Hi Jazz

You have a point but I checked the prices for 3 steppers and the shipping comes out to 60 euros so it's not far off the sorotec price and I don't have to wait for delivery from China. If possible for basic stuff i'll try and keep one supplier and not bounce around all over the place. If I was going to be making a run of these machines then sure I would shop around. The steppers listed by sorotec are from Nanotec (I don't know if that makes it any better or worse from all the other chinese stuff) but they seem to be of reasonable quality. At the moment my most valuable asset is my own time (totally overloaded with work) so having a centralized supplier seems sensible, also there is someone that actually answers the phone there when I call. That is unusual these days. When I get the main parts delivered i'll maybe try and post some photos. There are some you tube vids online which I saw and kind of edged me into buying this particular set. Hiwin rails are delivered as standard which means they are not just supplying the cheapest parts available.
Cheers

Andrew