FINE LINE AUTOMATION

So i recently decided to bite the bullet and order a machine through Fine line Automation. Despite the horrible reviews on trying to reach anyone there, i went ahead and ordered one anyway. I had a choice that i narrowed down between cnc router parts and them. I now work in the engineering field but i ran cnc lasers and waterjets for 6 years and i actually design a lot on the side with metal and woodwork. So i really wanted to build a machine and get started. After running and working on several machines i got experience knowing what typ of designs worked well and felt like the FLA cnc was a decent design i could actually modify over time to make even better or fix issues.
Problem is, i ordered a machine a little over a week ago and Nate recieved my payment but i have not heard a single word from him or the company. I cant reach him by phone or email. I really would like to know if i am going to be sent a machine soon or at all that i paid for. Is there a better way anyone on here knows to reach him or is it just a waiting game. What ticks me off more is you cant even get a simple response or a quick message to let you know maybe there is a delay or he is real busy and things will be behind. I had someone i knew that was going to visit that was better at the electronics side than me who was going to help setup and that time is going to pass because i still havnt even been acknowledged that i have even purchased a machine yet so doubt i will have it shipped any time soon. I know legally i have a certain amount of time to wait before i can file a claim and try to get refunded my money back but i was trying to give him a chance but my patience is already running low.

Has your card been charged or your check cleared yet? Sounds like your not going to be happy, so I would just cancel the order and move on. You can do that via an email or Priority Mail letter and the USPS will furnish you with a delivery notice.

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Originally Posted by CRDESIGN86

So i recently decided to bite the bullet and order a machine through Fine line Automation. Despite the horrible reviews on trying to reach anyone there, i went ahead and ordered one anyway. I had a choice that i narrowed down between cnc router parts and them. I now work in the engineering field but i ran cnc lasers and waterjets for 6 years and i actually design a lot on the side with metal and woodwork. So i really wanted to build a machine and get started. After running and working on several machines i got experience knowing what typ of designs worked well and felt like the FLA cnc was a decent design i could actually modify over time to make even better or fix issues.
Problem is, i ordered a machine a little over a week ago and Nate recieved my payment but i have not heard a single word from him or the company. I cant reach him by phone or email. I really would like to know if i am going to be sent a machine soon or at all that i paid for. Is there a better way anyone on here knows to reach him or is it just a waiting game. What ticks me off more is you cant even get a simple response or a quick message to let you know maybe there is a delay or he is real busy and things will be behind. I had someone i knew that was going to visit that was better at the electronics side than me who was going to help setup and that time is going to pass because i still havnt even been acknowledged that i have even purchased a machine yet so doubt i will have it shipped any time soon. I know legally i have a certain amount of time to wait before i can file a claim and try to get refunded my money back but i was trying to give him a chance but my patience is already running low.

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You read the reviews right? So why do you play poker if you don't have the nerves?

This is the way Fineline has always operated. You'll eventually get what you pay for, but I don't think anyone can tell you how long it will take. There are plenty of similar experiences here going back 5 years or more.

If i will still get my parts i can deal with that. I just didn't want to wait so long that i couldn't get a refund if i never received them. I only went with them because i was looking for a particular layout that i needed and the people i spoke to that use his machines that haven't had problems love it and say it does a good job. I needed the gantry that carries the spindle to run short distance and not longwise across the length. I messaged cncrouter parts because there kits show a 2 by 4 with the gantry running longwise yet all the pictures of peoples builds show the setup the other direction. I cut a lot of furniture parts and also flatten and shape longer pieces closer to 4-6 feet so it isn't bad if i can place the parts longwise and have it hang off a foot or so. But i cant do that if the ends are closed and blocked on both sides because the orientation of the table. Its hard to contemplate if i should proceed to try and cancel an order of give him some time. I could afford the cncparts kit even though its probably about 400 more.

Nobody but Nate can guarantee that you'll get your parts. But I've never seen anyone not get what they ordered.

Nate has actually responded and said he is waiting on parts for the complete kit to ship out. I am very appreciative of such a simple response to keep me updated. I hope everything i receive is in tip top condition and ships out soon as noted.

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Originally Posted by CRDESIGN86

Nate has actually responded and said he is waiting on parts for the complete kit to ship out. I am very appreciative of such a simple response to keep me updated. I hope everything i receive is in tip top condition and ships out soon as noted.

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I take it from your comments that you purchased the regular kit machine (not the Saturn 2). I bought the 4 X 4 kit machine quite sometime back. It can be a frustrating build, but it's a decent machine for one that doesn't use linear rails. First off, the extrusions come from 80/20. 80/20 is a good product, but don't expect it to come cut square. I believe their specs call for an end to come cut out-of-square as much as .002 per inch. On my FLA machine, I had ends out-of-square as much as .006. That doesn't sound like much, but when you extend the effects over a 68" length, it becomes very noticeable. I used shim stock to correct for the error. It was a fussy and frustrating process. In a recent major order I placed to 80/20, I found every piece to be cut out-of-square. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, they were cut such that they formed a parallelogram. It looks like they cut, one end, slid the piece down and made the next cut. In that way, you would get a repeatable parallelogram cut after cut, as long as the saw blade wan't perfectly perpendicular to the fence.

