I bet they have two similar Products available, and you've ended up with parts from each.

Rotary Table from one, Plates from t'other. … neither is wrong, they're just not a set.

MichaelG.

“bet they have two similar Products available, and you've ended up with parts from each.

Rotary Table from one, Plates from t'other. … neither is wrong, they're just not a set”

I suppose what Michael Gilligan posted could just be possible. If so it is very worrying because if the makers of a division plate & rotary table cannot accurately set out 3 equally disposed holes each and every time then what does it say for their production, quality control or integrity. The whole reason for a division plate/rotary table combination to exist at all is to give the ability to set angular positions accurately around a given point.

There seems to be an acceptance among a number of my fellow model engineers that certain UK importers/suppliers can provide inferior quality goods just because they are cheaper than products from quality suppliers. Every item sold by these suppliers should fulfil its intended function correctly even if the castings are a bit rough, the paint finish less than wonderful, the plating horrible etc. The latter defects can all be excused on a low cost basis but lack of correct function cannot.

Apart from Ketan Swali at Arc no one from any of the various UK suppliers has ever made any comment on this forum about their quality control policy concerning the customer at one end and their Far Eastern supplier at the other. I am sure they do read the forum! These suppliers have set out their stall to provide us with products that sell at prices well below those of UK or Western European manufactures. In doing so they have undercut manufacturers such as Myford and others to the point of extinction. Now we have to put up with indifferent quality items and are supposed to be grateful – and especially grateful when they exchange or refund us for a faulty product.

Don’t let them get away with it. Always send the item back with a clear written reason for complaint and ask what their QA policy is.

Most of the suppliers that I have dealt with that sell Chinese or Indian products have replaced faulty goods but stress the replacement part must be checked before dispatch.

I have no connection to Arc Uero but a faulty product supplied by them was replaced immediately and they checked the replacement was all right.

Their service is exhalent and they try to keep their customers happy.

Paul

Edited By Windy on 13/05/2013 08:53:28

Michael,

It should not matter if the division plate is an accessory or an original part my pointy is that the maker of a so called precision part should be able to get 3 holes aligned correctly. What would you say if you bought a set of alloy wheels for your car, found the hole were inaccurately placed and then the supplier told you as they were an accessory you could not necessarily expect them to fit….?

None of us must fall into the trap of being apologists for poor goods supplied by companies taking our money and not checking the quality of the goods properly. This is what we did in the 1950’s when British motor bikes leaked oil, had poor quality magnetos that made them hard to start in the wet, kick starters that almost broke your leg, centre stands that gave you a hernia etc. Then Honda began to supply their Dream model that never had any of these faults and worked first time straight from the box- everyone was amazed and the rest is history.

Unfortunately the makers of most far eastern model engineering products do not adopt Honda like quality control systems.

What we need is Which? to do a report on model engineering tools.

It worked for consumer electronics. I don't think there is a television, camera, Hi-Fi, or phone etc. that I've bought in the last twenty years that I've been disappointed with. What makes the difference, in my opinion, is that there is a source of independent information on how good a product is. Even ratings for books on Amazon are an improvement on what info we have for tools.

Gary

Edited By Gary Marland on 13/05/2013 09:41:25

I think foklks are missing Michael's point. There uis a very good reason why the holes may not be evenly spaced – so you can swap plates and put them back on in the same orientation without needing a key.

Both items could well be to spec, but not matched.

Joey

Thanks Joey

The bottom line is that under 'The Sale of Goods Act 1979' the dividing head as supplied is or appears to be 'not fit for purpose'. It is the suppliers resposibilty to either refund the purchase price including any carriage costs or replace it. I would back up my e-mail with a telephone call where you can get someones name. It is suprising that when you have a name they tend to look at these problems much better. Don't forget it is not your responsibility to pay for return carriage if an item is defective.

I don't think it matters if it is a rotary table or an all singing all dancing dividing head. If it was sold as a unit with all parts compatable. It must fall into being 'not fit for purpose' if part of the set up is defective.The plates must fit and be usable on the dividing head/rotary table without modification.