” cylindrical parts – it can cut grooves, curves, tapers, and more.
Do you need a spacer? Shaft? Decorative foot? Knob? These are the kinds of things that can be produced on a lathe.
As with other types of machine technologies, a CNC lathe can more quickly, precisely, and easily cut shapes than by hand.
The main premise is that Rownd brings CNC lathe capabilities to anyone.
It has a relatively high-tech design, such as with smartphone-paired controls.
The Rownd lathe can also be controlled via computer or a wireless gaming control.
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There’s a mounting point for adding attachments, such as an automatic tool changer, 4th axis spindle cutting tool, and a laser engraver.
Preorder Price: $4799 plus $250 for USA shipping
Promo Video
Discussion
There are three main things to look at – the machine itself, the enclosure, and the CNC control aspect.
Machine: the lathe has an aluminum bed with steel gears and hardened linear guides.
They advertise an 800W spindle motor with variable speed control from 0 to 3,000 RPM.
It’s equipped with a 3-1/4″ 3-jaw chuck. The maximum workpiece size is said to be 6″ x 11-3/4″.
Rownd says the lathe works with 3/8″ max size tooling.
Enclosure:
The machine measures 30″ wide x 17″ tall x 17″ deep. If we go by the metric measurements, the height and depth is 18″ x 18″. The total weight is said to be 110 lbs net or 145 lbs gross.
Rownd says the machine is “whisper quiet,” and they show it off with all of the chips neatly collected into an easy-to-clean container.
Controls: The user interface features a 7″ touch screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity, and also gamepad or smartphone wireless controls.
Rownd published a chart showing comparison points between their CNC lathe, a Grizzly manual lathe, and Tormach’s CNC lathe.
I wonder why Rownd didn’t include Sherline or Taig in their comparison.
This looks to be a lightweight machine for makers who want to create precise cylindrical parts out of metal or plastic.
I’ve got questions.
Is it rigid?
How much handholding is there for newcomers to metalworking tools or CNC?
Where is the company based? From Kickstarter comments, Rownd is collaborating with Huss Engineering, a design and development company based in Turkey.
What will product support look like?
The lathe will ship equipped with a 3-1/2″ 3-jaw chuck. What if a user wants a 4-jaw chuck? What about a collet system?
Is there air cooling? What about cutting fluid or similar?
I think the project is very interesting. While the price (just over $5000 shipped to USA) seems high, there’s not a lot of competition in this space. There’s Taig, Sherline, which upgraded their hardware in recent years and added a Masso touch controller, and Tormach, although their lathe can’t easily be described as a benchtop machine.
There aren’t a lot of other options for under $10,000.
Some makers opt to add a 4th axis to rotate cylindrical work on a CNC router or lathe.
I’ll be watching Rownd’s crowdfunding campaign to see what early adopters think of the machine. The first machines are expected to ship in February 2024, just weeks away.
March 2025 Update
Rownd estimated that their first machines would ship out at the start of 2024. We’re now well into 2025, and it looks like Rownd has yet to ship any products to their Kickstarter backers.
I contacted them one week ago, asking if there were any updates regarding Kickstarter fulfillment, or if any improvements were made since the Kickstarter went live. They have yet to respond.
CA
Would love to have one of these to make chess pieces!
James+C
I’m climbing the fence on Chinese mini metal lathes. From what I can tell, I’d be spending more time fixing/ upgrading it than actually using it (similar to my cheapo laser engraver). Many forums/videos recommend saving up for a “real” lathe. But for occasional use where high precision isn’t needed, I think there’s a place for the $500 cheapo lathe. Now the $5,000 CNC lathe, I’m not sure what to think about that…
Randy
If it’s “just weeks away” why not wait for a real review instead of speculating?
Stuart
Whose real review?
According to the Kickstarter, there are only 83 backers in the USA, and some of them could just be $1 supporters as opposed to machine backers/buyers.
There’s no guarantee that the first users will receive their machines in February. That was the original expectation, but there aren’t any updates or confirmations.
Given that we’re talking about a Kickstarter crowdfunding project, delivery isn’t guaranteed, on time or at all.
It’s interesting and post-worthy in my opinion.
We might not hear from backers when the first machines ship, whether it’s perfect or not.
Early adopters’ opinions won’t change my interest level in the concept. So why wait for others’ opinions that might not even be shared or findable online?
Given that I haven’t seen a single report about its planned presence at CES, I have my doubts that we’ll see any “real review.”
All that said, what part are you complaining about as being speculation?
Jp
Over the years I’ve expressed a desire for toolguyd to review items which are crowd funded. While not particularly about this item, would you consider what it would take for a project to be worth investing in and reviewing from Toolguyds standpoint?
Jp
I wrote this strangely. I am sure you consider it…but would you write an article with an analysis on the benefits-drawbacks etc.
Stuart
Kickstarter appeal comes down to risks vs benefits.
This is a new company nobody has ever heard of before, with team members that aren’t known in hobbyist communities.
The company has little to lose, crowdfunding backers have everything to lose.
Here’s a CNC mill project that completely fell apart with backers left with no machine and no refund: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1260359869/swissmak-the-mill-turn-center-for-your-machine-sho
There’s no reason to think Rownd is anything other than legit, but personally I’m not dropping $5000 for unproven tech from a brand new brand with seemingly nothing to lose.
I’m watching this with interest. But I’m not about to take on any risk.
