Advise on a possible purchase required.

[alboy]

[QUOTE=ATESI;62187]Hi Jim
We just purchased a 4' X 8' ATC machine from Dexian (do not use them), the machine is beautiful but like a lot of the Chinese vendors their post sale support sucks. I ordered the machine in May and received it in September, Software is not OEM it is a copy that does not work, bought the machine with a Syntec Control and their is no english support. The equipment was delivered with no manuals, drawings or wiring diagrams. We are making arrangements to install a new MachMotion control that runs Mach3 and has US and english support, online training videos and tech support that we can talk to and can do online diagnostics real time.
No matter who you use in China their prices are all the same, I would spend more time investigating their post sale support because they will tell you anything to get the sale.
The machine listed below was $23570USD
PS: go with the servos, or machine runs smooth as glass.


Glad your machine is working well.

I think that if you are buying from China then support and after sales are something that one can reasonably expect to be lacking somewhat, I took the approach that getting a quality machine at a very competitive price outweighed the lack of support to a certain degree, it is diffcult because of the time differences involved and the focus on sales by the Chinese manufacturers/suppliers to find a company that has a good grasp on after sales customer service. I wonder how much extra the machines would be if they would provide a dedicated after sales team.
Should you have a fault with a machine from China it is most likely that if a spare part is required it could take up to a month to get to you and you would probably have to pay the postage for the return of the faulty part as well as the postage for the replacement part, depending on value and size of course.

It is a gamble buying from China but where else are you going to find machines to the specs they provide at the cost they supply them.
Any CAM/CAD software supplied by Chinese companies will be a copy, many will supply original software but at an extra cost of course and it is generally cheaper to buy it yourself
I have an English language manual in PDF format for the EZ series Syntec controller if that is any good to you. I think that anyone considering buying from China should think seriously as to the level of support required, If you are confident with using a machine and don't feel you need tuition or support regarding its use then by all means buy from China but if you need the machine to be set up or to be shown how to use it then maybe a local supplier who can provide such a level of support would be better (but then again care needs to be taken as many local suppliers charge for support contracts separately) would be better but be prepared to pay up to 4 or 5 times the price of a Chinese machine.

My Chinese machine had some annoying issues on arrival but none that I couldn't sort out ( apart from the fact it took them longer than I would have liked to supply the password for the MFR settings on the DSP controller).

The quality of the Chinese machines has improved considerably over time but you still have the attitude that they are supplying a product at a cheap price and do not think much beyond that. After sales service is somewhat of a mystery to them at the moment but don't forget they are really only providers of machines but you are correct that they make promises of after sales service that they should present accurately as a limited service.

I haave experienced after sales service from 2 Chinese companies, both supplying CNC machines, one was very poor but the other has been very responsive and has quickly replied to emails and answered any queries I have made.

It is also worth remembering that many of the companies will advertise themselves as manufacturers where in fact, they are only a trading company buying in from manufacturers and selling on.

Hope you get much use out of your machine.

Chers

Al

[ATESI]

Thank you A for the manual offer, I have the english manual for our control (Syntec 6MB) but it may as well be in Chinese because it is so vague. I am taking a different approach now, I have a friend living in Shanghai and will be acting a a mediator, he is a local with a PHD and works with computer aided medical equipment.

[alboy]

Sounds like the usual translation of a manual. See if your friend can convert it to a CAT scanner, will make more money than a CNC machine.

Good luck.

Al

[mischaub]

Hi Atesi
I would be very very very happy to get the Syntec 6MB Manual, as I have no chinese friend, unfortunately :-)
Hoping for your kind pity!
Mischa

[jimleach]

Hi Al

We have been too busy to really look into things properly yet. now you have your machine how is it running? im still struggling to decide if i should go down the new from china or a 2nd hand established brand, SCM, masterwood etc etc.

[alboy]

HI Jim

The machine is running very well indeed, the control software (DSP) took only a short while to master, very easy to use, hand held terminal very useful, not as feature rich as Mach3 but is doing the job quite adequately. It is a lot of machine for the money, more than I expected to be honest, very solid. There is no way I could have built my own machine to the spec provided and I have a brand new machine at less than the cost of a second hand branded machine. Yes support is an issue, mainly due to the location of the supplier but I am confident that the machine will meet my demands easily. The electrical and motor parts should be fairly easy to obtain (leadshine) should they ever need replacing should they ever need replacing. I could have bought an entire spare machine and still been better off than going the second hand route lol.
Need any more info just PM me.
Cheers

Al