Ebay Chinese Routers (CNC3040) - anyone purchased one of these machines recently?

[motoxy]

I ordered a spindle that came from 'Portsmouth' and I to was suspicious. But it did. I had it too quick to come from China. I think that they are initially shipped to a warehouse and then they do not go through customs again so no vat check. As for the high postage they probably are recovering their initial cost to bring them in to this country. I suspect that they may claim a very low value on initial import, pay a token tax and this too will have to be recovered. So technically ebay will not be interested and we get cheap goods.

[camhguh]

I ordered a spindle that came from 'Portsmouth' and I to was suspicious. But it did. I had it too quick to come from China. I think that they are initially shipped to a warehouse and then they do not go through customs again so no vat check. As for the high postage they probably are recovering their initial cost to bring them in to this country. I suspect that they may claim a very low value on initial import, pay a token tax and this too will have to be recovered. So technically ebay will not be interested and we get cheap goods.

My thanks to everyone who has responded, its very much appreciated!!

As we have limited funding, im trying to ensure that we make the correct decision about this purchase and your input has been valuable. I have also watched quite a few videos on youtube about the unit which reassures me that this machine is viable for what we want to do with it.

We will probaly be placing the order either Mon or Tues and will let you know how it pans out! Just have to decide which seller to purchase through.

The only downside is that after browsing this forum and "meeting" the members im finding it so difficult to resist the temptation to have a go at building a machine myself, but time constraints and lack of facilites combined with poor health means that its a non runner for now at least. grrr :cry:

[HankMcSpank]

That particular seller 'lovehappyshopping' isn't in the UK (but actually Hong kong from recollection)...not sure how they manage tat on Ebay, but duping folks into thinking they're UK based is a bit naughty.

Re importing...I imported a very small CNC machine from Taiwan http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sable-2015...item2c627f9754 - though he wasn't the chap I bought it from...it certainly seems with CNC machines asian sellers come & go! I almost bouyght from this seller - http://cncdiy.org/ check out that middle of tha page "we are closed unti mid july 2011" !!!!!, then read the unhappy buyers on his forum - http://cncdiy.forumr.biz/f1-cncdiy-s-machines top post!).

Fortunately, everything went well with my purchase, (it was extremely well packaged), but this is the exception.....it seems just about every CNC buyer importing from asia has a tale of woe (damage or bits not working) ...if you enter into the deal with that in mind, you'll probably be happy with what you get for yer dosh.

Don't forget that you'll automatically get slapped for import duty & VAT by the importing courier ...which can add a chunk to the price you might have envisioned!

[camhguh]

That particular seller 'lovehappyshopping' isn't in the UK (but a Hong kong from recollection)...not sure how they manage this but duping folks into thinking they're UK based is a bit naughty.

Re importing...I imported a very small CNC machine from Taiwan http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sable-2015...item2c627f9754 - though he wasn't the chap I bought it from). Fortunately, everything went well, (it was extremely well packaged), but this is the exception.....it seems just about every CNC buyer from china has a tale of woe (damage or bits not working) ...if you enter into the deal with that in mind, you'll probably be happy with what you get for yoer dosh.

Don't forget that you'll automatically get slapped for import duty & VAT by the importing courier ...which can add a chunk to the price you might have envisioned!

Thanks Hank!

Unfortunatley its a risk i cannot eliminate if i want to purchase within budget and having imported some electronics from the states am aware of the hidden costs due to import taxes etc etc. ho humm

[JAZZCNC]

I have also watched quite a few videos on youtube about the unit which reassures me that this machine is viable for what we want to do with it.

Can I just ask what do you intend to do with it.?

[camhguh]

Can I just ask what do you intend to do with it.?

Hi Jazzcnc

We need to be able to machine acrylic panels (around 5mm thick)

Thicker nylon block (between 10 -20 mm)

Possibly also light aluminium

Doing some development work for a project which means constant changes, updates, redesigns etc.

[JAZZCNC]

Hi Jazzcnc

We need to be able to machine acrylic panels (around 5mm thick)

Thicker nylon block (between 10 -20 mm)

Possibly also light aluminium

Doing some development work for a project which means constant changes, updates, redesigns etc.

Ok I had a feeling you where going to say that.!!. . . . .Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying this to put the machine down or saying it can't cut plastics. . .BUT. . It won't do it easily or produce high quality finish.??

This is something I've pointed out before about these machines.!!. . . . Plastics usually need high feed rates and most of these machines will top out around 2500-3000mm/min if that.?

Even small cutters will want to be running around or above the machines Max capabilty if you want a good finish without melting or pulling. Larger diameter cutters work better because they clear chips better reducing heat therefore melting and tend to give a nicer finish but they need higher feed rates to maintain correct chipload which these machines cant possibly reach or handle.

There are so many parameters that affect quality of cut and finish in all materials, DOC, feed, spindle rpm, and machine ridgidty but unfortunatly with cutting plastics they tend or need to be high.!!. . . . I fear this machine won't be able to handle the speeds/feeds required to cut plastics and give a good quality finish. Esp in materials like acrylic that are sensitive and critical on feed n speeds.??

So my point is YES it will obviously cut plastics but not as well as you might expect and the stress on the machine regards feeds will be high, pritty much flatout all the time, this will have big affect on it's life span which I fear will be short.!!

Don't know if your used to machining plastics or not but go have read and you'll see the speeds/feeds are quite high.

Heres one to look at, it's from over the pond so imperial sized tooling but it all translates and apply's over here. . .
http://www.plasticsmag.com/routing.a...eb-07&aid=4539

[camhguh]

Thanks for the detailed critique Jazz!

And no, i havn't machined anything in forty odd years and certainly not plastics which weren't around then (that i remeber anyway)

However this presents me a with quandry because we would want our prototype finish has to be very good indeed to impress backers and obtain further funding.

We could change many of the parts to aluminium, but would we achieve a better finish using these machines?

I had a look at a similar machine on www.mydiycnc.com but the owner Stephen hasnt replied to my queries and i cannot access his site this morning to double check parameters. There were options to have the machine fitted with different spindle drives (i think). One i believe was a high speed water cooled unit that should do the trick (perhaps! LOL)

Back to the drawing board!

[John S]

There are ways to get the finish, block out the part and leave 0.5mm on for final cut then clean up all the chips and do a final full depth pass to remove the 0.5mm.

I used to do this on a large CNC mill than has speed and feed limitations and got good surface finish. Personally I have found that the slower you cut plastic the better the finish because at high speed it just wants to melt.

Can you afford to go up to a larger machine like a 6040, these have ball screws and a choice of high speed spindle.

[camhguh]

I wish we had the resources John but the machining facility budget (lol) is stretched as it is and we will probaly cop for import tax's, vat and whatever else the government can screw out of us. Off course the router is just one item in a long list of things that we have had to buy or are planning to buy to complete the project. We are not VAT registered of course so cannot reclaim that tax.

Mulling it over, it looks like we will have to go with that particular machine and follow your guidelins re getting the best finish we can. Should be ok i think, providing the machine arrives undamaged with the electronics in working order!