Quote Originally Posted by Russjp View Post
Anyone got any experience with chinese machines? I don't need a workhorse as there'll be days/weeks where its not used but at the same time will want it to run properly when needed.
Chinese machines are like a box of chocolates without the lid and no sell-by date.? You never know what you are going to get and often leave a sour taste in your wallet.

I have retrofit several Chinese machines and have many customers who went the Chinese route only to regret it. Now I'm not saying all Chinese-made machines are bad news but you really need to know what you are looking at because you can easily be buying trouble.

If it's the type that uses what's called a DSP pendant rather than a PC or dedicated controller with a screen and keypad to control the machine then I find these are bad news. Often the pedants break down and start doing crazy things usually within 18months of new, when this happens better to rip it out and retrofit it with a better control system.

With these DSP type controllers, I find it often goes hand in hand that the drives which control the motors (usually steppers) are cheap nasty units that need replacing and the wiring leaves a lot to be desired in terms of safety. It's very common that the wiring is shoddy and wire routing is poor, the quality of the wire is also very poor so between this and bad routing it's common to get wires break which can lead to days of downtime tracking down exactly which wire broke and where.? Often it's quicker and easier to just start again than wasting days tracking it down only for another wire to break somewhere else.

My advice is to be weary and take someone who knows what they are looking at.