[Speedy Dunedin]

Hi my name is Lee from Speedy Signs Dunedin in New Zealand,

We are currently looking at purchasing a Chinese assembled CNC machine, I have been doing a lot of research on it, including thumbing through some of the forums here which have been most helpful. Basically I thought if I listed what we were after someone could discuss what makes a good or bad machine as a lot of these style machines seem to use the same chasis and parts and therefore it becomes difficult other than price to compare apples with apples

What we are looking at is this

3.6m x 1.5 meter table 350mm z clearance
12kw HSD spindle
250 m3/hr tongyou pump
Auto tool changer
helical rack and pinion
panasonic servos and drivers
thk linear rails
automatic oil mister for aluminium cutting
8mm pre stress steel construction of both the gantry and bed
the electronic components are all siemens and schnider
limit switches by Omron
relocating accuracy 0.05mm
max moving speed 35000/min
Syntec control system

we can buy the same machine here in New Zealand but it is about 3 to 4 times the cost, even spending 2 weeks in the factory for training and maintenance advice it still works out to be a little under half the cost of the same machine here.

Really my question is this

Are there things amongst this sort of setup that I should be aware of before purchasing such a machine and do you have any advice for questions I should ask in order that I don't waste a lot of money on an expensive purchase I may regret.

I should say my background is in computers and electronics. I have a BSc in Computer Science and my New Zealand cert in electronics. We have a 2.5m wide UV flatbed, a 1.6m wide Mimaki mild solvent printer and a Kodak 1.5m wide dye based printer for posters etc.
I currennt work as the IT Administrator at Speedy Signs so I have tasked to investigate the purchase of a cnc machine for use in the signage industry.

Any information you could offer would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Lee
Speedy Signs

[salzburg]

With Chinese supliers you have to worry about ever seeing a machine or getting one badly made.

So if you buy one from them pay with a credit card or you will never see your money again.

[Speedy Dunedin]

Thanks for the useful positive feedback, but, we already have a hybrid UV printer it is a Chinese assembled machine, apart from the lack of service information the machine does exactly what it says it would, we bought it five years ago for a quarter the cost of a machine that would have been imported into our country via a wholesaler. It prints 2.5m wide pvc banner and poster based materials and also prints direct onto solid material such as PVC, WOOD, ACM, Coreflute and others. The majaority of the parts are all Japanese and apart from some teething problems we have found it to be an excellent purchase. Just like any other country there are cheap and poorly manufactured products as well as well produced products.

Cheers
Lee

[omnicnc]

Hi Lee,
lease check the link which Jason from NewZealand left his comment on cnczone about OMNI cnc router. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/produc...trol_wood.html. Hope this message is helpful for you. Any question, you may contact me.

[EXLASer]

Hello ,
According to the configuration you list above , the accuracy is hard to achieve to 0.05mm . There is rarely manufactures can guarantee you their machines are so accurate in fact ,only in theoretically and with a little mind that stretch of fact ,thus customers can buy ~ But this can be understand .
No problem with other parts in my opinion and my manager's .
We also can do this machine only one point : we can not promise that not all parts are siements and Schneider .
The relay and E-stop switches we used in each machine are from Schneider . Other parts we sure can use the best brand .
Overseas support is no problem with us . I had many times experiences using long-term control with customers from USA also a Sytec ATC 1330 back knife machine .Not only this system but also Weihong and DSP system ,Plasma Start system , also laser machines .

If you are interested ,we can have a detail talk !
My MSN :[email protected]

Greetings ,
Mary Lee
XYZ Machinery

[aarggh]

With Chinese supliers you have to worry about ever seeing a machine or getting one badly made.

So if you buy one from them pay with a credit card or you will never see your money again.

Based on what?

[mactec54]

speedy Dunedin

I know of only one manufacture in China that could build your machine to the spec's that you want, (8mm pre stress steel construction of both the gantry and bed)


3.6m x 1.5 meter table 350mm z clearance ( For Z clearance to you mean, clearance under the gantry or just Z axes travel)
12kw HSD spindle
250 m3/hr tongyou pump
Auto tool changer
helical rack and pinion ( This needs to be Ground Helical rack & Pinion to get the accuracy that you want)

panasonic servos and drivers (They could do this, but most machines built like this would be using Yaskawa servos & drives)

thk linear rails ( On a build like this Hiwin & other brand name linear rails will work just as well as the THK)

automatic oil mister for aluminium cutting
8mm pre stress steel construction of both the gantry and bed

the electronic components are all siemens and schnider ( You should not worry about these name brand components, it is not worth the extra cost)

limit switches by Omron

relocating accuracy 0.05mm ( No problem with this if the machine is constructed with the right components)

max moving speed 35000/min

Syntec control system (Control system, there are other choices for this type of machine, But if your other machines have this control, then you don't have to learn another control )

[jevnyprototype]

This is daniel,a engineer work for jevny technology that specialize in precise cnc machining in China.

