Strong 1212ds - any advice greatly appreciated!

[MrWiz73]

Hello

I am looking at an ad on Ebay for the STRONG 1212DS CNC Router (imported from China via SignsTech) and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this machine? Also, any advice on importing stuff would also be appreciated. thanks!

[AdCNC]

Whats the asking price for that machine... looks ok tho, is it servo or stepper motor powered?

[MrWiz73]

The price on Ebay is $4,990 USD (£3,123) with $200 (£125) for shipping. There will also be the importing costs/delivery costs to add on (i have no idea what these incur. any help would be appreciated). I have been reading posts on other worldwide CNC forums regarding chinese machines. The general opinion is that there are some great ones amongst quite a few dodgy ones. I dont think i could afford a european made machine with the same bed size. Not a new one anyway. It has stepper motors as standard but it also has the option to upgrade to all servo. It also comes with a 1500w inverter spindle (?) with the option upgrade to either 2200w or 3000w. Any opinions on these modifications would be hugely appreciated also.

[AdCNC]

Like you say some chines machines are indeed very good, if you were to get one then i would say go for the option with a 2.2kw spindle or even 3kw as this will allow for better cutting speeds and feeds of materials.

I suppose if you did go for steppers then you could always upgrade to servos at a later date if you felt the need to.

[M250cnc]

MrWiz

Downside if there is a problem getting help can be difficult due to the language barrier

Downside they reduce the value for shipping but what if its damaged in transit

Downside VAT and import charges unknown

Downside the machine weighs nearly 650Kg before packing/shipping that is NEARLY 3/4 OF A TON will you easily get it in its home location given its size.

Phil

[AdCNC]

lol i take you it would not buy one Phil :D

[MrWiz73]

Thanks for comments guys. Some good points there Phil, but the weight comment would apply to any machine i bought. Am assuming that they all come roughly the same size/weight. The comments you made though are the main reasons i am hesitating to buy one. I have emailed some of the people who they list as having bought one already to get some feedback. So far no replies!

[M250cnc]

lol i take you it would not buy one Phil :D

Probably not.

Phil


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[M250cnc]

Thanks for comments guys. Some good points there Phil, but the weight comment would apply to any machine i bought. Am assuming that they all come roughly the same size/weight. The comments you made though are the main reasons i am hesitating to buy one. I have emailed some of the people who they list as having bought one already to get some feedback. So far no replies!

Well self builders tend to make them lighter than that.

If those company's don't exist you will have your answer.

Phil

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[Jonathan]

School bought an 80W fairly big laser cutter from eBay in china. As far as I know it arrived without problems.

If they quote less on the customs form I think that's good since firstly what are the chances of it breaking, and what are the chances of that damage costing more to fix than what you saved from low customs charges (effectively it makes the VAT only a few %, not 20%)? Both quite low I think...

[M250cnc]

If they quote less on the customs form I think that's good since firstly what are the chances of it breaking, and what are the chances of that damage costing more to fix than what you saved from low customs charges (effectively it makes the VAT only a few %, not 20%)? Both quite low I think...

Customs can and do open creates.

They look inside and say THIS LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORTH £20000 that will be £4000 please if you want your machine.

Phil





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[MrWiz73]

It all looks a bit gloom and doom really doesnt it?? Whilst i am still undecided on the Strong machine, can anyone recommend another machine to consider? Was thinking around £5000 mark, would be used to cut MDF 6, 12 and 18mm. Preferably with a 1200 x 1200mm working area.

[M250cnc]

Try and get a SH unit, you will be able to try before you buy.

I would avoid a home brew unless you took someone experienced to look it over for you. It would be worth paying for the service to avoid paying down the line

Phil

Phil

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[Jonathan]

Customs can and do open creates.

They look inside and say THIS LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORTH £20000 that will be £4000 please if you want your machine.


Fair enough - they didn't for my bearings though which were pretty expensive. £5000 is on a different scale entirely though...

[M250cnc]

Jonathan the people you do not want to argue with are Customs & Vat, they ignore the EU courts something UK governments are unwilling to do.

Phil