X-Carve has been one of the most popular desktop CNC routers for several years.

The Onefinity Woodworker, on the other hand, was launched in 2020 and is quickly becoming the top CNC router choice for a lot of hobbyists and small businesses.

When comparing X carve vs Onefinity, both come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

In this review, I’ll be critically evaluating and comparing the Onefinity Woodworker CNC with Inventables’s X-Carve CNC router.

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1. Price

CNC	Price
X-Carve	~$2,600
Woodworker X-50 (with controller and 10.8″ display)	~$2,453

Both X-Carve and Woodworker have customizable designs, and as per your choice of accessories, the prices change.

Onefinity provides the flexibility of purchasing both versions of the Woodworker with or without a controller and touch display.

The following chart shows the set of Woodworker combinations available for you to purchase.

Woodworkerversion	10.8” HD display	OnefinityController	Price
X-50	No	No	$1,947
	Yes	No	$2,079
	No	Yes	$2,329
	Yes	Yes	$2,452
X-35	No	No	$1,564
	Yes	No	$1,695
	No	Yes	$1,947
	Yes	Yes	$2,070

Please note that Onefinity is not providing the spindle/router with this kit, it has to be purchased separately and will cost around $110.

Inventables provides two options, you can either purchase a fully loaded X-Carve kit or can build your own from a base kit by selecting your choice of accessories.

The following chart shows different components available with the base and fully loaded kits of X-carve.

What comes with it?	Fully loaded Kit	Base Kit
	$2,600	$2,047
X-Carve Components	✓	✓
Wasteboard	✓	–
Belt and Motor Kit	✓	✓
Z-Axis Kit	✓	✓
NEMA Cable	✓	✓
Rail Kit	✓	✓
Easel Pro 3-year membership	✓	✓
Drag Chain	✓	✓
X-Controller	✓	✓
Z-Probe	✓	–
Side Board	✓	–
Dust shoe	✓	–
Homing Switches	✓	✓
Tool Kit	✓	–
Clamp Set	✓	–
Digital Calipers	✓	–
DeWalt Spindle Mount	✓	✓
1/8″ Precision Collet Kit	✓	–

The fully-loaded kit comes with all that you need to build your CNC machine.

The main attraction Inventables provide with their product is a three-year Easel Pro membership. It’s available with both the basic and fully loaded kits.

This is a great deal, as even a one-month membership for their advanced Easel Pro software costs around $20.

I’ll give you a detailed idea of what accessories come with these prices in the accessory section of this article.

You can start making parts for less than $2,500 if you choose Onefinity, which is less when compared to X-Carve. (Don’t forget to factor in the cost of the computer for controlling X-Carve)

2. Footprint and Cutting Area

CNC	Footprint	Cutting Area	Z Travel
X-Carve	49″ x 39″	30″ x 30″	3.54”
Woodworker	46” x 45”	32 ¼” x 32 ¼”	5 ¼”

Both X-Carve and Onefinity require a table with a size little over their footprints to house the controller.

X-carve has a footprint of 49″ x 39″, while Onefinity has 46” x 45”. X-Carve’s cutting/working area is relatively smaller than the Woodworker.

The Woodworker has a cutting area of 32 ¼” x 32 ¼”, which is larger compared to X-carve’s 30” x 30” cutting area.

Also, Woodworker has 1.71” more Z travel than X-Carve.

While considering the Footprint and cutting area alone, Onefinity Woodworker looks like the best option as it has a larger work area compared to X-Carve.

3. Frame

CNC	Frame	Size
X-Carve	Makerslide aluminum extrusion	40 x 40 mm (3mm thick)
Woodworker	Cylindrical hollow steel	50 mm (for X-50) 35mm (for X-35)

X-Carve uses a MakerSlide aluminum extrusion with a built-in V-rail linear bearing system.

The MakerSlide rail is the foundation of X-Carve’s functionality. It supports the spindle as it carves. MakerSlide is an open-source linear bearing system.

On the other hand, Onefinity uses a 50mm hollow cylindrical steel rod for its X-50 version of Woodworker.

The only difference between the X-35 and X-50 versions of Woodworker is the diameter of the rods, the numbers in their version name denote their respective frame diameters.

X-35 has a 35mm frame, while X-50 has a 50 mm frame. A larger rod size provides more rigidity to the machine, and this helps in effective milling operation.