About the Chinese machine,we choose Beijing jingdiao cnc machine,it could keep high precision.Surely,we also have 5 sets CNC Machines in our workshop that purchase from Japan and Germany,such as the MAKINO,DMG.

Welcome to your any inquiry if you have new project need to cnc machining,we could give you the best price with quick turnaround time!!

Jevny Technology Co.,Ltd(Precise CNC Machining in China)
[email protected]:cheers:

[Speedy Dunedin]

Thank you to everyone that has sent me information, I am going over everything you have given me and checking out all the options, I really appreciate it

Cheers
Lee

[radicalrescue]

hello mr.daniel i could use so help ..i got i have a cnc 1224-1 4x8 table with a dsp 0401 controller were can i get u disk for this ,,any help would be grate full

[daniellyall]

find a machine you like the look of then ask on this forum if anyone has had a bad deal from them.
i got a machine from china 2 years ago it was **** just fixing the last problem on this machine today. i would look up luguna they have good machines at a good prices.

[stucliff]

Thank you to everyone that has sent me information, I am going over everything you have given me and checking out all the options, I really appreciate it

Cheers
Lee

Don't forget to tell us you what you find out there. And what's your choice.

It'll be really useful for the community. As you surely know there's very little reliable and first hand information about chinese machines and manufacturers...

Thanks!

Regards

D.

[Star118]

Hi Lee, and like to share my experence and encounter with the chinese product.

I bought a cnc from China, (CNC 3040) just arrived last month.
It's intended for desktop computer with DB25 printer output working with Mach3.
I only have a laptop (Window 7, 64 bits), in order to overcome the above restrictions, I also ordered a UC100 USB motion controller.
After assembling all the parts and config Mach3 according to the manufacturer's pin assigment, I did a test run; E stop tested OK, the X axis is correct, the Y & Z run in the opposite direction. (I did a software correction in Mach3)
The pass few days I am doing the calebration on the CNC physical movement in comparison the Mach3 axis digital readout.
The CNC is working but still need fine tuning.

That's all I can tell you at the moment.

[jason snyder]

Hi there,

I'm going to order a 4 axis 6040 cnc .....started to do it a couple weeks ago.....whats the difference between designations like 6040T vs 6040Z and S65 vs S80?

Thanks...
P.S. Is it better to have the VFD built into the control box or seperate?

[tgdavies]

I don't think you can assume that a 6040X from one vendor is the same as a 6040X from another vendor -- better to compare particular machines from particular vendors.

[aarggh]

Hi there,

I'm going to order a 4 axis 6040 cnc .....started to do it a couple weeks ago.....whats the difference between designations like 6040T vs 6040Z and S65 vs S80?

Thanks...
P.S. Is it better to have the VFD built into the control box or seperate?

Beware, the only 6040's that come with claimed genuine YooCNC drivers, (google tb6560 + problem) are the machines from CarvingCNC, virtually all the other 6040's available from the usual Ebay sellers are generally cosmetic variants of the same model, and have the same driver problems. You'll actually find there is only a very small handful of distinct sellers on Ebay for them as most are from the same umbrella corporation. One in particular I dealt with for example trades under over 50 separate Ebay seller accounts, so there is really no point picking any particular seller for these machines, other than price and the details of the supplied components, specifically the VFD/Spindle supplied. If your lucky, you might find the odd one with a newer driver, but even the ones that copy the controller box from CarvingCNC still whack the old crappy TB6560 drivers inside them.

So far as where to put the VFD, it would be a big, fan forced box to fit them, they're quite large. IMHO you'd be better off building a trolley to sit the machine on, and fit all the bits underneath protected from dust and moisture.

All in all, the 6040's represent the best value machine on the market in that class, BUT, the be prepared to scrap the supplied controller, and replace it with a Gecko G540!

cheers, Ian

[aarggh]

I don't think you can assume that a 6040X from one vendor is the same as a 6040X from another vendor -- better to compare particular machines from particular vendors.

