Lemontart Is a New Challenger in the Metal-Cutting Desktop CNC Mill Market

As an enthusiast myself, I spend a lot of time on the r/hobbyCNC subreddit and I see the same question every day: “what is an affordable desktop CNC mill that can cut steel with decent tolerances?” And the truth is that there isn’t one — at least not for typical definitions of “affordable,” “cut,” and “decent tolerances.” But that may change with the release of a new challenger in the market: Lemontart.

Machines like this are notoriously difficult to pull off, because milling steel requires a lot of rigidity. That means a big, heavy machine and that’s the opposite of what you want on a desktop. The Shariff DMC2 Mini that I reviewed last year was promising. But though it cut steel just fine, I couldn’t get very good tolerances from it. The Lemontart promises to be better.

How is it better? The most obvious difference is in the manufacturing of its parts. Where the Shariff DMC2 Mini had mostly steel tube for the frame, the Lemontart has milled parts. Those have dramatically tighter tolerances and ensure that assembly goes smoothly, while also eliminating slop that would be necessary to accommodate loose manufacturing tolerances. The result should be a stronger, squarer frame and solid performance.

But that all comes at a cost and it is substantial. There is a limited time introductory price of $3,499 USD, but that is just for the frame and table. That does not include any motors, controllers, or other electrical components. Those will add quite a lot to the total cost to build a complete, functioning CNC mill.

In theory, however, the cost may be worthwhile for certain buyers. The Lemontart has 330×280×130mm of travel, the option for a rotary axis, the option for an automatic toolchanger, and enough capacity to support a pretty serious spindle motor.

While you can get a decent used industrial VMC for the same price, that will take up an entire garage and require 480V three-phase power (which you definitely don’t have at home). So if you have the money and not the space or power for an industrial machine, Lemontart is worth considering.