Woodworker’s frame is made of chrome-plated hardened steel. This provides great rigidity and smooth machine movement.

Also, this cylindrical steel rod can bear more weight as it has minimal flexing. The chrome plating helps the frame resist corrosion.

A fully loaded X-Carve weighs around 211 lbs, while Onefinity Woodworker weighs around 137 lbs.

The Onefinity has a comparative advantage over X-Carve, as it has a more rigid build.

4. Work Bed

CNC	Work Bed
X-Carve	3/4″ MDF with threaded inserts
Woodworker	Not provided

X-Cave comes with a ¾” MDF work bed, while Woodworker does not come with any work bed.

If you are looking forward to buying a Woodworker, then you have to make one.

I recommend a ¾” MDF for the Woodworker. It’s cost-effective and easily replaceable.

Onefinity sells Woodworker QCW work bed on their website’s accessory page, and it costs around $360.

But if you are a DIY enthusiast, then you can take up this challenge and can build one all by yourself. Onefinity has a detailed video on how to make one.

X-Carve’s ¾” MDF comes with threaded inserts. This helps to hold the clamps well in place.

There are three Integrated T-slots on the ¾” MDF and provide a minimum clamp-to-part distance with its new hole patterns.

Since Inventables provides a work bed with work-holding options, this eliminates the extra work you need to do to make one, and hence X-Carve offers a better deal here.

5. Linear Motion

CNC	Drive	Linear Guide
X-Carve	Belt Drive in X and Y-axis Acme screw drive for Z-axis	V wheels for X and Y-axis Precision Linear guide rail for Z-axis
Woodworker	Ball Screw drive in X, Y, and Z	Cylindrical shaft

Woodworker makes use of a ball screw mechanism, while X-Carve uses a belt-driven mechanism.

The X-Carve uses a V-weel-based belt-driven system to move through the X and Y-axis.

For the Z-axis, X-Carve comes with an upgraded Z-axis kit which provides more rigidity, torque, and material removal rate.

The upgraded Z-axis uses a precision linear guide with recirculating ball bearings, hence providing limited surface contact and smooth plunge movement.

This increases the machine’s precision and reduces backlash.

X-Carve’s Z-axis uses a direct drive acme lead screw to increase its performance and reliability.

The currently sold X-Carve uses a 9mm wide GT3 timing belt, which is an upgrade from the previous 6mm wide GT2 belt. 

This ungraded belt provides extra stiffness, reduces chatter, and increases machine accuracy.

Belt driven system will eventually lose precision as the belt loosens and causes missed steps.

So the belt has to be tightened regularly to attain proper tension for the efficient working of the X-Carve CNC machine.

Woodworker uses a 16mm ball screw drive for its X and Y axes. The Z-axis uses a 12 mm ball screw drive.

Though the ball screw requires to be lubricated once in a while, it does not have any backlash errors. This helps you with accurate milling and drilling operations.

Woodworker’s cylindrical linear shaft guide provides extra stiffness. This also adds extra performance and accuracy to the machine compared to V-wheels.

Both X-Carve and Woodworker use the dual-drive mechanism for driving the Y-axis. This helps prevent the racking of the gantry.

Considering the linear motion mechanism of both these machines, Onefinity is the winner.

Woodworker’s ball screw-driven cylindrical shaft mechanism gives the machine a stable and precise movement.

6. Material Capability

Materials	X-Carve	Woodworker
Non-metals	Yes	Yes
Non-Ferrous Metals	Yes (with coolant)	Yes
Steel	No	No

Both machines can work on the most common work materials in a CNC workshop, like plastic, softwood, hardwood, aluminum, and others.

X-Carve can carve on materials like wood/wood composites, plastics, and non-ferrous metals like aluminum, brass, and copper.

Proper cut settings and a well-equipped chip removal system will help the machine in the long run.

I suggest you use aluminum 6061 for carving on the X-Carve, as other rigid alloys of aluminum will be a bit of a hard task for this machine.

The Onefinity not only cuts wood but can also cut through plastic, hardwood, aluminum, and brass.

Its rigid linear bearings provide the machine with great stiffness to carve on hard materials even without lubrication. But this depends on what spindle you are using for your setup.

