I am looking at buying a CNC from a generic Chinese company for our door shop that will pretty much be solely dedicated to making one or two piece MDF cabinet doors. It is a very beefy looking machine and appears to be made similar to some Euro machines but only cost $13,000. It comes with Artcam software which I have never heard of but I am told it can use any software as long as the software outputs Gcode. My question to you guys is can a software such as Mozaik or Cabinet Vision work with such a generic Chinese machine? I know it’s a gamble but I have done a lot of thinking on this and have decided to go this route.

Tipper,
Cutting MDF doors requires a machine that has the least amount of vibration, which is why most door companies go for the big heavy iron machines to reduce secondary processes like sanding out blemishes.

I know of a company that buys the machines from China, then takes out the controller and replaces it with WinCnc or something similar. That is one possibility to resolve your concerns, but at $13,000 I am pretty sure they are using cheap Chinese motors and a spindle. Where is your service and parts going to come from and how long will you be down waiting on repairs?

False economy, no, no... no....no. Its not just the machine but the service.
-Do they have a technician in your area?
-Where is the parts inventory?
-Can you call for technical help in the middle of the day.
-Do you have any recourse if the machine is not what it appeared?
-Who made the spindle itself? What brand? Call a spindle rebuilder and get their opinion of it and if it can be rebuilt.
-What would a comparable name brand machine cost? If it is significantly less how is that possible? Maybe it is not comparable.
-I think the entry price for a machine to do what you want if you are a door shop and plan to do a lot of doors is $120K.
-If it seems to good to be true it probably is.

I have found over more than 20 years buying a cheap tool is never cheap.

Good luck!
Bill

Lots of good old heavy iron out there for $30k. Easy to fix and rock solid.

Look for a Fanuc control and you can get service anywhere.

I would also look for work other than MDF doors - decent integrated tooling can cost you $20K. Anything else is just pushing the cost down the line to the sanding area. Unless you spend $100K on a sanding robot.

Getting a post processor configured for their controller to other software will be the issue. Not unusual to have grounding issues and EMF problems with a cheap VFD for the spindle and controller. If you are really good with CNC, or have a local hobby guy who can make it jump through hoops, you're golden. But if you like turn key, don't consider it. You'll loose money fast not being in production.

Ask them to send you a Gcode file. Then post it here and see if someone recognizes it as similar to something else.

BH Davis

several important point :
what kind of vacuum pump(best i think is copy becker 250 all the rest ..)
what kind of servo motor(be sure its not steeper)
what kind of controller(be sure its not fake mach3 ,because there fake hardware for mach3 its disaster)
do you have popup stopper around table to fix the board
check that the dust collector hood will not be less then 200mm(chines standard 100mm)if you want yours dust collector will do some work
be sure there greaze system not oil system if you don't replace bearing each month
good luck
if need any help can call me any time by watsapp 972504242775
***artcam that chines give its fake be sure you not got into trouble in usa when use it
***check shipping cost and tax ,i don't know to usa but china to israel 20feet container its 10k usd and as i know usa also have tax on chines machines

If you use Mobile Vac 2 Way Oil and have a manual pump or automatic oiler it's just fine. I retired after running a 5 axis Motionmaster and the bearings were as tight as new after 12 years.

rich
if oil was solution ,at least one of europ famous companies was use it
but there no even one western company use oil
**gantry type its much more sensitive to bearing issues

about machine parts i forgot one important point
reducer: be sure its reducer not timing belt and famous brand like shimpo or beiito

I bought a Chinese CNC a few years ago. No regrets. $25k included all the taxes, and shipping for a 5x10 with a linear ATC. I don't do MDF doors, but I encourage the poster to go for it.

I use an old version of MasterCAM, so I had to spend several days tweaking the post processor to get it working. Once you get the post processor working, you can run any program you want on top of it.

Lots of naysayers on this thread. But what do you have to lose? Let's say it doesn't work? Throw it away, buy a new one from China, and you've still saved money over buying an American version who bought from China and marked it up 300%.

yaakov,
You doubt my experience? I ran a 5'x10'x3' Z, 5 axis Motionmaster with a Fagor controller for 12 years using oil and manual pump on the linear ball bearing guides. It was the recommendation of that western manufacturer when we purchased the machine new. You have personal knowledge of every single western made cnc maintenance recommendations?

Motionmaster is now DMS and was purchased by SCM Group in 2018. The machine I ran is now called the Everglade.

https://dmscncrouters.com/product-lines/dms-essentials-5-axis/#