[Coyotey]

Yet another lurker emerges from the cover of the shadows. I bow before the collective wisdom of the ZONE and offer greetings from Norway! :cheers:

First, I have to say that I have been fanatically absorbing information here for a while, and have learned heaps. As the vast majority of people here, all things cnc was love at first sight. I'm utterly and hopelessly hooked! My goal is to drag my small wood carving workshop into this new world. I am no traditionalist: The quicker I can crank out my pieces to potential buyers, the sooner I can lavish my girlfriend with extravagant niceties!

I have now taken the plunge, assaulted my bank account and ordered my first cnc router! My research (and budget) has led me to consider Chinese models. Of-course the 1325 dual spindle size will continue to be the holy-grail quest for the near future, but I went with the 1218 size. I chose to deal directly with the companies without involving a middleman.

Please indulge my take and observations about the better Chinese manufacturers generally, and correct me if my rantings are wrong....my research is based solely on lurking here, and a number of other places on the net, and not as an experienced ,cnc, user. It seems to me that those of us who are loyal to brands manufactured in the west criticize the Chinese machines on a few points, and these seem to repeat time and time again.

1. The quality issues that come up seem to not relate to the build of the machines themselves, but rather small annoyances caused by forgetfulness just before the machines are shipped, I guess with these prices they have a lot to do! (incompatible collets, inadequate preparation for transport by sea (rust), shipment fee misunderstandings and so on). Now, I've looked at some of the "better" western brands in comparison and aside from the impressive array of bells and whistles, good support and a smooth paint-job I could not bring myself to justify paying 5-6 times (min) more to get one into my workshop! As far as the engineering is concerned...have you looked at these machines!?! They are as solid as a brick s%%t-house! Mine weighs 1050kg. I doubt a category 5 hurricane could even remotely affect these machines. I am constantly reading about people who operate these machines for 5++years without any glitches or failures at all! Say mine has a catastrophic meltdown at that time...assuming that I make money doing what I do, it has long since paid for itself, and I'll buy a new one and still have paid 3 times less than for the Mercedes or Chevy!!
2. People criticize that they all look the same, just different names. In what way is this a problem? Rack one up for their ingenuity rather! Their industrial cooperation has a more standardized approach. This brings down costs, and production times. Could this be one of the contributing factors which has lead China to be one of the industrial giants of the world? Now I'm just a humble woodpecker who wants to automate my production line, I'm not interested in companies who must re-invent the wheel every time they update their technology. Simple+Me=:cheers:
3. Production/delivery time. Ok this really sucks!:violin:I will roll the machine onto my floor in 2 months from now (best case)! I'll just wallpaper my workshop with the production pictures and bother you lot here in the meantime while designing the hell out of my work in preparation. The machine won't know what hit it!
4. General mistrust. It seems to me that many of the conflicts are caused by buying through middle-men. I went directly to the companies. As long as you do your research, and stick with a reputable company/factory who has existed for a while with many workers, you'll most likely be ok! Besides, a negative review from us, in that extremely competitive environment could be devastating. They want your business, and the established companies have long since learned that short-changing you is not profitable!

Here are the companies I looked at:

• Jinan Quick
• Omni
• JCut
• Sale

A quick summary of my experiences:

Jinan Quick: Most people here who have had dealings with Jinan Quick almost trip over themselves in praise for Taney, therefore I deflected contact with other sales people and held out to speak with him. This has to be the most accommodating and patient person on the face of the planet! If that were not enough, he used his free time during the Chinese New Year to answer my queries! WOW! Solid looking company, good reviews about going above and beyond.

Omni: When it comes to patience with a newbie, Jack clearly went to the same school as Taney. He was the quickest in responding to my inquiry. Also, smack dab in the middle of the holidays! Impressive! Also a solid looking company and good reviews both before and after sale.

JCut: The first 2 sold me, so when it took JCut 2 weeks to get back to me (yesyes they were on holidays) I felt no reason to pursue them. I have nothing positive or negative to say about them. It seems that many of you are pleased with their machines.

Sale: Fast response, but again, the first 2 sold me. I have nothing positive or negative to say about them either.

In the end I went with Omni:

1218 with upgraded 3.5kw aircooled spindle. Rack and pinion drive on X and Y (speed rather than accuracy is more important for my application). Stronger Taiwan ballscrew on Z.. DSP USB controller/Artcam Express combination and a 2.2kw single bag dust collector. I asked Jack to arrange shipping to my door (DDU) with insurance. The only extra cost I have will be paying the local VAT/tax. There is no way I could get better shipping prices here (they saw coming a mile away) - fresh meat for the grinder! (flame2)It stands to reason that high volume Chinese companies get better shipping rates.

Needless to say, I felt truly alive when I transferred the deposit directly to their bank in China (scary stuff), but let's just call this a calculated leap of faith I can't wait to get my hands on my new...errr....toy (lets be honest guys, does it really feel like work when you watch that spindle dance)?! :banana:
You'll be hearing a LOT from me in the future!!

Cheers!

[stucapco]

Collective wisdom of the ZONE! I depend on this and I offer NO advice on your post, however! I WANT TO GO TO NORWAY! Is it all I read it is? Clean, quiet, beautiful, natural amazing environment that I read it is? I'm sorry off topic but I want know! I'm asking you.

Edit: I'm from north east america, its kind of a sh|t hole.

[Coyotey]

Hi Stucapco. Yes Norway is really nice. Some big nature and some really big prices to go along with it! Obscenely expensive country! I'm originally from your neck of the woods, but a cute blonde imported me about 20 years ago If you do chose to visit Norway, my advice is to research the hell out of everything because of the cost of being here. So don't just wing it. The country's beauty can quickly become ugly if it bankrupts you! (just a quick example: a pint of beer or a big mac can cost you almost 10 USD)!!!

[stucapco]

"a cute blonde imported me" lol, I love it! I knew it. Thank you for the return post. I'm still thinking about it! Can I borrow the blond? The fact you have "big mac's" and "pints" is only adding to my curiosity. I'm not totally discouraged. Nice place to visit, wouldn't want live there kind of thing? Still want in!

Thanks for the real update.

stu