K2CNC KG5050 router

[erik_m]

Hi all,

I have been following these forums for quite some time now, and after a lot of reading our office finally decided to buy a machine from K2CNC. Now I will post here to give some info back to those of you who might be looking into purchasing one of their machines, too. I will keep you guys updated about our personal experience with the machine / K2 as a company, so here is a quick start:

1. Ordering process.

So far this is the only thing I can comment on, really, as our machine will probably be shipped by next week. That being said I must say I am really content with K2 so far: All questions prior to actually ordering a machine were answered quickly and directly, emails were usually answered in one or two working days' time max. Working out the specifications of the machine (some customizations due to a faster feed rate requested on our part) were easy and straightforward, too, and Ron, who is working at K2, was always really helpful.

The initially quoted 4-6 weeks from ordering to shipping the machine turned into 7 and a half by now, but I guess this is what you have to consider when it comes to machines that are not off the shelf but customized to specific requests.

The detailed specifications of the machine we finally ordered are:

KG-5050 frame (50 x 50 inches), x-axis ballscrew located in the middle of the frame.

305 oz/in torque in Z and Y axis, 600 oz/in in X

3+1 axis controller with 4 servos

x & y-axis upgrade to ball screws (.001 inch backlash tolerance).

rapid traverse is 600 inch/min, 2:1 pulley ratio

z-axis upgrade to 12 inch travel on linear rails, again with an upgrade to ball screws (.001 inch backlash tolerance).

That is it for a quick start - I will get back here as soon as we get the machine and post more.
E

[sploo]

Hi Erik,

Welcome to CNCZone!

I've been procrastinating over getting one of their 3925 machines for ages (currently working through the hurdles and estimated charges for importing from the US).

My general impression of their machines (having seen an early 3925, and like you, read the forums) is that they had some niggles, but they're now looking pretty good.

I'm looking forward to hear how you get on, and how the machine turns out.

How much is delivery costing you?

[erik_m]

Originally Posted by sploo Hi Erik, Welcome to CNCZone! I've been procrastinating over getting one of their 3925 machines for ages (currently working through the hurdles and estimated charges for importing from the US). My general impression of their machines (having seen an early 3925, and like you, read the forums) is that they had some niggles, but they're now looking pretty good.

Hey sploo, thanks for the welcome! Regarding your impressions I have to say I felt the same, but most of the people I talked to gave me a thumbs up and said they would buy their machine again if they had the choice (we talked to about 5 different K2 customers beforehand). What finally made us go with the KG5050 router was how cooperative K2 seemed to be in cases where there were any niggles and hickups with a machine or parts of it (and I sure hope they are still as concerned about their customers as they seemed to be before ).

Originally Posted by sploo How much is delivery costing you?

Crating, shipping and handling is 1450€. We tried to find a cheaper alternative ourselves with various forwarding agents, but in the end the offer from K2 turned out to be the best deal - they offered to let us pick our own, though. We really looked into a lot of local alternatives rather than shipping a machine over from the US, too, but either we ran into "don't buy from these guys" advice in various forums / from some of their customers, or the companies would only carry high end machines starting from 20k upwards.

Originally Posted by sploo I'm looking forward to hear how you get on, and how the machine turns out.

I'll post pictures and details as soon as we get the machine - promise.
Cheers,
E

[sploo]

Originally Posted by erik_m Crating, shipping and handling is 1450€

Ouch! Still, I suppose a 5050 is going to take a seriously large crate.

Originally Posted by erik_m I'll post pictures and details as soon as we get the machine - promise.

Looking forward to it.

There used to be quite a buzz on this forum about K2's machines (plenty of posts by TausCNC anyway) but it's gone quiet recently.

Hopefully us Europeans can get it started again

I presume you've seen Taus' site: http://www.cuttingedgecnc.com/cncrouter.htm

[erik_m]

Originally Posted by sploo I presume you've seen Taus' site: http://www.cuttingedgecnc.com/cncrouter.htm

Thanks for the link - no, I hadn't seen his site, only the thread here on the forums.

[erik_m]

"Your machine is looking good. We had an issue with the wiring last week and we have fixed that and right this second your machine is being tested. So far all tests are great, the machine runs really smooth and all I need to do is package it and ship. It should be on the truck tomorrow (Friday)."

[sploo]

Originally Posted by erik_m "Your machine is looking good"...

That sounds great Erik. Keep us posted!