[adt2]

Hi -

I'm in the process of building my first machine, and I'm wondering about service from Fine Line Automation. I've seen them mentioned a bunch around here, and I know they're referenced over at CRP, too, but I'm not having much luck.

I placed an order on July 12, and as of today, other than a confirmation that my payment was received (which happened immediately after placing the order), I've not heard squat from FLA - no order confirmation, no shipping information, nada. I sent a follow-up email yesterday morning asking about status, but so far haven't heard anything back on that inquiry, either.

Just wondering if this is an aberration or par for the course.

[Treischl]

Not sure if it is par for the course or not. He is not a rip off, I did receive my parts, but it seems he has a rep for shipping when he has the time, or gets around to it, or something like that. Sort of frustrating.

[LarryE]

I have always recived my parts in a timly matter!

[adt2]

Well, I'm at a bit of a loss here. It's now been three weeks since placing (and paying for) my order with FLA, and I've yet to hear anything about shipping. I placed a second order from him about a week ago, and while the "request for payment" came pretty quick, I've yet to receive any acknowledgement on that order, either.

Nate is starting to make me nervous.

[eaglezsoar]

Nate works a full time job along with running FLA and producing all of the various kits. He is difficult to get in touch with at times, but that is because he is so busy. I personally bought a kit from Nate and I can verify that you cannot find a more honest, caring person than Nate. For those of you who are worried, there is nothing to worry about. Nate is an honorable man and has an excellent reputation from those who have dealt with him. I would recommend that you keep emailing him and he will eventually respond. The responsiveness of emails is a problem but I'm sure Nate is working on it. The wait you must undergo to receive your kits can be frustrating but the wait is
worth it. No one produces better kits with attention to detail.

Regards to all!

[adt2]

Nate may be the most honest, caring person on earth...but I wouldn't know it because I can't seem to get a response from him. Same deal with his merchandise: It might be a fantastic kit with attention to detail, but again - I wouldn't know it because I haven't received anything I ordered (or even received acknowledgement that I ordered anything, for that matter).

My opinion of FLA might change when I finally receive my materials, but until then, the only information I have to base an opinion on is the experience I've had so far - which hasn't been great. As of right this minute, I can't in good conscience recommend ordering from FLA unless you just can't find what you're looking for anywhere else.

[PortlandGTS]

I can relate to your problem, adt. I started getting serious about a CNC router about two months ago. I found FLA through this forum and really liked what I saw. I settled on the FLA-300, and sent Nate some questions. He answered the first e-mail, but I haven't gotten another reply for over three weeks.

I don't think I pestered him with questions. I sent about 4 e-mails, with maybe three questions each. Most were simple questions like delivery times, partial kit prices, etc.

Last week, I was ready to order, except I didn't have partial kit prices, so couldn't decide between a full kit or buying everything except the 8020 stuff from him. I was also getting nervous about doing business with someone who goes incommunicado for weeks at a time.

So I sent a final e-mail telling Nate that I wanted to buy a FLA-300, but first needed partial kit prices and delivery schedules. Again no response.

So yesterday, I ordered everything except the racks from other sources. I felt bad about doing this, because they are his plans, and he deserves to make something from them. However, there's no way I'm going to trust over $3000 with someone who treats customers this way.

I did order the racks from him. My fear right now is that I'll still be waiting on the racks after I've received and put everything else together.

It's a really sad situation. I couldn't find anyone else offering a kit of this quality. However, the primary customers for kits like this are newcomers like me, who are going to need more attention than Nate seems willing to provide.

[Drools]

Is there a complete assembly manual for any of the FLA kits?
step #1...
step #2...
step #3...
I can download the solidworks plans of a "CRP100-00 r2" from cncrouterparts.com, when I unzip the plans all the file names are a format of "FLA100-00". I always thought that the FLA machines were based upon these plans but sometime I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer… I did not find any links to the plans from the finelineautomation.com website.
I noticed that cncrouterparts.com will be offering kits “very soon” (link on their web site.) You might want to have a look at what Ahren is coming up with.
I ordered all of my parts to make my CRP100-00 (FLA100-00) from Ahren and I ordered the 8020 from eBay and CRS from a local steel shop.
Ahren has been fantastic to deal with , no complaints at all from me.

[adt2]

My chief complaint is about my first order. It was placed July 12th and was for a single part. As of today (August 4th) I've yet to receive confirmation of the order (other than the PayPal receipt, which I got immediately) or shipping information. I have also yet to receive any reply to the three or four queries I've sent about the order.

Since then, I've corresponded with Nate on a couple of occasions about a couple of custom-length Acme screws. He always replied in a timely manner (notice I didn't say "quickly") with answers to questions about custom parts and pricing. However, once again, after paying for the order, he's dropped off the radar as far as confirmation / shipping information.

Now, I don't mean to sound like I don't expect to receive what I paid for. I'm sure that I will eventually come home to find a box of stuff on the porch. But in today's world, even taking 24 hours to respond to a customer request about an order they've already paid for is just ridiculous and likely to put you out of business before long.

If I could find another supplier for the pre-drilled and tapped racks and the machined Acme rods, I'd probably try to cancel my order and buy somewhere else. I'm at the point where my build is being held up because I'm missing parts from FLA.

