Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Chinese Lathes.

>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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