Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Chinese Lathes.

Yes these things would make sense, but the sad reality is that the market does not care about the things that you point out.
In the sale of consumer goods (and yes, these machines have been "lowered" to that status) Only 2 things matter:
1. Cost
2. Availability
So, make alot, make'm cheap and have the distribution network and you will succeed. Does the product suck? Yes, and the
consumer ultimately suffers.
It will never change until the consumers raise their standards. Consumers drive the market. If the Chinese stuff wasn't
selling, they would stop making it.
"We" are not the average consumer.

ballendo@... wrote:

> Chris,
>
> Nice post.
>
> I sure wish I could figure out how the Asian MFRs decide which tool
> to "copy". It seems that they do a good job of copying the faults,
> and that often, the machine chosen as a "master", is not the better
> design. The 9x20 class of lathes is a good example. The compound
> slide design is flawed on the original "compact 8" made by emco-
> maier. This bad design is carried over to the "new" lathe. Wish
> they'd copied the south bend line!
>
> Other times the design is ok, but depends on a "better" material,
> or "better" assembly/fitting to work well. In some of these cases
> there is little to be done but accept the lower quality. A point of
> example would be the "kurt" copy mill vises.(sold by enco and others
> for about a hunerd bucks) The design of the Kurt is great, but the
> poor materials/finish used in the copies results in a poor vise, tho
> still quite usable IF one accepts the difference...
>
> Ballendo
>
> P.S. I LIKE twin "pins" on the compound! And some VERY expensive
> lathes have 'em...
>
> > The situation here seems to be multifaceted.
> >
> > One facet is that, there is an eager hobbyist market for functional
> > machines at prices which make it hard to produce anything of real
> > quality.
> >
> > Another, which the above quote comes closer to in my mind, is the
> > kind of shoddy design, implementation, and workmanship that shows
> > up in even higher priced machines.
> >
> > For example, a lab at MIT recently bought a bunch of shiny new top
> of
> > the line and doubltess pricey versions of the same basic 13x40
> > gearhead lathe that is available everywhere at any price/quality
> level
> > you could choose. Or so it looks in the marketing literature. The
> > power feed lever of one of these machines fell off in my hand! It
> was
> > held on with two sorry looking set screws, fixed in place by jam
> nuts,
> > bearing in little divots cut on either side of another piece. Get
> > real! This is the kind of thing one expects on a $1995 hobbyist
> > machine - but it's no better on the pricey one because the basic
> > design is flawed. You see it in other things, too - little
> > handwheels, dual crank pins on the compound so you can't really turn
> > it, etc...
> >
> > So I guess we have to accept that they don't make them like they
> used
> > to. Now what? Will our grandchildren rescrape our South Bends?
> Will
> > the developing world learn to make well thouht out machinery? Will
> > we continue to buy and improove the current lathe kits?
> >
> > Probably all of the above...
> >
> > Chris
> >
> > --
> > Christopher C. Stratton, stratton@m...
> > Instrument Maker, Horn Player & Engineer
> > 22 Adrian Street, Somerville, MA 02143
> > http://www.mdc.net/~stratton
> > NEW PHONE NUMBER: (617) 628-1062 home, 253-2606 MIT
>
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