Drools - I am a technical writer by day, and I'm putting together an illustrated manual based on my own build (a 2'x8' machine based on the FLA/CNCRP plans and Solsylva's plans). I plan to post it when it's finished.

[RossMosh]

You don't need FLA's racks. Go on CNCrouterparts website and for $6.00 you can buy rack clamps. It takes away the need for the drilled racks.

If you don't have your parts, send a final email with a high priority attachment. Simply state if your parts aren't mailed out by the end of the week, you will be doing a charge back.

[adt2]

I'm not using T-slot extrusion; I don't think the rack clamps will work for my application. Thanks for the tip, though.

[eaglezsoar]

Is there a complete assembly manual for any of the FLA kits?
step #1...
step #2...
step #3...
I can download the solidworks plans of a "CRP100-00 r2" from cncrouterparts.com, when I unzip the plans all the file names are a format of "FLA100-00". I always thought that the FLA machines were based upon these plans but sometime I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer… I did not find any links to the plans from the finelineautomation.com website.
I noticed that cncrouterparts.com will be offering kits “very soon” (link on their web site.) You might want to have a look at what Ahren is coming up with.
I ordered all of my parts to make my CRP100-00 (FLA100-00) from Ahren and I ordered the 8020 from eBay and CRS from a local steel shop.
Ahren has been fantastic to deal with , no complaints at all from me.

This link has the best step by step build log for the FLA-100
Scratch: [Complete] 2' x 3' Custom CNC Router from 80/20 Aluminum Extrusion - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

[adt2]

Agreed - that is an awesome thread, and I have referred to it several times while building my own machine.

[Drools]

Eaglezsoar, that is a very good tutorial.
The point I'm trying to make is, Nate might save himself a few e-mails if he had a few links to these and other great resources from his web site.
The FLA000 plans are available from the FLA website at the bottom of the FLA100-00 page, maybe he has other places for the link. I might take a different approach and make a dedicated page for the free plans with a link from the main menu.
I'm trying to suggest that if Nate made more resources available to the customer he might reduce his e-mail load to a more manageable volume. Answering hundreds of e-mails a week can be a time consuming process especially after doing a full 8-10 hours for the man.
Another resource Nate might think about doing is creating a FAQ from the questions he receives from these e-mails. I hate to see someone creating such a good product (I have not heard a complaint about a FLA machine) go away because of lack of knowledge in these non technical areas.
Not saying Nate is going away but if more people feel the way some in this thread do then chances are he might.
I'm just trying to suggest things that might help Nate.

[brtech]

Been through this. Took months to get my kit (FLA-300). It was worth the wait, but it sure is frustrating. Great machine, good price, lousy service. Wish it weren't so.

I haven't gone back to look, but I got one of the first FLA-300s, and the BOM was slightly off. I reported the errors to Nate, but I don't know if the current posted plans have the correct BOMs. Small errors, nothing really big.

I too struggled with assembly order, but I muddled through. I'm an engineer, but an ee (and really a computer guy) not an me, and things that sure were obvious to Nate et al weren't to me. The drawings are good, and it's fairly easy to figure out what to do. Read my build thread for hints on the -300:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...0_4_x_4_r.html

[PortlandGTS]

brtech,

Great build thread. It will really help with my upcoming build.

I found errors in the BOM as well, so I doubt they have been updated. It took a real close comparison between the diagrams and the BOM to find the errors. Plus, the drawing of the gantry is absent.

I updated the BOM to what I think is correct. I'd be glad to forward it to Nate if he ships my racks quickly.

Tom

[adt2]

In the interests of fairness and full disclosure, I just wanted to let y'all know I received my components from FLA on Friday. Never got order confirmations or shipping notifications, but the stuff I ordered showed up as ordered and in good shape.

YMMV.

[DonFrambach]

Glad you got your stuff. If you have the time and inclination, it would be great if you could create a thread to document your build.

[adt2]

Glad you got your stuff. If you have the time and inclination, it would be great if you could create a thread to document your build.

I am keeping a log of the build and will post it soon.

[JTCdudeman]

I figured I would post in this thread to share my experiences too. I bought a kit from FLA and incurred the same wait. In complete fairness on the wait, it does state that there is a 4-6 week lead-time on kits right there on the website. It seems you got your kit within that time period as quoted. He is slow at replying to emails as stated, but the quality of replies are always good. I too had 'shiny new thing' syndrome and wanted my stuff almost immediately after purchasing it, but I prepped myself for the wait and it was right on time.

After all the reading here and my relative inexperience with CNC in general I opted to purchase one of his kits because of the price and knowledge he has about them. He has been able to recommend all sorts of accessories he does not sell (vacuum setups, mounts, t-slots, etc) to me and has taught me more about setting up everything than I could have ever imagined. I've since found my footing (as to put it) and looking back upon it all I wouldn't have done anything any differently than I did.


From what I understand now, he has been working recently on trying to fix the downfalls with his business. As everyone else said, this business isn't full time for him and he also just had a child recently which explains some of the reasons with the slow speed. I can completely understand all of that. I'm just glad I had all the feedback upfront to expect the wait. Hopefully, the good response from all of his business will allow him to start stocking full kits ahead of time and cut the lead time in half. The last chat I had with him he told me his goal was to be able to get ahead of the orders this quarter and start stocking complete kits as well as get better documentation. He would put some people out of business if his speeds were faster IMO.