K2 cnc

LGSM3

LGSM3

Jake<built cues for fun
Silver Member
Looking for some advice. Seems like i have seen people have every CNC but this one. Doesnt make much sense though as it seems this is by far the best value out of any machine i've seen. With that being said, the value i'm reffering to is limited to the minimal cnc knowledge i have. So is it really value?

Comes with servos, not steppers
Gantry, apparently this is a major plus with rigidity and versatility
comes with 4 axis and lathe, can mount router and spindle

The obvious is that i have answered all my own questions, just wondering if you guys know something that i don't?
 
Good machine but Techno Isel I think is still better.
CNC knowlegde is a must on those machines.
On a Gantry, fixture offset for each setup has to be set and that requires a little more than basic knowledge I think.
 
LGSM3 said:
Looking for some advice. Seems like i have seen people have every CNC but this one. Doesnt make much sense though as it seems this is by far the best value out of any machine i've seen. With that being said, the value i'm reffering to is limited to the minimal cnc knowledge i have. So is it really value?

Comes with servos, not steppers
Gantry, apparently this is a major plus with rigidity and versatility
comes with 4 axis and lathe, can mount router and spindle

The obvious is that i have answered all my own questions, just wondering if you guys know something that i don't?
Click to expand...


LG, it is rare to get more than you pay for. I ran the numbers on that machine and you are correct. With out a router, I didn't like what they offered, it was under $5K. I didn't care for the type of bearings that they are using. Now that being said I am sure that this machine will get the job done and do it well. Now, I do wonder about tech support. Now I am sure that someone there can help you run a cnc machine. How much do they know about cue building? What programs or training will they offer for cue building? If you do not need this information then it would be a great way to go. If you do not know how to run a cnc machine or know how to use it to build cues then this maybe the drawback. Please if you find out any of this information then let us know.

Jim.
 
Mc2 said:
LG, it is rare to get more than you pay for. I ran the numbers on that machine and you are correct. With out a router, I didn't like what they offered, it was under $5K. I didn't care for the type of bearings that they are using. Now that being said I am sure that this machine will get the job done and do it well. Now, I do wonder about tech support. Now I am sure that someone there can help you run a cnc machine. How much do they know about cue building? What programs or training will they offer for cue building? If you do not need this information then it would be a great way to go. If you do not know how to run a cnc machine or know how to use it to build cues then this maybe the drawback. Please if you find out any of this information then let us know.

Jim.
Click to expand...

I'm just waiting for your next machine. :thumbup:
:)
 
I was going to have K2 build me a machine a while ago. It would have cost me about $13K without a spindle, which would have cost me another $4-$5K.

Instead, I bought the machine Jim was selling and have been modifying it. When my new screws arrive this week or next, I'll be about $10K into the machine and I guarantee you its better than the K2 I was going to buy. Almost 1/2 of that cost was the spindle too, so you could certainly build a nice machine for a lot less. Mine has a headstock with a motor for turning cues and a 4th axis with it's own tailstock for inlaying cues. I can change from the nsk spindle to a kress router for doing tapers in just a few minutes.

You need to decide what you want to do. If you want to do small precision inlays, it is not going to come cheap. If you want to just do simple designs, then you can get away with a lot less money.

Also, You really don't need servo's for building cues. Once it's out of position, you've already screwed up, so what difference does it make if the machine stops itself. I am always at the machine anyway, when doing inlays, so if the machine does mess up, it only takes a second to hit the stop button.
 
I've looked at that machine a number of times and thought it was a lot of bang for the buck but there are a couple of things on it that I don't like. One are the bearings. I believe that linear bearings that use rails and trucks are much more accurate and have less friction for easier movement. Second, I don't really like the Kirk, anti-backlash screws for movement. They are not ball screws, made of plastic, must be fairly large or they are whippy have more friction than a ball screw and are a lot more fragile.

I must admit that I started to buy an 7 inch travail Z axis from them off of E-bay early this morning to replace the Z axis on my Gantry. If it runs accurately I intend to buy a second one to use as a Y axis on the CNC that I am building for turning shaft blanks. It would probably just have a 3 inch or so of travel. When I looked there was only 22 minute till the end of the auction and I needed more time to think before spending that amount of money especially as I already have linear rails and trucks purchased for that component.

Dick
 
I must admit that I started to buy an 7 inch travail Z axis from them off of E-bay early this morning to replace the Z axis on my Gantry. If it runs accurately I intend to buy a second one to use as a Y axis on the CNC that I am building for turning shaft blanks. It would probably just have a 3 inch or so of travel. When I looked there was only 22 minute till the end of the auction and I needed more time to think before spending that amount of money especially as I already have linear rails and trucks purchased for that component.

