Xylotex cant ship into EU!

[diarmaid]

I dont think 'Average Joe' the customs guy knows the details of this, thats if it was a private package sent to and from a private individual. Commercial packages are probably more rigorously checked, and/or by different customs employees. If it was sent to me by snail mail privately by my cousin or whoever, then Im sure it'd just be stamped for VAT and handed to me upon payment.

[diarmaid]

And besides, if its sent in a basic cardboard box, instead of its original Xylotex packaging, Average Joe dealing with 3000 packages a day is hardly going to send it to an engineering lab to determine the presence of lead before giving it to me....customs have bigger fish to fry, drugs, arms smuggling etc etc

[diarmaid]

...it says that it can't be sold in EU anymore not shipped from person to person. As it would be sold in US and untill shipping of sudstances is banned....then are you braking any laws?

I have e-mailed Xylotex and said that technically purchasing over the internet is not 'inside' the EU, and that the regulations dont specifically state that such items can't be shipped into the EU just that they cant be sold here. So will they please send a 3 Axis System Kit to me since Im not purchasing it inside the EU and no-one is breaking any laws......worth a try......the internet 'grey area' is so useful.

[lakeside]

good luck if all else fails pm me mikelakeside@comcast.net

[Al_The_Man]

since Im not purchasing it inside the EU and no-one is breaking any laws......worth a try......the internet 'grey area' is so useful.

If your caught I'll poll the lads here for the bail money

But your probabally right, I suspect that the first line will be to checked will be Commercial shipments, and even then it will be random, considering the 1000's of shipments daily.
Private person shipments will rarely, if ever get checked.
It might be a bit dicey to take them back with you, considering they are electronic components, I have seen a tighening in security with shipments to Europe in the past couple of years.
Good luck.
Al.

[PEU]

Of course they wont send your package to an engineering lab for verification, they can simply ask for the certificate of compliance with ROHS or keep it at customs untill you show it.

Not rohs related, but here in Argentina if you import an electric apliance and it, for example, dont use the approved power plug, its retained at customs until you provide all the paperwork, it happened twice to me, last time was 10 days ago, and the package is still at customs... a PITA...


Pablo

[HayTay]

Diarmaid,

Have you checked with Dave Rigotti at HobbyCNC? His new HobbyCNC Pro 4-axis board is RoHS Compliant and he is now shipping to EU. Lots of new added features to boot! Plus, I hear, Dave's a great guy to deal with and he's also an active member of CNCzone. Yes, he's the one who responded in post #6 of this thread. I'd PM him (username: hobbycnc) or start a thread in the HobbyCNC forum to verify pricing and shipping to Ireland. Since Dave didn't give himself a shameless plug, I had to.

Here's another option:
Do you, or one of your mates, have the skill set to "roll your own" driver boards? There's plenty of info/resources on PMinMO's website, PICList's LiniStepper site, and AVR-STMD web pages. Another great resource is/was Alan Garfield's PICstep website (http://www.fromorbit.com/projects/picstep/index.php), but it seems to have disappeared. Anyone have any info or updates on the PICstep driver website?

A quick tutorial on how to etch your own PCB's is available from 5 Bears Research.


Just one more thing you would be able add to your résumé,

HayTay

[diarmaid]

Im looking at the HobbyCNC option again. Can someone tell me what the differance is between the required 'PCB Soldering Skills' and just regular soldering skills?

My soldering skills are amature at best, I dont even own a soldering iron, and only soldered a few times, but Im more than willing to buy one and give it a go.

I've read in other threads that the Xylotex driver board was better than the HobbyCNC (And the Gecko better again etc). That info along with not having to do much 'sticking together' in the Xylotex (its not a 'kit' !) is what made me choose it over the HobbyCNC. Is this true...any comments?
Thanks.

Ironically, I do have a few spools of nice lead based solder and will be using it if I go the HobbyCNC route.......

Do you think Dave would mind being harassed if I have any problems with putting it all together? (Although I'd most likely just post any questions that arise on the zone)

[ger21]

Do you think Dave would mind being harassed if I have any problems with putting it all together? (Although I'd most likely just post any questions that arise on the zone)

I believe he'll assemble them for you, for a small fee.

[massajamesb]

It took me a whole hour and a half to solder his board at my work, on and off. I do not solder for a living, because if I did, my family and I would go hungry. Even so, with a good switchable 15/35 watt iron, a little patience, and following his instructions EXACTLY to the letter (very important part here) I got it together. Dave is a great guy to deal with, he sells a great product, and, best of all, he knows his product. The board has provisions for home and limit switches, and also has solder points for pins 14-17, if my memory serves me. I looked at Xylotex, but for half the price, I bought a board with better ratings, great customer service, and all it needed was a little soldering to bring it to life. Not that there is anything wrong with Xylotex, those look to be very quality boards. But in comparison, I feel that a lot of people scare themselves off because of the whole PCB soldering thing. I think that to be ironic, if you can build your machine, what is stopping you from a little soldering? Honestly Diarmaid, if you get the Xylotex board, you will be very happy with it, they are excellent. But, if you ever have a problem with it, and need another board, or ? then what can you do? Just my 2 cents on the matter.

[PEU]

you may want to consider the www.pmdx.com breakout & driver boards, Im very satisfied with them, and the price is right. I used the PMDX-122 BB and PMDX-150 drivers


Pablo

[miljnor]

Then that person gets in trouble? "If caught"....

Dave Rigotti
www.hobbycnc.com

While this may be true, does the british government have long enough arms to implement their laws in the U.S. (or any country for that matter)?

Its just a question, as I don't know how they would prosecute someone in a different country.

Just the facts Man! Don't give me a diatribe on some insignificant "what if" or "don't bet money on it" saying.