[Rhodan]

I ordered a KT2514 in early December 2006 and was told it would be shipped in 5-6 weeks. Well, the shipping date turned out to be exactly right!

The shipper used was UPS Supply Chain Solutions - which turned out to be a pain in the butt for me. UPS does custom's brokerage but UPSSCS does not. I had to drive to the Airport then wade through the whole customs import procedure myself. Between driving and waiting in lines that took five hours. Not K2's fault, but it is something that international purchasers should keep in mind.

I got the machine home and was greatly disappointed to discover that no assembly instructions are included - not even a simple parts-exploded view. That didn't really stop me though, since all I had to do was un-crate, pully the gantry upright and put a few bolts in.

The machine itself looks very nice though i did notice a few cosmetic issues. One z axis bearing block had a chunk missing out of a corner (no effect on utility at all, but it looks unfinished).

The Z-Axis leadscrew, on the other hand, had a flat section at the end where about 2 inches of threads were ground down at an angle. After some use, I noticed a little pile of black dust on the bottom of the Z carriage. It appears the threads were cutting away the kerk nut. I takled to Ron and he promised to send a new nut and leadscrew.

Operationally, the machine seems very nice. At certain speeds I get groaning from the X and Y axis. I've tried a few things to quiet them down but I'm thinking now that its a resonance issue, not friction. Those nuts move as smooth as silk even when I push fairly hard against the direction of travel but will groan at certain speeds whether under load or not.

The big disappointment with this machine is the X axis (K2 refers to the gantry mounted axis as the X, the long axis is Y). All axis use unsupported 3/4" rails and this seems fine with the Z and Y, but the X is weak as hell. I purchased their vacuum dust collector attachment which uses brushes to form the perimeter of the attachment. The fibres are about 2.5" inches long and quite easy to bend. However, when I move the Z-Axis down and the brushes contact the bed, that manages to deflect the Z axis (tilt it back) about an inch when measured at the Z axis stepper. This is just the brush, no tool is making contact at all!

The vacuum attachment is almost useless as well. The base is held to the mounting rod with two small setscrews. It takes very little force to have the base twist on the rod and start smacking into the collet nut. I temporarily improved this by filing a flat into the end of the rod for the two setscrews to tighten against and that stops the base from spinning around the rod. I also pulled out all the brushes and attached some thick clear vinyl instead. The vinyl has no resistance so it doesn't deflect the Z axis.

I have some 1/2" supported rails and pillow block bearings from Thomson. I think I'll be replacing the X axis with one I make from those. At it is now, I cannot even cut 1/16th deep with a V bit into MDF without the axis deflecting and causing a dimple in what would otherwise be a chamfered sign.

The Z and Y being unsupported doesn't seem to be much of an issue. I've watched them when doing some 1/4" cuts with a 1/2" endmill at 60 IPM and there isn't enough deflection to see without instuments (close enough for me!), but that X whips front and back like mad.

If the X were re-designed with supported rails, this would be a very nice little machine. If I had known the X was so weak, I would have enquired about getting supported rails instead. If that wasn't possible, I may well have passed on the K2 product. That is, if I could find something comparable in the same price range. If not, i would have ordered with the expectation of replacing the X rails etc.

Other than the X axis and the crappy vacuum attachment, I really like this machine.

[Colin Ellis]

I imported a 2514 into the UK.
The company where very helpfull with everything I requested and it arrived without damage and well packed (after paying extra for Uk delivery handling customs VAT etc. not K2s fault)
Again no instructions at all. Quite easy to work out what to do though. Plugged all of the electrics in, connected it to Mach2 and it didnt work. I spent hours trying to figure it all out. Phoned K2 numerous times. they had no idea what was wrong and kept blaming Mach2.
Eventually I bought some cheap controllers off ebay, spent ages wireing everything up and it worked. Told K2 and they agreed to send me a new controller. This duly arrived plugged it in and guess what it didnt work. All of this happend several months ago and I just havent had the time to get it sorted. I can still use the machine with the ebay controllers but its frustrating that the K2 controller doesnt work. It is probably something simple like the resistor in the Gekos but as I dont know anything about resistors or what to try I have really left it alone.
When I got it running with the ebay controllers I managed to set it up quite accurately and so long as you realize its limitations and speed it can do basic stuff OK. Its better with longer cutters re brush length. Too much spring in all of the linear bearings.
If the controller would work I guess the cost of this machine makes it a reasonabley cheap introduction to cnc.

Cheers

Colin

[Cutloose]

Ironic that I caught your review of the kt2514, as I am currently looking at this machine. I'm surprised that you and the other person who also purchased this model arn't more disappoint considering what this unit cost. Sure it is an economy CNC, but still I would think anytime someone spends several thousand dollars on anything that it ought to work properly. I'm disappointed in what I am hearing......and I was leaning towards buy this machine,,,,,,maybe not now.

Tim

[Rhodan]

I imported a 2514 into the UK.
If the controller would work I guess the cost of this machine makes it a reasonabley cheap introduction to cnc.

Cheers

Colin

Odd that two wouldn't work. I could see one being bad but K2 should have caught it before shipping if it was. I just can't see them sending a replacement for a bad controller without checking the replacement...

You did ask for it to be wired for 220 volts? The USA uses 110V at 60Hz while Europe is 220V at 50Hz. If the transformer is rated for 220V at 60Hz then your output will be 5/6ths of the rating. Might require some tuning of the geckos - but it should still work.

I'll tell you what got me when I was trying to get Mach 3 set up; the charge pump. I didn't know what it was and didn't have it configured so even though everything was powered, the motors wouldn't budge. The Charge pump is a safety feature that watches one port pin for pulses at a specific frequency. If there are no pulses, nothing moves. That way if mach isn't running and some electrical noise generates step commands they will be ignored.

If your charge pump isn't set, everything will seem fine except nothing moves.

[joez71]

Sorry to bump and old thread, but i am looking at the purchasing this machine.

Can anyone tell me if these issues have been resolved in the current models? or are they basically still the same machines?

Thanks
Joez71

[TheNigerian]

I own a KT2514 and had initial challenges too.

Have you loaded your profile? Loading and running my profile was all I had to do to get going.

[tauscnc]

I know this does not help as the price goes way up but try to get a machine with supported rails...like the larger 3925 or get the 2514 with rails that bolt onto the aluminum frame. Not the round rods that are only supported at the ends.

I too had an original K2 with the unsupport round rails and they just are not strong enough for the weight and machining. They are find for very light work but nothing more in my opinion. The extra will really pay off in a better machine.

Just my 2cents.

taus
www.cuttingedgecnc.com

[CARRAN]

Its really appreciative work and I hope you will keep it up as well

[CARRAN]

Its really appreciative work and I hope you will keep it up as well