Anyone have experience with Chinese CNC machines?

[Dan Souliere]

I have a local dealer that sells "Sinmic" brand Chinese lasers.

He does charge a little more than what it would cost to bring them in myself ($10,500) but he also supports the product so its worth the premium in my opinion.

This is the model I am looking at:
sinmic.com/index.php?_m=mod_product&_a=view&p_id=1176

Specs:
⦁ Working area: 1300mm*2500mm*200mm
⦁ 3 kw water cooled spindle with dust extraction foot
⦁ T-slot PVC table (with Aluminium Profile)
⦁ HIWIN/PMI linear rails
⦁ DSP hand held controller system
⦁ Z zeroing Tool sensor
⦁ One starter set woodworking tools
⦁ Delta Inverter 0-18000rpm control
⦁ Schneider Electronic Spare Parts
⦁ Japanese OMRON Switch
⦁ Germany LAPP double sheathed, fire retardant and highly flexible towline cable can be bent 300,000 times
⦁ Voltage:110v and 220v

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. :)

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjE0WDgwMw==/z/y4oAAOSwEK9TyuxQ/$_20.JPG

[Peter Swann]

There is nothing bad, per se, about a Chinese CNC. You can see my review of my Laguna IQ on this site. I've been really happy with my IQ. Smaller and cheaper than the one you're looking at, but great. Is it Chinese? Basically. But I have needed help from time to time, and Laguna has been right there at a moment's notice.

A few things would concern me about the link you posted. The site says the spindle is air cooled; your specs say liquid cooled. I really like liquid cooling for a spindle of this grade. What kind of collet does it take? And what's the maximum tool size? There is no real information about the controller, and that's kind of a big deal. There's no information on the frame construction, but the weight is an encouraging sign. Rigidity of the frame is key, and I've seen some of these machines that are built out of material (aluminum rail or even wood) that will not do the job. You also have little to no information on the balls screws, stepper motors or bearings.

Could this be every bit as good as a Laguna Swift (which is what it looks like in a casual comparison)? Possibly. But who knows? If you're new to the CNC world, you have a TON to learn and worry about, and the machine itself should be the least of your worries. Now that I've gotten somewhat competent, I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't just buy a generic machine off ebay. Even if the generics are similar to the branded machines, it's helpful to know that there's support and a meaningful warranty backing you up. And it's nice to know that there has been a quality control check on the machine that actually gets delivered to you.

I don't know your local dealer, but unless he's prepared to lose some money on backing you up, I'd still look into a branded product.

[Mike Heidrick]

What post would you choose when using your cam software?

120mm is pretty short for a z.

Typical 1.5kw spindles are er11 and 1/4 inch max router bits - 2.2kw are er20 and 1/2 inch bits max.

[Peter Swann]

120mm is very short for a Z, especially considering that you'll need a spoil board on top of that PVC. The unit shown in the picture looks to be water cooled, but it doesn't look like an ER20 to me. The controller may very well be the one I have, but is it programmed right for the machine? What's the pulse equivalence? What kind of steppers? Again, the answers could all be good. But who would you ask?

[Dan Hammerstron]

I have imported 2 Chinese machines, the first was a 6090 and then a full sized 1325 300mm gantry heigth with 6hp. spindle and vacuum table and vacuum system, its running on mach3 it has Yako drives and motors more power and speed than I will ever need.

[pete hagan]

Dan, can you tell me who you purchased from, what the weight for the large gantry machine pictured was? I'm starting the process to purchase a table and appreciate your info.
I have imported a HX6090 laser in the past with little difficulty.
Thanks!
Pete