7. Feeds and Speeds

Parameter	X-Carve	Woodworker
Material	Aluminum 6061	Aluminum 6061
Bit Dia	¼”	¼”
Depth of Cut	~0.01”	~0.04”
Feed	~40 ipm	~100 ipm

The plunge rate is the speed at which the machine cuts through a material by moving only on the Z-axis.

Feed rate is the speed at which the machine cuts through the material by moving in the X and Y-axis.

Inventables Easel software has different parameter templates of various materials for the X-Carve CNC machine. 

But it seems like the Easel template values are on the safer side than what the machine is capable of doing.

X-Carve can cut on aluminum 6061 with a depth-of-cut rate of 0.01” and a feed rate of 40 ipm.

While the Onefinity woodworker can cut on aluminum with a depth-of-cut rate of 0.04” and a feed rate of 100 ipm. That is more than double what an X-Carve can do.

Woodworker’s rigid build supports the router to cut through hard materials faster than the X-Carve.

With lubrication, both machines can give good performance on non-ferrous metals like aluminum, brass, and copper.

However, X-Carve cannot beat the speeds at which Onefinty Woodworker can perform.

8. Spindle/Router

CNC	Router/Spindle	RPM
X-Carve	Makita RT0701C	10,000-30,000
Woodworker	Makita RT0701C	10,000-30,000

One enormous disappointment about Woodworker is that Onefinity does not provide a router with their machine.

Inventables X-Carve comes with a Makita RT0701C router for their 110V USA power outlet models.

For the EU(European Union) 240V outlet models, the X-Carve comes with a DeWalt D26200 router. Both routers come with a ¼” collet.

Onefinity recommends the same Makita RT0701C router for Woodworker’s optimum operation.

Makita RT0701C has a 1.25hp motor which is housed inside a heavy-duty aluminum body. It provides a variable speed of 10,000 – 30,000 RPM.

Makita RT0701C uses ¼” shank router bits. The router alone weighs around 3.8 lbs.

You can also use a DeWalt D26200 that weighs around 6.6 lbs and also uses a ¼” shank router bit.

It has a variable speed range of 16,000 – 27,00 RPM and hence is not suitable for cutting metals as that requires low RPM ranges.

The Dewalt D26200 router is best suited for woodwork, while the Makita RT0701C router is for aluminum work.

X-Carve comes with a 66mm Makita spindle Mount with a Z-axis carriage made of extruded aluminum.

X-Carve’s Makita mount itself can accommodate both Makita RT0701C and DeWalt D26200 spindle.

Woodworker comes with a 65mm spindle mount. It can house any spindle similar in size to the Makita RT0701C spindle.

9. Accessories and Upgrades

Both X-Carve and Woodworker are customizable compared with other CNC machines.

Before purchasing itself you can choose all the accessories you want for your machine. This lets you customize and brings a great deal of flexibility.

X-Carve comes with a dust control shoe. A normal household vacuum can be plugged-in into the grounded spiral hose.

Inventables provide a Z-probe with the X-Carve, but Onefinity does not prove a Z-probe with the Woodworker.

Onefinity provides an “Infinite Possibilities Program” for its customers. 

This provides their customers a chance to upgrade their old versions of Onefinity machines.

Such programs are quite new to the market and sell products almost by half of their original price tag (only for previous customers).

Here is a chart of accessories and their availability with both machines.

Accessories	X-Carve	Woodworker
Router	Yes	No
Z-probe	Yes	No
Waste Board	Yes	No
Software	Yes	No
Dust shoe	Yes	No
Sideboard	Yes	No
Bits and cutters	Yes	No

10. Controller and Electronics

CNC	Stepper Motor	Controller
X-Carve	NEMA 23	GRBL controller
Woodworker	NEMA 23	Onefinity Controller

Both X-Carve and Woodworker use NEMA 23 stepper motors to achieve machine movement.

X-Carves stepper motors have a holding torque of 212 oz/in while Woodworker has a holding torque of 178 oz/in.

Onefinity gives you the flexibility of either choosing the Onefinity controller or supplying a controller of your own.

The onefinity controller is a fork of the highly popular Buildbotics CNC controller.

Since Onefinity does not have homing sensors, it uses a “stall current mechanism” to move to its home position.

The stall current mechanism works by finding out a slight variation in the motor current as it hits the axis end. This helps it find out its home positions.

Through the DB25 breakout board port on the controller, you can connect advanced controllers for more operational control.

