Strike CNC (My first CNC router)

[mocha]

Good news about the Z! video looks very smooth. Thanks for posting the update, a shame its gone that way.

[Shinobiwan]

At this point I'm going to re-design the Z plate and then pay someone on here to cut the part.

I don't have many regrets in life but not building my own machine is now one of them.

[Gary]

If you want a critical speed calculator, i use this one.
http://www.nookindustries.com/ball/BallCalculators.cfm

[Shinobiwan]

You mean this one mate?

That's the first attempt Strike had at my Gantry. Only a bit of play there in the Z axis!

[JAZZCNC]

You mean this one mate?

That's the first attempt Strike had at my Gantry. Only a bit of play there in the Z axis!

Ye thats the one.!!. . . The one with the gantry made from 6 pieces of 30x30 light extrusion with a single bolt thru the centre to hold together.!!

[Shinobiwan]

Redone the Z front plate. Anyone help with cutting this? I'll pay of course!

[Shinobiwan]

Just a heads up.

Strike CNC are trying to use strong arm tactics to silence any nay saying of their products.

Yep I've been threatened with legal action for slander, blackmail and loss of earning because of the content of this thread.

Here's a list of problems so far:

• Gantry back constructed out of 6 sections of 30x30mm extrusion loosely coupled together and each only captured in the gantry uprights by a single bolt at each end. Result was a large amount of slop in the Z-axis and therefore cutting accuracy.
• All ballscrews only captured by relying on bearings preventing movement of the ballscrew. This is inadequate build quality giving rise to allowing 'backlash' from said movement. Proper mounting methods is genuine ballscrew supports which use a nut on the threaded portion of the ballscrew to capture.
• Advertised speeds were misleading at time of purchase. I was advised I'd get rapids of at least 5m/min when in reality this was 3m/min to run reliably and without stalling.
• Electrical wiring substandard and has not been installed by a certified electrician nor does it meet the required safety standards by British law on a commercially sold machine. One example is broken wire insulation exposing live cable which could potentially come into contact with the chassis. No grounding on the chassis either. If I bought something like that from Currys, I wouldn't have shown the patience I have with Strike.
• Various loose bolts, a few missing bolts and inaccurately machine parts. When you buy something for approx £4500 you expect better.
• Replacement parts supposed to address most of the previous issues failed to do so and only introduced more problems. So far I've had to replace the Z axis front plate with a new part because the previous's mounting method for the supported rails meant it was impossible to adequately tighten due to recessed nuts. A big oversight for such a critical component. Also having to replace the Y axis ballscrew as its bent and causes severe vibration of the machine.

You might be wondering why on earth haven't I done something about all this before now? Well I'm a nice guy and only want what I paid for. I've been incredibly patient with Strike and gone out of my way to help them help me. I've Travelled 300 miles to and from Chesterfield to Micheldean not once but twice to courier parts around. Also for the past few months I've been playing the role of repair guy because they offer little support outside of "Send it back at your cost, we'll fix it and then bill you for delivery". Well to send the machine back would cost £300 each way as its a 500kg nearly 2m cubed lump. You read the fine print when buying and this is stated so I wasn't surprised but when it comes from incompetence and care building your machine then it does become a very annoying issue. Its other things too like the fact they had a month to make replacement parts and once done I arranged to collect on a set date and was told they were tested and ready. I arrived on the agreed date and time only to find they hadn't tested and problems were ensuing that meant I had to sit in the car for 5 hours outside their premises waiting. Stuff like that shouldn't happen and was the last thing I wanted after a 150 mile drive there whilst facing the same to get back home.

As for blackmail, I really have no idea where this has come from. Its nothing more than an excuse to try and stop me coming to the forums to ask for help resolving the problems. They're claiming I've blackmailed them into giving me parts like the supported rails on the Z, hiwin rail Y axis, proper ballscrew supports and increased voltage PSU in return for my silence on here. Rubbish. I told them exactly what I wanted and that was my problems gone and for them to supply the machine spec'd to the speeds and accuracies stated by them when ordered. In light of the issues they offered those upgrades as they felt it would be the best course of action to remedy the problem and so I never asked/demanded anything more than a fix for the problems. Had they done that to a satisfactory standard I'd have been a happy customer. However I've made it quite clear to them all along that I'm no fool either and despite being appreciative of 'upgrades' if they failed to fix the problems(they have) I'll take my problems online and try to resolve my issues. That's where I am right now and at this point I have no faith in Strike CNC, I don't want them involved in fixing the machine any longer because that's my prerogative and its supported by a string of failures from Strike CNC which every time cost me money/time.

I don't for a minute believe I've blackmailed them into anything and its incredibly unprofessional for them to blantantly lie in order to give themselves the appearance of a legal high ground. Ironic really because I should be the one sueing them. I've got projects on the go totalling a considerable amount of money and the whole purpose of the buying the machine was to speed up manufacturing and increase product quality. Its not cut a single thing yet and I ordered December 12th 2011.

I don't take kindly to their tactics. Its highly unprofessional of a company.

[Shinobiwan]

A big thanks to Dean for coming around yesterday and helping out with assistance and several new parts.

The Z axis is now working nicely and the Leadshine drives make a huge difference compared to the old ones.

[luke11cnc]

I can't believe it's still on going

I feel so very sorry for you but know your in good hands with Jazz

James

[Buba b]

I looked at the ready made routers on sale before i started making my own and came to the quick conclusion that making my own was the only way to get any standard of build quality. The one thing i found was nearly all the routers had the same design faults that would make there use to the specs they advertised unlikely , mainly with unsupported Z axis rail .
When i saw this thread and the replies from Strike CNC ( at the start ! ) i hoped that the supplier would take the criticism on board and use it and the forum to make a better machine that the forum could promote over the other crap out there. Its a shame that Strike are just like the many other suppliers looking to make a big profit at the expense of good solid design. Which comes as a big surprise as didn't he say they had carried out exhaustive testing of their machines ?
And yep that gantry made of 30x30 extrusion on a £4500 router was just plain embarrassing , how on earth anyone would think that would work is just beyond me ! .... i mean come on ! ... explain how that would work better or as good as a single piece of extrusion or / even plate ?.
I would love to put it through Solidworks stress analysis , i think the program would piss its self laughing at me ! , shame i don't know how too would enjoy the laugh .
L8r