The appropriate comparison would be to compare ones from Carving CNC, with any of the models on Ebay as they are all minutely different variants of the same construction. Generally they only differ in the supplied spindle/VFD.

cheers, Ian

[jason snyder]

Beware, the only 6040's that come with claimed genuine YooCNC drivers, (google tb6560 + problem) are the machines from CarvingCNC, virtually all the other 6040's available from the usual Ebay sellers are generally cosmetic variants of the same model, and have the same driver problems. You'll actually find there is only a very small handful of distinct sellers on Ebay for them as most are from the same umbrella corporation. One in particular I dealt with for example trades under over 50 separate Ebay seller accounts, so there is really no point picking any particular seller for these machines, other than price and the details of the supplied components, specifically the VFD/Spindle supplied. If your lucky, you might find the odd one with a newer driver, but even the ones that copy the controller box from CarvingCNC still whack the old crappy TB6560 drivers inside them.

So far as where to put the VFD, it would be a big, fan forced box to fit them, they're quite large. IMHO you'd be better off building a trolley to sit the machine on, and fit all the bits underneath protected from dust and moisture.

All in all, the 6040's represent the best value machine on the market in that class, BUT, the be prepared to scrap the supplied controller, and replace it with a Gecko G540!

cheers, Ian

Thanks a bunch Ian.......!

It's basically down to these two machines......

Aliexpress.com : Buy 1.5kw spindle 2.2kw VFD 4th aixs CNC 6040 + tailstock (four aixs, A aixs, rotation axis) CNC Router/ CNC engraving machine, Hot! from Reliable router suppliers on Charmhigh CNC & Laser Machinery

vs

CNC 6040Z-S80(New Version) ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING AND MILLING MACHINE - carving-cnc.com

I was considering the first machine because it has a 100mm Z -axis stroke.

But it sounds like I'm better off with a machine from carving-cnc.

I'm a total newbie.....sorry


Jason
P.S. if you have a minute I'd be happy to pm you my cell number so i could ask a few questions.
P.P.S I'm hoping to stay at or under $2,000 if i can.

[jason snyder]

Thanks fellas,

I was considering two different machines....

First one:
CNC 6040Z-S80(New Version) ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING AND MILLING MACHINE - carving-cnc.com


Second one:
Aliexpress.com : Buy 1.5kw spindle 2.2kw VFD 4th aixs CNC 6040 + tailstock (four aixs, A aixs, rotation axis) CNC Router/ CNC engraving machine, Hot! from Reliable router suppliers on Charmhigh CNC & Laser Machinery

I really like the second one because of the 100mm stroke Z-axis.


But it sounds like maybe I'm better off sticking with the Carving-cnc version....?

Also Ian,
I pm'd you my phone number. If you have a few free minutes I'd like to ask a few question.......skype would work too.


thanks everyone,
Jason Snyder

P.S. I'm a complete cnc newbie....sorry!

[aarggh]

Thanks fellas,

I was considering two different machines....

First one:
CNC 6040Z-S80(New Version) ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING AND MILLING MACHINE - carving-cnc.com


Second one:
Aliexpress.com : Buy 1.5kw spindle 2.2kw VFD 4th aixs CNC 6040 + tailstock (four aixs, A aixs, rotation axis) CNC Router/ CNC engraving machine, Hot! from Reliable router suppliers on Charmhigh CNC & Laser Machinery

I really like the second one because of the 100mm stroke Z-axis.


But it sounds like maybe I'm better off sticking with the Carving-cnc version....?

Also Ian,
I pm'd you my phone number. If you have a few free minutes I'd like to ask a few question.......skype would work too.


thanks everyone,
Jason Snyder

P.S. I'm a complete cnc newbie....sorry!

Hi Jason,

I haven't received a pm sorry mate, i'm happy to chat if you send it again though. To answer your question though, the Carving one is a nice and complete working solution, and from the feedback and comments about them the controller appears to be reliable. I do think it's an expensive unit with shipping though. Depends how much your time and effort is worth to you in the end which will decide which way you want to go.

The generic 6040 from Ebay is also a very good value machine, (depending on the supplied spindle/VFD combo) although the pricing on the link you sent is way too high in my opinion. Best thing is to trawl through ebay and sort by lowest price to get the best deal possible. As I advise anyone buying a 6040 from ebay, the controller is crap, plain and simple. No amount of effort, rewiring, redesigning, or wishing will change that, so you should factor in the cost of a Gecko G540, and ideally, a new 48VDC power supply so you can really get the maximum performance out of the machine. Even with adding those components, it still is a really cost effective option. When I rewired mine for a G540, I simply bought some connectors for a few dollars, and wired up extension leads to go from the G540 to the stepper leads, so I didn't need to cut into the existing cabling or connectors.

Sounds difficult but it's not really.

cheers, Ian