Any other experiences with K2?

[adam dogg]

I purchased a few machines from them in early dec. and have been anxiously awaiting there arrival.

Got tired of waiting so I called them last week, and was told they were in the back awaiting inspection or something and would be out the door by Monday.

So I take Friday and next Monday off to get the machines set up and running, and to get myself familiar with them.

Today I called them back to see if they had shipped as promised, and I was told that they were in the back awaiting inspection or something and would be out the door by Monday.

How disappointing is that??

Now I have the weekend off to sit at home with my carving knives and a stick dreaming of one day being the proud owner of a cnc router.

Any other experiences with K2?

[ViperTX]

Pin them down...get some names and commitment...

If you do a search on this site....you will find the thread where people were complaining about the quality....well lack of quality.....

Personally....a company that sells systems and then resorts to selling any 'stage of completition' system tells you something about the market they are in......price rules.....and they appear to be trying to cater to that market and that is pretty dangerous...for the company and for any K2 consumer....

[Zumba]

Rough treatment. I would ask them for a refund, even if you're not looking for one, just to get them off their a$$es.

How long could it really take to build an all-aluminum unpainted machine?

[Aksess]

I ordered a 39x25 a few years ago from them. I had them add a rutex board so I could use it with a plasma cutter as well. with gecko and servo motors. I had to send my plasma torch to them so they could install the control connector. Total wait time was 6 weeks. I was glad to have waited since they spent extra time making shure it was true and worked flawless. I delt with I think his name was Kenny Sernouski. When I got the machine it was like they told me true and worked great. I think the acuracy was within .005 total if memory serves me corect.

[sploo]

Hi Adam,

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I ordered a machine from them towards the end of last year, and wasn't pushing them regarding time as I was re-wiring my workshop. If memory serves me correctly it took around 4-6 weeks.

Their earlier 3925 model did have some some glitches, but I did get the impression they gave decent support (have a look at some of TausCNC's posts).

I've spoken to many people (some are members of this forum) who are using the newer '06 model. Several are using the machine daily, and all gave positive assessments.

I've been running mine on a hobby basis for the last few months, and I'm generally pretty happy. As a CNC noob I can't compare it to other machines, but the one big problem I had (actually with a Gecko drive) was sorted by them as quickly as I could reasonably expect.

I can't defend someone for telling you something would be shipped when it wasn't, though that was not my experience. Is it possible the person you were talking to meant the next Monday? Or perhaps that guy didn't know you'd got more than one machine to go out?

Stick with it - recent experience suggests they do ship out a decent machine, and I've still not seen another manufacturer offering something of the same rigidity and performance at that price.

Let us know how you get on!

[adam dogg]

The machines were shipped on friday.

I hope they were worth the wait.

any advice for a newbee? I have been a cnc programmer for 8yrs. I don't think ther code is going to be very hard to figure out. But how do you all get the 3d artsy stuff. I have solid works and v-carve and mastercam. But the artsy crap is kinda hard to design in them.

Cutters and fixturing and any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

What is the max feed that the steppers on there 25 X 14 model will handle?

[Aksess]

Buy several pieces of mdf for a sacrafice table when you attach the table what I did was use the machine and scribe lines with a bit so as to give yourself refrence points on the table. sort of a grid of 2x2 or whatever you prefer squares. this will help aligning work.

I used these bits with great results the 3 flute 60 deg *1541 1/4" 7/32" 1/4" 2" $14.56

http://www.routerbits.com/cgi-router...61324_23085+21

[adam dogg]

I tracked the shipment to the ups freight company last night, so I gave them a call. They said it was sceduled to be delivered late wednesday, So I convinced them to let me pick it up.

Got home about 5:30pm and got it put together and cut a sample file from v-carve by 8:00pm. The machine seems to work properly.

They forgot to ship the routers, one bearing housing had no snap rings holding it into place. So I put snap rings on it from the tool box, mounted my router on it and away I went.

This is going to be fun. And addictive. My wife is going to miss me.

Great Idea for the replacable table top. Will do that tonight.

any free form modeling software suggestions.

[ger21]

Originally Posted by adam dogg any free form modeling software suggestions.

Silo. www.nevercenter.com

[sploo]

I'd second Aksess's suggestion - with a couple of additions.

It's a very good idea to surface your table top, to ensure it's perfectly flat (from the point of view of the router). I used a 3/4" sheet of plywood, and created a gcode file to run a large diameter cutter across the surface.

I then cut a series of holes through the surfaced sheet, and put t-nuts on the back so I can bolt hold downs to it.

Because this takes a while to cut (30mins+) I put a sheet of 1/8" hardboard on top (and cut holes to match the surfaced sheet). This is my sacrificial sheet, and I replace it periodically - as it's quicker to make than cutting a whole new surfaced top.