Reekon Tools recently started shipping their second crowdfunded product. https://www.reekon.tools/ They have credibility and at this point a lot to lose. I would not hesitate to back a Reekon Tools product.
It has been nearly 10 years since the Cole-Bar hammer Kickstarter – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/cole-bar-hammer/%3C/a%3E . They haven’t delivered a single product yet.
I backed Giaco’s Kinetic Screwdriver, partly because it looked interesting, but also because he claimed it would only be available to get one. A few years later, they’re being sold in Giaco’s Placed Atoms online store.
The Robbox Xdrill was $298 https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/robbox-xdrill-smart-cordless-drill/%3C/a%3E . Nothing ever shipped yet. The company is still accepting preorders but went on to launch other products.
Aram
“…with team members that aren’t known in hobbyist communities.”
This point is key, and worth repeating every single time anyone contemplates Kickstarter. Given their crap reliability, the only thing you’ve got going for you as a backer is social credit on the founders.
Make sure they’ve got a lot to lose (friends, conferences, sponsorships, whatever) before you back anything beyond pocket-change, because Kickstarter won’t lift a finger to help you.
James
More pondering than speculation to me. I found it very interesting and like to learn things like these the sooner the better.
Nathan
Interesting but. If you can get a small 300 dollar lather with a cast iron frame. Why is this not iron base?
Interest idea but too expensive for me. 5000 buys a lot of parts from email order machine shops.
Harrison
These are expensive toys for wealthy hobbyists- no more no less.
I’m sure it will do its job, let you control the cutter digitally and run programs for chess pieces, pens, etc.
Quality will be fine, but the duty cycle will be low and it will need regular repairs if used with any consistency in hard materials. Long term success will depend heavily on support and parts availability.
My college purchased a similar desktop machine- a water jet cutter called ‘Wazer’. It was about $10,000 Canadian. It was well designed and did its job, but took forever to turn out a few small parts. While the barrier to entry was lower than any other ‘real’ water jet cutter, the real question is cost/part, and averaged out over the product’s lifetime, the balance is never in favour of the toy machine.
If your passion is tinkering around with hobby machinery in your basement, this is great. If your passion or business is the final product, just contract a fabrication shop.
Stuart
Pretty much. That’s not bad – it’s still interested and worth keeping an eye on.
I’m hoping this could be a prototyping grade machine, as that could drive further innovation and competition in the CNC lathe space, but I am far from convinced.
MM
It might also be useful for education.
Back when I took a manufacturing class in college, more than 20 years ago now, our exposure to CNC included the students standing around while an operator pressed the [cycle start] on a full-size industrial CNC machine, while we stood around and tried to watch what was going on through the guards. If instead they had twenty of these machines I think we would have learned a lot more. The idea of small CNC machines for education is nothing new. The first machine tools I ever purchased for myself were an Emco Compact-5 CNC lathe and a matching F1 milling machine which I bought surplus from a university around that same time. But the more the merrier, and competition in the industry is always a good thing.
Harrison
Yeah that’s probably the best market for these. And the cost is nothing at an institutional level.
Ryan Good
How’s the controls? Conversational controls or do I have to buy some fancy cad cam program? So many details left out ( or at least I didn’t see it.
Stuart
They aren’t too clear on that, but it should be compatible with common CAD/CAM options.
Frank
The last thing I would ever think of wanting on something like this is smartphone or game controller controls. The first thing that goes with many ” smart ” things is the app and/or the server that device needs to phone home to.
Other than, I think many people could be interested to move beyond 3d printing, but not at 5x the cost of a decent 3d printer …
Scott
Already said, but just in case anyone is really thinking of putting cash on this, there is nothing about Kickstarter that ensures you will get anything for your investment. If it is a scam, Kickstarter won’t do anything to investigate. Anything from China seems to have an even higher probability of being a well thought out scam. After people invest, they can just disappear.
I learned the hard way. Invested in a floating breathing unit for diving on a boat that had a great write up, presentation, videos, and specifications with lots of backers. $500 and nothing for it, except the “CEO” claiming he was just hired to create the Kickstarter page.
Recommend watching, and when available from a reputable dealer, then think about it.
Call me burned once, and never again on Kickstarter. There are successes there, and I have received products sponsored, but the risk is too high for me to jump in again.
Saulac
Hobby CNC cutters/ printers make sense. Hobby CNC lathes are just for the sake of CNC. The best thing about lathes are how easy it is to use them. And that is because turned parts have the simplest shape.
Stuart
That’s probably why there are so few options when it comes to CNC lathes below $10K.
I think CNC lathes excel when you need to make x-number of things, or very complex geometries.
eddie sky
For $2000 I could get a real lathe, from a place in Indiana (ok, freight will kill the deal). I mean, a used, old classroom, Clausing 10″ lathe, with tools, cutters, and screw-feed. Plus it as pass-through so one can make rifled-barrels, screws, mounts, etc… and no problem with materials. Except wood.
MM
I’ve turned wood on a metalworking lathe a few times. It works alright, a stout boring bar makes an effective tool rest. The only trouble is cleaning up the mess , as there are far more places for dust and chips to accumulate on a metal lathe and if the lathe is covered in oil and cutting fluid as is typical for metal lathes the dust just sticks to everything.
Zachary
800w? That’s a bit pitiful compared to the small Chinese manual lathes. Although it boast a accuracy of .0008 tenths I highly doubt you’ll get that anywhere besides right near the chuck, much less I see no way of having multiple tools, just turning and a cutoff.