Dick
Click to expand...
Hi Dick,
I bought two THK actuators off Fleabay.
THK 55 for the X axis. This one is a frkn beast. 20MM ballscrews. It can really rapid enough to kill you if the saddle hits you. :eek:
I set Mach so it rapids at 140 FPM at the most. Smooth as butter.
I bought a THK 33 actuator for the Y axis.
I know, ballscrews are designed for clean environment but I've had them for months now and have no issues yet. Except my controller is xylotex and it ain't Gecko.
I like Jim's design of the Y axis being on a mounted extrusion and it moving instead of the router. I can see how that can be cleaner and maybe more accurate and ridgid.
I'm not quite the genius Jim is.:)
 
Ebay

There is another guy on ebay who has a couple machines. His larger one has enough travel and looks like it would work. It has the better type of linear slides with the trucks on all the axis. I saw on his website that someone has set one of his machines up for cue building. I wish I knew who it was so I could ask them how they liked it. I think his big machine goes for $3900 but it doesn't have cue fixtures like the K2 one. I'm blocked at work or I'd post the link. I'll try to remember when I get home.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CNC-ROUTER-32-x...ltDomain_0?hash=item1c11af99d4#ht_4047wt_1057
 
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CamposCues said:
There is another guy on ebay who has a couple machines. His larger one has enough travel and looks like it would work. It has the better type of linear slides with the trucks on all the axis. I saw on his website that someone has set one of his machines up for cue building. I wish I knew who it was so I could ask them how they liked it. I think his big machine goes for $3900 but it doesn't have cue fixtures like the K2 one. I'm blocked at work or I'd post the link. I'll try to remember when I get home.
Click to expand...

Blurrycustoms?
http://www.blurrycustoms.com/
 
CamposCues said:
Yeah, I think you beat me to it...was trying to use the Droid to post the link.

What do you guys think about this machine? I suppose by the time you bought all the fixtures it would be in the same price range as most of the others.
Click to expand...

I actually like this machine. It needs to have a better table on it. I am not sure though but in the video they certainly don't know how to live turn a handle. Just kidding. I wonder if that A axis can be used as a spindle for turning? You only need to get up to 300 rpm or so. Mach3 will let you set up a spindle from a stepper motor. It depends on the ratio setup from motor to table. And yes it does have the Gecko 540. I would choose this controller over the Xylotec any day of the week. I would suspect that again, this machine will needs some work to get to the point you could build cues.

Jim.
 
The pictures of the red machine on the Blurry website are of my machine.

The dots (ellipses) on the dice were done with a .020" bit, and the facets were done with a standard .0312" bit. The gap between the facets is .010". I have some .0157" bits to try, but haven't yet.

The dice were a test on one of my early shakedown tests. If you look closely between the facets in a couple areas the .010" web had chipped out (I tried doing all pockets at the same time before gluing any inlays in) and got filled in with black epoxy when I did the dots.

I keep telling myself that I'll do a proper write up on the machine, but haven't got there yet. At this point I don't have many hours on it, as I didn't have any cues built up far enough to start inlaying, but I have a few now getting close, with one ready (if I can finalize the pattern I want).

For the money though, I think it's a great machine. Of course there's always room for improvement in any machine you buy, but with 20mm NSK rails and pretty decent ballscrews, I think it's a great place to get your feet wet.

Frank
 
Jr's Farm said:
The pictures of the red machine on the Blurry website are of my machine.

The dots (ellipses) on the dice were done with a .020" bit, and the facets were done with a standard .0312" bit. The gap between the facets is .010". I have some .0157" bits to try, but haven't yet.

The dice were a test on one of my early shakedown tests. If you look closely between the facets in a couple areas the .010" web had chipped out (I tried doing all pockets at the same time before gluing any inlays in) and got filled in with black epoxy when I did the dots.

I keep telling myself that I'll do a proper write up on the machine, but haven't got there yet. At this point I don't have many hours on it, as I didn't have any cues built up far enough to start inlaying, but I have a few now getting close, with one ready (if I can finalize the pattern I want).

For the money though, I think it's a great machine. Of course there's always room for improvement in any machine you buy, but with 20mm NSK rails and pretty decent ballscrews, I think it's a great place to get your feet wet.

Frank
Click to expand...

Cool Frank. I was wondering who's setup that was on his web site. You'll have to keep us posted on performance as you log more hours on that puppy.
 
K2

I did also look at the K2 when researching the topic and at that time I looked
at a 2525 FR-G version with all the bells and whistles. Quote was $13 528.
This included a HSD spindle and some SW.

After talking to a supplier of end mills (no names mentioned) - which I know many of us use
I dropped it. They had been fiddling with getting the machine working for over
6 months and that was certainly not my interest.

This might have been a "one time" affair - but was enough for me to drop them.

K
 
I have to say I'm not a fan of ball screws.

Ball screws are not zero backlash unless you use a special zero backlash ball nut. It's actually 2 ball nuts threaded to the same screw with either a threaded spreading mechanism or a spring loaded spreading mechanism in between the 2 ball nuts. It's pretty expensive.

Also, they do get filled up with dust. And they are a pain to take apart and clean.

I use mostly acme threaded lead screw with plastic anti backlash nuts. Yes, they are more friction but for me that's not really a problem. What I need most is the trouble free operation of them. They don't wear out, they don't gum up with dust and oil and get dirty, they just work. Day in and day out, they work. They also have zero backlash!

Now I don't currently do any inlays, so all my work is turning. But I do allot of turning.

Just my thoughts!
 
thanks

Thank all you guys for your input, its helped alot. Got one more question though.

The industry standard appears to be Bobcad. Why?
Least expensive?
Easiest to learn?
Or is it just best suited for cue building?

Does anyone have any experience with Visual Mill? it was reccomended in lieu of Bobcad, but i almost feel like i should go with what the rest of you guys are using in case i need help?
 
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