Chinese DRO opinions

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

I already have a EMS 200 XY DRO on my mill. I would like one on my lathe but do not feel justified in spending too much as It is not my main hobby & I probably only use the lathe a couple of hours a month.

So as i am going to Ally Pallyexhibition on Friday 19 Jan I thought a cheaper option might be to go to the supplier of my DRO & buy 2 readers & then – as suggested in another post on this forum- buy a couple of switch boxes & use the same display

I am not worried about needing a set up on the mill whilst using the lathe

However, for less money & hassle I see that there are cheap complete systems on the market & I wondered what forumites experience of these are. Have they generally found them to be a waste of time & is it money down the drain

For instance I have found this **LINK**

Circa £168

I know I may have to pay VAT, but it is a lot cheaper than the one I have at present. Experiences please

Thanks

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 15/01/2020 16:20:56

[John BaguleyParticipant @johnbaguley78655]

I bought a very similar set from China a couple of years ago for the mill and I've been very happy with it. I didn't go for the cheapest though. I got a Sinpo brand which seems to have a pretty good reputation which was around £200. It took two weeks to arrive which was no problem and I had to pay £21 VAT etc. I would certainly purchase direct from China again when I want another one.

John

[bill ellisParticipant @billellis45274]

I bought a 3 axis set from china earlier this year. All works fine and seems accurate enough. Needed to make some bracketry though as the stuff supplied was not to my liking. Got caught for tax but still much cheaper than buying UK stock (which is probably from China anyhow).

[Douglas JohnstonParticipant @douglasjohnston98463]

My concern about buying this kind of thing from China would be the quality of the packaging. The scales are quite fragile and it is a long way from China. I often buy stuff from China and the packaging is seldom good. If you get a broken scale it might be a hassle getting a replacement.

Doug

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

My mill DRO was supplied by M-DRO and looking at the items it is clear that it is a Chinese made item, so it must have been sent from China!

Brian

[Douglas JohnstonParticipant @douglasjohnston98463]

Posted by Brian H on 15/01/2020 17:40:18:

My mill DRO was supplied by M-DRO and looking at the items it is clear that it is a Chinese made item, so it must have been sent from China!

Brian

That's true but a bulk supply to the likes of M-DRO is a different matter to sending out a single unit to a customer.

Doug

[bill ellisParticipant @billellis45274]

Mine was supplied very well packaged, the scales were in one box (quite thick cardboard) individually separated with foam dividers. The hardware and display were in a separate box with bubble wrap around. This was the second lot I've had directly from China and both have been well packed.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

It wouldn't surprise me if they were all made in China & uk companies & the like just rebadge. I have watched a few youtube vids of people who have fit them & they all seemed very pleased with them.

[Henry BrownParticipant @henrybrown95529]

It seems all the cheaper kits use glass sales rather than magnetic. I believe glass are bulkier than magnetic and cant be trimmed to length like magnetic.

I've recently put a Machine DRO 2 axis magnetic type on my SX4 mill and rang them direct for a qoute which was less than the special offer at the Warwick show!

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

This one

is from a UK source, so shouldn't attract import fees.

I bought a 3 axis kit (£224 delivered from UK source) last year – supplied in two cartons (one with individually boxed scales + mounting hardware, the other the readout & mounting arm) whaich came in under a week. Strangely the scales were delivered by Hermes & the readout by ParcelForce on the same day.

Had the whole lot connected up on the bench to check it all functioned (which it did), but still "ongoing" with the fitting to the mill, so no actual usage experience.

Nigel B

Edited By mgnbuk on 15/01/2020 20:29:49

[Pete RimmerParticipant @peterimmer30576]

Posted by mgnbuk on 15/01/2020 20:24:56:

This one

is from a UK source, so shouldn't attract import fees.

I bought a 3 axis kit (£224 delivered from UK source) last year – supplied in two cartons (one with individually boxed scales + mounting hardware, the other the readout & mounting arm) whaich came in under a week. Strangely the scales were delivered by Hermes & the readout by ParcelForce on the same day.

Had the whole lot connected up on the bench to check it all functioned (which it did), but still "ongoing" with the fitting to the mill, so no actual usage experience.

Nigel B

Edited By mgnbuk on 15/01/2020 20:29:49

That seller is in China and he has dreadful feedback.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Pete Rimmer on 15/01/2020 20:50:39:

Posted by mgnbuk on 15/01/2020 20:24:56:

This one

That seller is in China and he has dreadful feedback.

Depends what you mean by "seller" and "in". The many feedbacks reporting fast delivery suggest that at least a proportion of the seller's items are being dispatched from closer to home than China.