Inventables use a GBRL controller for its X-Carve CNC machine called the “X-controller”.

X-controller can’t work as a standalone controller like the Onefinity controller.

It needs to be connected to a computer for its operation.

This controller houses an Arduino-based board which is housed inside a heavy aluminum body with mounting holes.

X-Carve’s controller has ground terminals for each input and output port.

Both X-Carve and Woodworker have labeled ports and connections which are helpful.

The drag chain running parallel to the X-axis of the X-Carve is helpful.

It stays up at a safe distance from your router and workpiece. You can house all your loose hanging wires underneath that. Woodworker doesn’t come with a drag chain.

Onefinity controller is comparatively better than the X-controller. BMC can work as a mini standalone computer. It has CAM software pre-installed in it.

We can connect BMC to the internet via ethernet or Wi-Fi and can remotely control the Woodworker CNC through any mobile device.

11. Software

CNC	Software	OS	Mode	Modeling
X-Carve	Easel Pro	Windows, Mac, Linux	Cloud and offline	2.5 D
Woodworker	Not provided	Not provided	Not provided	Not provided

Inventables provides a three-year license to their most advanced Easel Pro software with the X-Carve.

Easel is one of the most beginner-friendly software out there. 

You can’t do full 3D designs in Easel, it allows 2.5D designs which are used for carving operations.

Anyone who’s just starting up with CNC machining can grab onto Easel for CAD, CAM, Control, and simulation operations.

Yes, you can do all from designing to finally engraving the design on the work material, all from the Easel software itself.

Since Inventables is providing the software with their X-Carve machine, it’s a great deal as even a one-month subscription to Easel’s pro version costs around $20.

Onefinity’s BMC controller comes with CAM software pre-installed in it, but this is only available if you are purchasing their controller with the machine.

Onefinity does not provide any additional software with the Woodworker.

But Onefinity sells lifetime licenses for a separate paid software, V-carve, which is developed by Vectric.

Two versions of this software are sold by Onefinity at a discounted price on their website. They are “V-Carve Desktop” and “V-Carve Pro”.

Software	Operation	OS	Price
V-Carve desktop	CAD/CAM	Windows	$314 (lifetime)
V-Carve Pro	CAD/CAM	Windows	$629 (lifetime)

The desktop version only allows 24” x 24” parts to be created and worked on. This version is only suited for small desktop machines.

V-Carve Pro doesn’t have any work area limitations and allows rotary machining capabilities suitable for a production environment.

You can also use any other CNC software with both the X-Carve and Woodworker CNC machines.

Since X-Carve comes with additional software that lets you do CAD and CAM functions, the software package with X-Carve is a better offering.

12. Enclosure

CNC	Enclosure
X-Carve	none
Woodworker	none

X-Carve and Woodworker don’t come with an enclosure.

This can make your workshop/room dusty if you are cutting materials like wood that produce lots of dust. 

It’s not that hard to create an enclosure for your CNC machine, you can even use your CNC to create one.

There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube that may guide you.

13. Dust Collection

CNC	Dust Shoe
X-Carve	Provided
Woodworker	Not provided

Inventables provides a dust shoe, but only with their fully loaded X-Carve kit. It doesn’t come with the base kit.

An external vacuum has to be connected to the dust control to make it fully functional.

Inventables dust shoe can be connected to the X-Carve’s spindle end, as the spindle moves the dust shoe cleans out the work dust through a grounded hose.

The grounded hose is connected to the vacuum.

Onefinity does not provide a dust collection shoe with its Woodworker CNC machine.

But Onefinity sells a Suckit Dust Boot for dust collection on their website, it costs around $90.

Dust collection is very much important in these machines as it doesn’t have an enclosed setup.

14. Assembly

CNC	Expected assembly time
X-Carve	10-14 hours
Woodworker	3 hours

X-Carve’s components and parts are sent in a disassembled manner.

This is sent in separate boxes for ease of shipment, which also helps it to have a safe shipment journey without damaging any of the components.

Since X-Carve comes in many separate parts, it has to be assembled properly to make good use of its rigid body.

Inventables provides well-formulated assembly instructions on its website, which helps a lot.

Onefinity had made it easy for their customers by providing pre-assembled parts for their Woodworker CNC, so all the parts come in a ready-to-go form.

