I’m new to CNC, and thinking of buying one for some projects I have in mind, but as most of the kit is designed and made in the US I have some reservations about support and parts etc.
Anyone from AUS or NZ on here who can shed some light on these concerns?
Cheers
There’s a map of folks on the Unofficial Facebook Group (if you’re willing to join it):
and there are some folks who are from down under:
https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=kiwi
We’ve sold a fair number of machines to both countries, and aside from the longer shipping times, support for them seems to work as well as for other locales.
If you have some specific concern, please let us know and we’ll do our best to assuage them.
FWIW I’m in Switzerland, which has similar concerns to yours (and I’m also Australian).
For the most part, the machine’s US origins just don’t matter.
You might need to replace the power cable with one for your local power socket but the cable is a standard AC power cable, the kind you might find on a PC power supply (or laptop, I can’t remember the particular variant).
Aside from that, there are some machine-specific accessories you might want to buy from Carbide 3D, like the vise, flip jig and threaded table but once you have them, the only other interaction you might have with Carbide 3D is support. Support is by email but you can schedule an appointment if you have issues to work through. IIRC they had appointments that a kiwi could reasonably make work. If there are any defective parts on the machine, Carbide 3D covers shipping, so you shouldn’t have any problems.
The main trouble you’ll probably run into is finding machining supplies in general, like raw material and endmills. That’s a problem regardless of where you buy a mill though.
The weird thing about finding supplies, at least for endmills is that they’re used a lot in industry, so there really should be local suppliers — I was able to find a local shop using Harvey’s “Find a Distributor” link who would allow me to drop off a check and then pick up the endmills when their order came in.
It kinda depends. There are for sure major suppliers for industry but they don’t always deal with individuals. I think it’s an accounting thing and varies by country. In particular, businesses in the EU are required to charge VAT on sales to an individual but not to other businesses, so an endmill supplier might not have to file VAT at all if they never sell to an individual.
Hi Steve,
I have an so3 that came in as hand luggage with a mate…no gst on it😉
I buy end mills from drillman on ebay or from Carbide 3d. So far no issues re support but I confess to not spending a lot if time using it owing to other jobs highlighted by “Er Indoors”.
I think a company called Linbide might sell some end mills and my Saw Doctor in Mt Maunganui had a small selection. Go for it…you wont be left hanging for wanting for support either from C3d or the community.
Hi Steve,
I am in NZ down in the South Island,machines are mechanically very good and the help from support at carbide and the sales team are excellent and I would challenge you to find any better.If you need any help don’t be afraid to ask me,I am only learning but the expertise on this forum is incredible.
Graham
Thanks all, I’ll see how I go. Just need a bit of cash first. At least here I got a response which is better than on another forum from another well known manufacturer, so that speaks volumes to me straight off the bat.
Cheers
Ha, that’s cool. I lived in Zürich for several years and speak fluent Swiss German.
Where in CH are you?
Thanks mate, I’ll keep you in mind if I can get the funds together to make the plunge (no pun intended)
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