The 98.9 % feedback doesn't seem too dire in the larger scheme of things. In any case, we would really need to know whether the seller is selling under more than one Ebay user name to know whether the feedback under the present name is an accurate reflection of the overall standard of service he provides.

[Ian Skeldon 2Participant @ianskeldon2]

Seems a bit of a coincidence that his recent feedback is not available !

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Ian Skeldon 2 on 15/01/2020 23:18:48:

Seems a bit of a coincidence that his recent feedback is not available !

Most recent feedback is 13/1/20. I see 49 feedbacks for the last month.

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

That seller is in China and he has dreadful feedback.

Unless the Chinese have renamed a town Dunstable, the items are shown as shipping from the UK – the quoted delivery date would suggest that is the case.

And 12 negatives in the last 12 monts vs 960 positives is "dreadful" feedback ?

A more pertinant "negative" would be the point in the description that I missed initally – the listing is for 2 nominated scale lengths, with no option to select these. This may or may not be of use to the OP.

Nigel B

[Ian Skeldon 2Participant @ianskeldon2]

Posted by Bill Phinn on 15/01/2020 23:25:25:

Posted by Ian Skeldon 2 on 15/01/2020 23:18:48:

Seems a bit of a coincidence that his recent feedback is not available !

Most recent feedback is 13/1/20. I see 49 feedbacks for the last month.

Just checked and now I can see the feedback, don't know why it didn't have that available earlier. Of no concern but it does say the seller is based in China on the feedback page.

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

I have had 2 sent from China. They were from different suppliers. Both were fine.

I'm pretty sure they came off ebay. So I was reasonably sure that I would be looked after if there were any problems.

Regards.

David.

[Anonymous]

I had a similar/same 2 axis set delivered this week, via fleabay,  very well packaged and finally a manual for a Chinese product in proper English not Chinglish. Pick a Chinese supplier with a U.K. location "base" to make sure you don't end up with tax and handling charges.

Edited By Mick Berrisford on 16/01/2020 11:48:23

[Henry BrownParticipant @henrybrown95529]

Are the covers that fit over the glass scales made from plastic and how do they fit to the scale?

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

Are the covers that fit over the glass scales made from plastic and how do they fit to the scale?

Aluminium angle extrusions on the kit I bought. The extrusions will require drilling to attach to the scale mounting brackets (or to additional brackets mounted on the machine if the scales are mounted directly).

Nigel B

[Henry BrownParticipant @henrybrown95529]

Posted by mgnbuk on 16/01/2020 13:25:10:

Aluminium angle extrusions on the kit I bought. The extrusions will require drilling to attach to the scale mounting brackets (or to additional brackets mounted on the machine if the scales are mounted directly).

Nigel B

Thanks Nigel, the pictures on ebay are not particularly clear. I'm contemplating a set for my lathe so the more compact they are the better, the top slide needs 76mm and cross slide needs 170mm plus the extra non reading length.

The M DRO ones measure 35mm x 32mm over the cover and the non reading length is only 45mm at each end.

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by mgnbuk on 16/01/2020 07:44:59:

That seller is in China and he has dreadful feedback.

Unless the Chinese have renamed a town Dunstable, the items are shown as shipping from the UK – the quoted delivery date would suggest that is the case.

Nigel B

What you have to remember is all the above may be true, but that does not mean that there really is stock in the UK.

I bought a cheap as chips CCMT carbide set alleged in stock from Leicester with 5 days delivery it finally came nearly 3 weeks late duly shipped by Post Office 48hr from the UK. By all means buy direct but don't miss the Ebay deadline for reporting missing items and don't forget your guarantee might not exist as Chinese law applies.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Dave Halford on 16/01/2020 15:40:10:

What you have to remember is all the above may be true, but that does not mean that there really is stock in the UK.

And yet, as I've said above, the feedback suggests a fair amount of the stock is reaching buyers a lot more quickly than the typical shipping time from China, i.e. about the time it took for your carbide bits to arrive. This suggests to me there really is some stock at least in the UK.

[Nigel RiceParticipant @nigelrice73086]

Sam

I took delivery of my Chinese 3 axis DRO for my mill yesterday and I am over the moon!

LINK

At £131.48 delivered through Poland – so no taruffs, duties or extra charges it seemd too good to be true. This was the complete kit with 5 micron magnetic scales.

I ordered in early January and was advised on ordering that there would be a delay due to Chinese New Year. I was advised of shipment and departure from Poland, the final carrier was DHL with a signed for delivery in perfect condition.

Everything sprung into life on powering up, (only snag being European plug that needed changing). The control panel is fitted to my mill and the X axis scale should be operational tomorrow.

The only downside is the sophistication of the control panel against a unit I was using some 30 years ago!

Nigel

[Author]

Posts