The only work for the Woodworker owners is to connect all the pre-assembled parts.

Onefinity has a detailed video on how to assemble the Woodworker on their youtube channel.

Your assembly time will be depended on your previous experience with different CNC machines and your understanding of tools and circuitry.

It will take around 10 -14 hours to assemble the X-Carve and around 3 hours for Woodworker.

Assembling the routers yourself will give you a good understanding of the CNC machine and its working.

As Woodworker comes as preassembled parts, the assembly is easier for Woodworker.

15. Community

Both products have great community support.

X-Carve has been in the market for much longer than Woodworker and has better community support.

Though Woodworker is pretty new to the field, it has a decent customer base and good community support.

X-Carve has a very active community on the Inventables discuss forum, Autodesk forum, Reddit, and Facebook.

Woodworker’s user base is steadily increasing day-by-day and active user discussions are happening on Reddit, Facebook, and Carbide3d’s community website.

16. Customer Support and Warranty

CNC	Warranty
X-Carve	6 months
Woodworker	12 months

Onefinity has a webpage dedicated to customer support, while Inventables has a whole separate website dedicated to supporting its customers.

Inventables provides their customers with telephone services from 9 am – 5 pm Monday to Friday, Onefinity provides a 9 am – 3 pm time slot for the same days.

Both maintain an active support e-mail for their customers to flag their issues.

Most of Onefinity’s customers are based in the US.

Though Inventable relatively maintains a global presence, most of its customers are also from the US.

Onefinity lets its customers return their damaged products by reporting to them within 24 hours of receipt.

Inventables provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for their X-Carve CNC machine.

Woodworker comes with a 12-month (1-year) limited warranty, while X-Carve comes with a 6-months limited warranty.

Though X-Carve comes with a 6-month warranty, it can be extended for two more years through a partnership agreement with Clyde.

Clyde is a firm that offers extended warranty services for different businesses.

17. Overall Winner

Considering all the different details I talked about in this article, the following chart will give you a bird’s-eye view of both the X-Carve and Onefinity Woodworker.

CNC	Winner
Price	Onefinity
Footprint and Cutting area	Onefinity
Frame	Onefinity
Work bed	X-Carve
Linear motion	Onefinity
Material capability	Tie
Feeds and speeds	Onefinity
Spindle/router	X-Carve
Accessories and upgrades	X-Carve
Controller and electronics	Onefinity
Software	X-Carve
Enclosure	Tie
Dust collection	X-Carve
Assembly	Onefinity
Community	X-Carve
Customer support and warranty	X-Carve

There is no straight winner from the X-Carve and the Onefinity. Both these machines have their strengths and weaknesses.

X-Carve costs $180 more than Onefinity. But Inventables gives you a ready-to-go X-Carve CNC machine.

Though Woodworker is only a recent addition to the marketplace, it has captured a lot of eyeballs with its great build quality.

Building a complete CNC machine, out of what Onefinity originally provides, will cost at least a quarter of Woodworker’s original price (~$605).

This is the only disadvantage of Onefinity’s Woodworker. Other than that Onefinity is a great CNC machine.

The Oneifnity has a rigid build quality and can work a lot more efficiently on different work materials than the X-Carve.

Onefinity provides an advanced CNC Controller with the Woodworker. It’s more future-ready than the X-controller.

Woodworker’s advanced linear motion together with its rigid frame, fast feed rates, and larger cutting area makes the Onefinity the best when it comes to doing the work.

On the other hand, X-Carve has been around for quite some time and is used by many.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Where are Onefinity CNCs made?

Each piece of Onefinity product is designed, manufactured, and tested in Canada.

Onefinity’s headquarter is located in Toronto, Canada. Onefinity has a good presence in the US. Most of its customers are from the US.

What program does Onefinity CNC use?

Onefinity doesn’t come with a CAD program for you to use. There are no limitations on the CAD software that can be used.

You can pair up your Onefinity CNC with any CAD/CAM software which can generate G-code.

Onefinity controller has built-in CAM software, which accepts CAD files from most CAD software programs.

Is Easel Pro free?

No, it’s not, But you can try the software for free with all its features in a 30-day trial period.

Designing and simulating your projects are free. To access all the advanced features of Inventables Easel Pro software, they offer monthly and yearly plans.

Easel Pro’s monthly plan costs around $20 and the yearly plan costs around $156.