Quick CNC K6100a for a kiwi...

[kiwichris]

Hi folks,

I've now exhausted the questions I could think of asking Taney at Quick CNC about the K6100a, and have essentially decided to buy one with the 1.5kw spindle and vacuum bed.

So, here in starts a thread about the experience of getting it from China to just south of Christchurch in New Zealand.

I do have one question for the room though, as it were:

What else do I need to be thinking about?

I'll be buying a dust collection unit for it locally, and I'm looking at bits / collets already.

Anything else I should be thinking about?

Cheers, Chris H.

[rocket67]

Chris, Congratulations. The K6100A is an excellent machine.

I would suggest you request the ER20 collet spindle ( if you have not already done so ).

Other than that you could work out a system to ensure the water bucket cannot be accidently tipped over. Maybe a stand with wheels if you need portability - this will also give you a better working height if you are tall.

Here is my setup -



The water bucket and fountain pump -



How the machine will arrive -



What about setting up your dust hose -



You may also need a 15 Amp power source.

Rocket.

[rocket67]

Chris, I normally run the machine at about 5,000mm minute for process and travelling speed, but you can run it faster if you want. I probably would not go faster than 8,000mm minute.



Our K6100 came with ER11A Collets. The first set of Collets i bought for it were ER11 - but they would not fit into the collet nut, so i bought another set and also a couple of ER11 collet nuts from a Hong Kong ebay seller which solved that problem. From memory the ER11 collets only go up to 6mm. That is why i think the ER20 collets would be better. Here is one of my sets -







Hope that helps.

Rocket.

[kiwichris]

Hi Rocket....

I had wondered about the ER-20 vs ER-11. Is your ER-20 on a 1.5kw spindle?

I've only got 20A total available until at least June next year when we are planning to replace the switchboard. That makes me mindful of the power requirements given I'm already right on my budget running vacuum + dust extraction + router.

I know that each component wont pull it's rated power but I can see me popping the breaker for the shed if I push my luck too far.

A trolley sounds like a good idea, I'll wait and see how that goes.. I'm 5'8" so I'm 4" closer to the table than you so it might not be so much an issue. :-)

Hmmm, I've looked at your pics in the other thread a couple of time and never noticed your cooling water is a little green.... What are you using? antifreeze?

Cheers, Me.

[kiwichris]

Arrr, our posts crossed in cyberspace...

So you've not got the ER-20 then anyway, ignore that question. :-)

ER11 vs ER11a,,. There's a gotcha, I didn't realise that the nut was the difference, off to Google I go!

I assume you're using the F read setting to set the feed speeds off your G code, and just the rapids wind up being 5m/m?

As an aside, I've seen a few moans about the DSP controller on the forums, but from the manual I found it seems like a really good solution and it removes the need to have a PC churning along beside the machine. Only down side I can see is no MDI and Sxxxx codes are not supported, which are not show stoppers at all.

Cheers, Me.

[Marty989]

Hi Chris,

Yeah I use radiator coolant in my loop as well. I have my pump in a fairly sealed 5L bucket with lid that I bought from bunnings. The thing could tip on its side and very little coolant would get out. Like Rocket I have my machine on a trolley. I cut a ply wood base for it and the bucket goes in there underneath the machine so it is all contained.

[Marty989]

Also just to reiterate what Rocket said. The ER11 nut that I bought from CTC tools says it's a ER11-A and works great for me. As you can see from Rockets photo some of the collets that come with the machine don't feature the ring found in most. The nut that comes with the machine also does not feature the eccentric ring of the ER system which is why you need to replace it.

[kiwichris]

Thanks for those bits Marty & Rocket.. Bookmarked CTC tools and will order a collet set and nuts from them when I get the order away to Taney.

I'm just doing a last minute mental tally up of the options I looked at before committing money to this on Monday/Tuesday and I think I've made a good decision for what I want to do.

As the machines were difference sizes I've got a big of MDF in the garage with the table sizes drawn on it full sized and notes written in the boxes. A handy visual tool as this is a pretty big purchase for me in the scheme of things.

For me the things that sealed the deal:

- Vacuum / Tslot table even though I might have issues with power supply for a while.
- For my needs it's a good compromise between cutting area, physical size and power requirements.
- Feedback on the forums about Taney and Quick-cnc in general.
- Very positive impression of Taney and his attitude. I contacted four other Chinese manufacturers during this process and he stood out head and shoulders above the others on how well he answered my queries.
- DSP Controller for my needs seems like a very good fit.

Note that I didn't list Price there. The K6100a was actually the second most expensive option I looked at. Nothing else to say on that really.

Extra's I'm buying to have to stump up for as part of the process:

- Dust collection. Purchasing from a local company, 750w dual-bag thingy. I see no point in importing that.
- Port / customs fees. Already got written quotes for that part and confirmed forwarders and shipping details. (There is no duty in New Zealand for Chinese imports due to a free trade agreement between the two countries.)
- Collets / nuts per the other messages
- Vcarve Pro. Currently using Cut2D and I'm thinking I'll want Vcarve about 5 minutes after powering the machine on. :-)

Issues:

- I'm going to pick up the crate from the port myself, will have to borrow a bigger trailer or rent a truck. :-)
- Space. Need to clean out the garage!
- Power. I do believe I'm going to run into trouble with blowing fuses, but I have a plan 'B' and I can run an extension lead with RCD on it from the house to run the vacuum until we replace our dodgy old switchboard next year. (3 phase in the garage? I think so! )

Onwards and upwards for early next week, when the 1 month starts for the box to arrive. :-)

[kiwichris]

It's a done thing, ordered the machine and paid for it this afternoon.

Provided a copy of the invoice to the local office for the freight forwarders and sorted out registering as an importer to pay GST (local sales tax) when the machine arrives.

Quoted time to get the machine to the port at Qingdao is 15 days.

That might actually be 15 working days, so 3 weeks, didn't ask but it's going to take me that long to tidy up the garage where it's going!!

From there it's into a consolidated container and on to Shanghai. Then Shanghai to Lyttleton which will take 16-18 days. I imagine it'll get tied up in the customs/inspection process for a couple of days and then I can pick it up.

The worst part of any remote purchase! The waiting for it to turn up... :-)

Cheers, Me.

[rocket67]

Well done Kiwi, Looks like you have got it covered.

The following photo will give you an idea of the crate size -



Just a quick note about those prices you mentioned. In another thread relating to a cheaper machine a certain poster put up a photo of his control box. It did look rather cheap and nasty. Here is a photo of the control box for the Quick CNC K6100A -



That is quality of manufacture . Well worth the few extra bucks!

Rocket.

[kiwichris]

That is quality of manufacture . Well worth the few extra bucks!

Rocket.

I did see that other photo, it didn't look flash. I did wonder if the poster was being a bit harsh / picky but you don't have to search too far around the web to find people with similar issues. The other machine is 25% cheaper than the quick-cnc one though.

Your cabinet looks nice which is reassuring. I'm going to have to stop reading your posts though. It's making the waiting for my machine seem worse!

On the up side I might go and pick up the dust collection setup over the weekend which will give me something to play with. I can't use the dust collector on my current machine though, it'd suck the entire machine off the bench.

Cheers, Me.

[kiwichris]

Total Trivia:

100mm solid PVC pipe is nearly as expensive here as flexible dust collection hose.

End result is that I was planning a cunning run of solid pipe along the roof of the garage, but I wont bother for the moment, I'll just get 6m of flex and run it up over the rafters and down to the router.

That's all I've got. :-)