I'm using a metal mill to mill the ends square. If you have the same issue and have access to a mill, you may want to consider milling the ends.

80/20 also has a tolerance on length. It's +-.015", or a possible variation of .030 from piece to piece. That gave me fits when trying to get the fore and aft rails parallel. I assembled, disassembled, and reassembled many times before figuring out what was going on.

I'm not trying to waive you off the FLA machine. You would face the same issues with a machine from CNC Router Parts. It's just something you need to factor in with an 80/20-based machine. In fact, my recent order from 80/20 is for a new CNC I'm building that is a lot beefier. I'm using 3" X 3" extrusions for everything but the gantry.

Nate used to have an unadvertised option to upgrade the gantry to a 3" x 6" profile. If it isn't too late, you might want to consider it. It will give you a much more rigid gantry. One downside, though. It's a dog to install. There are 4 bolts that go in from the bottom and they only fit if you roll the gantry part way off the back end and try to work them in. Had I to do it over, I would have gotten a long drill bit, and drilled a hole from the top and used nuts on the bottom, under the interface plate. Still hard to get a wrench in there, but at least you can use the wrench to just hold and do the tightening from the top. All this may not make a lot of sense to you in the abstract, when you get down to actual assembly, it will.

Count me in as a resource, if you want one.

Gary

Thank you for you feedback. I will sure be asking questions as i build this. I understand to some degree what you are talking about. Im sure i will when i start to build. I understand the process to make sure everything is parallel and square. I know it can and probably will be frustrating. I will more than likely be checking each piece before assembling anyway to see how accurate they all are. I will need to pickup a few tools to dial all this in and be able to measure accurately. I hope this machine will do well and i am pretty savvy as far as designing goes and will actually upgrade and make changes later to add linear guides.
I literally would have just cut my own machine out to build but i want the first one i owned to be a little quicker to get assembled and not hunt for parts until i had hands on assembling something to see how it works. i worked on 5 by 10 co2 lasers for 5 years with what i learned from the techs that came out. The boss liked to cut corners and save on maintenance on the older machines that needed work all the time while he had warranties on the other machines.
I have access to a 4000 and 6000 co2 and fiber laser at a shop i used to work at so i can cut my own gantry plates and things like that as well as access to a 5 axis tube laser cutter and waterjets. My friend has a mill down the street as well so i have the tools to build and upgrade later or make changes to something i may feel can work or function better.
If anyone has any pointers for electronics i will surely need it. My cousin runs a laguna with a friend making custom guitars and i was going to have assistance setting up from one of his friends who works with machines a lot but the window passed so i will be purchasing my own and wiring. Id prefer an all in one for now but they are pricey from some places not as bad from others. I dont mind an all in one kit i have to wire myself as long as it has everything i will need. I have patterns for boxes we did for nema out of aluminum so i may use that for my box or build my own, cut it out, have it bent and welded anodized or something.

Check out Gary Campbell he makes great kits using Centroid Acorn controllers. He would be my go to for a turnkey electronics kit. With that said I built my own and it turned out great, but it's a lot of work and if you're time is valuable, it's not that much cheaper.

Here's a video of his that you will probably find useful.

https://youtu.be/5dqxvqaVww8

Hopefully the machine will be sent out as noted for today. Ill keep it updated. I got lucky and got a bunch of steel for the machine base from some parts the Toyota plant did not want. It is already welded and was a heavy duty support for some type of conveyor they have. I already spent about an hour chopping ends off to size to make it work as i have already modeled this with the solid works model provided from the website. It is a bit overkill but will def not go anywhere with as heavy as it will be. i checked how flat the metal tubes are which from my experience working with them is that they are not. I got lucky and two of the four main supports are very flat(i only need two) and dont think i should have any problems as long as i can start out by making sure the base is flat and coplaner when i start assembling the machine. I couldnt beat free for the base and i enjoy designing any and everything. I only used a filler gauge to fill for gaps and checked it with my 78" level. I will probably start a separate post with pictures as i continue with this. But, based off of the design i will have an electronics box that will actually be made connecting to heavy duty roller guides that will allow me to slide straight out from under the machine, and will probably do the same with the computer as there is a spot for this as well to have the keyboard places neatly there. I really like things nice and neat so i will see how this goes.

Im thinking about purchasing the 4x8 and would love to know what you think of yours before I do

Plenty of engineering companies work in that way. When I ordered machinery for my factory, I waited almost two weeks more than planned. Considering the fact that I pay for electricity and water, two weeks is a huge economic loss for me. But that was a lesson for me - not to partner with stupid companies. The only good partner is https://www.sandfieldengineering.com.../bowl-feeders/ , because of their high-quality automation machinery and no delays in delivery. My advice for people like me, to make sure that you are a partner with professionals (not monkeys)

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