This teardown is a deep dive into the Makera Z1 — a compact CNC machine that I recently pushed through more than two hours of heavy cutting during a livestream.
I opened the Z1 down to its core to see what’s actually inside. The engineering that works well — like the surprisingly smart rotating ballscrew in the Z-axis — and the design choices that hold the machine back, such as the floating bed plate and the folded sheet-metal base.
The machine is staying disassembled for now. I’m planning several upgrades, including adding vibration damping and possibly filling parts of the base with concrete.
Got questions about the Z1? Join the Discord and let’s talk.