Chinese ATC spindles

[Voicecoil]

Whilst working on the Z-axis design for my project I suddenly thought would it be worth making provision for adding an ATC spindle at a later date? - some of the dimensions are a bit different. This begged the question are the cheaper ones any good?? Of course I would love a Giordano RC73, but that would quadruple the project price. I see on AliExpress they're available form $1500 or so upwards (I'd need 2...3KW), but most seem to have not a lot of feedback, so just wondering if anyone here has any recent practical experience please.

[Greeny]

Here's an interesting video on the subject
https://youtu.be/pWNeW-lH9RA

(His homemade CNC machine is interesting too)

[Voicecoil]

Thanks for that, those Jian-ken spindles look really well made - I may just go for one of their MTC versions to start off, a bit more expensive than cheapo things from the Bay of fleas, but could be worth it. And you're right his CNC looks like it's mostly made out of blocks of granite??? :whistle:

[Chris S.]

I got a quote from Jian-ken a few weeks ago, they quoted $1360 for a JGL-80/1.5R24-20 ATC, that's including delivery by Fedex. With the customs fees/VAT it would come just under £1100. The higher power versions would be a bit more I imagine, still not a bad price for an ATC spindle with American ceramic bearings, certainly not more than than Ebay or Aliexpress items of unknown quality.




2. lead time: 5 days

3. package: in plywood case (export standard package)

4. net weight: 9.5kg


About the cost of delivery to UK, Fedex quoted us 160 USD. Is Fedex OK for you?

[Chaz]

I was looking at these before I bought my HSD spindle. The lack of review is what bothered me. It certainly looks like a viable option.

[Voicecoil]

I got a quote from Jian-ken a few weeks ago, they quoted $1360 for a JGL-80/1.5R24-20 ATC, that's including delivery by Fedex. With the customs fees/VAT it would come just under £1100. The higher power versions would be a bit more I imagine, still not a bad price for an ATC spindle with American ceramic bearings, certainly not more than than Ebay or Aliexpress items of unknown quality.
2. lead time: 5 days
3. package: in plywood case (export standard package)
4. net weight: 9.5kg
About the cost of delivery to UK, Fedex quoted us 160 USD. Is Fedex OK for you?

That's a very good price, so about £1K + VAT landed. Looking on Alibaba it would seem the 2.2KW JGL80 is only another $50, however the extra power would seem to be in the form of rpm not torque - even better bearings maybe?