[floriske.nl]

Just to inform other forum members who are thinking about buying a machine from G-Weike (WKlaser, SPC laser are the same company and they probably have some more aliases) here are our experiences with this company:

Early this year me and another dutch cnczone forum member decided to order 3 machines at G-Weike, 2 WK-6090 cnc routers and a LG-1060 laser.

Because the standard package of the router was not what we where looking for we asked for some upgrades and got a decent price from them. Next to that we where helped very well during the pre sales period and all e-mails where replied in a quick and friendly way. So we decided to place the order, after which the trouble started.

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Here's what we got quoted and ordered:

• 20mm (HiWin or) TBI square Linear guides on x- y
• 2005 German high precision ballscrew on x- and y-axis
• 1605 German high precision ballscrew on z-axis
• 3,5Nm stepper motors on all axis instead of 2,1Nm (costs: $100,- extra per machine)
• stepper drivers - (Leadshine)
• limit swiches
• all wiring
• power supply etc.
• ACD for z-axis spindle
• 1,5kW water cooled spindle with inverter
• No DSP controller and PCB because we both wanted to use an EdingCNC controller
• accessories (ER 11 collets, 16pcs of router bits etc.)
• extra box of bits (it comes with 16pcs of bits)

And here's what we got:

• 20mm PMI square Linear guides on x- y - NOT WHAT WE ORDERED
• 2005 German high precision ballscrew on x- and y-axis
• 1605 German high precision ballscrew on z-axis
• 2,1Nm stepper motors on all axis instead of 3,5Nm (for which we paid $100,- extra per machine) - NOT WHAT WE ORDERED
• stepper drivers - (Leadshine)
• limit swiches
• missing ground wiring - NOT WHAT WE ORDERED
• power supply etc.
• ACD for z-axis spindle - Was missing, we did however receive them in a second shipment
• 1,5kW water cooled spindle with inverter
• No DSP controller and PCB
• accessories (ER 11 collets, 16pcs of router bits etc.)
• extra box of bits (it comes with 16pcs of bits)

As you can see some of the parts simply where not what we ordered. G-Weike refuses to admit any of their mistakes.

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We paid $100,- extra to get 3,5Nm stepper motors, but got 2,1Nm instead.
G-Weike refuses to refund the extra $ 200,- we paid eventhough they did not supply the ordered upgrade.

---

Next to this the following things where wrong with the machine:

Ground wiring was completely missing: That's simply dangerous and not CE conform!
There was no ground wiring present in the machine so none of the equipment as well as the chassis where grounded. Mentioned this to G-Weike and told them we had to fix this our selves which cost us time and money. G-Weike was not willing to admin this flaw or to compensate us for this.
Next to that G-Weike promised us CE approved machines, but a machine without ground wiring would never get that approval.

Guide carriages didn't have grease nipples
Since the guide carrriages had no grease nipples we asked if G-Weike could supply them seperately. After a few mails back and forth G-Weike told us that they contacted PMI and they said they could not supply them. I couldn't really believe this so e-mailed PMI myself and got an e-mail with prices within not time. Which leads to believe G-Weike never actually contacted them.

Stepper drives where setup wrong (current setting)
Because the machines max acceleration turned out pretty low after testing I figured this had to do with the stepper driver settings. So I requested the specifications of the stepper motors. It took G-Weike a couple of months to obtain these after which it turned out that the drivers where indeed setup wrong (current was set too low).

Home switches where mounted wrong so the machine homed on the wrong position
The home witches where mounted in such way that the x-and y axis where swapped and the machine homed above it's own working range instead of at the side of the unused part of the bed. We had to fix this ourselves.

Water pump is not strong enough to provide sufficient flow
An aquarium waterpump ment for large diameter hoses is supplied with the machine, but this pump is not strong enough to provide enough flow through the small hoses of the machine. Mentioned this to G-Weike and only got a reply that this is a normal pump for a cnc router.

Water pump connection was the wrong size for the machine's hoses
A fitting was supplied to connect the waterpump, but this fitting was the wrong size for the hoses. Had to improvise to make it work.

Z-axis wasn't aligned properly
The Z-axis turned out to be misaligned by almost a full degree.

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The laser showed some problems as well amoungst which:

• a dangerous laser tube connection (simple unisolated crocodile clamp, see attachment)
• wrong alignment of the head
• a not properly centered 4th axis.

But since I do not own this machine I can't tell you exactly what was wrong with it in detail.

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Most of the above is fixed by ourselves in the meantime and might seem like "small stuff" but all together combined with G-Weike not being willing to refund our $ 200,- for the stepper upgrade resulted in us deciding to post this info.

All in all we would advise not to buy from any G-Weike related company and look into other alternatives like Quick CNC or JCut maybe.

[vincenttor]

I am the other dutch guy btw
And the details about the laser are correct, i will add a picture of the rotary engrave addon.
As the wheel were the bottle or something has to lay on is not centered, the hole looks like it has been drilled with a hand tool. not much of a problem but the middle /center is normally centered this is not.
result in a bottle or a glass going up and down, not great for the vocal point of the laser.

I understand we bought a machine in China and can not expect the best quality for the money.
And the rotary tool and adjusting the lens holding head and the tube connection of the laser i can live with to change.
But ordering specifically stronger steppers for the router and a different linear guide and even pay more for these adjustments.

Then after months getting the specs of the stepper, (and it looks to me if it has been hold back because it says 2.1NM instead of 3.5nm of force)
sending another email with the findings about this.
Asking what's the deal here, why we paid 100usd each more for something we do not get, then just get a email and that it comes to that we never asked/ordered these points but we do have email traffic that says otherwise.

Very sad, did not expect a company like this to act like this.

I think it is fair if we get a refund but after some mails with the company it does not seem we are on the same line.

pity that we have to open this topic on this and a dutch forum about cnc but seems to that we have to warn people for getting in the same situation as it could have been handled properly.
this is not a act of hours , this is playing for a while now.

[louieatienza]

This is an unforthnate thing... but as they say in Latin, caveat emptor!

That said, I think TBI/PMI is a wash, they likely use the same machinery (if not the exact same one!) to make their stuff, so I don't know if that's a legitimate beef. The ground wire issue sucks, but really how long did that take to fix? You didn't mention in the first list that you needed CE compliant machine (though I guess that should be assumed) but I learn to never assume anything. These two issues are pretty minor so... Homing switches were two screws? Another 1-minute fix? I think a majority of water-cooled spindle users here just use an aquarium pump, as it realy doesn't take a lot of flow to keep the spindle cool; too fast a flow is equally not good. The Z axis could have shifted during shipping, and it's always practice to set up a machine after taking delivery. I don't say this to offend, but when dealing with these international suppliers, concentrate on teh big fish and let the little ones go, and you might get further in negotiations.

The steppers. I think when a deal sounds too good to be true it is. You look like you didn't request also upgraded drives and PSU. I would guess the 3.5N-m steppers would require at least three times the voltage of the 2.1N-m to operate optimally, which requires moe expensive drives to handle that voltage, as well as the PSU. I know on some smaller machines grease nipples are not provided since the linear rails will never, ever see anything close to the forces that they can handle. As to the current setting, most Leadshine drives have automatic current setting (I believe it's DIP switch 4) you just turn off and off fast and it will auto-tune.

Considering the hundreds of horror stories I've read here on the 'zone I think you guys actually made out alright. Most issues were monor and easily solved with almost no cost. Great choice with Bert Eding's controller. The controller and software are the best consumer-based stuff out there in my opinion and blow Mach3 out of the water!

Anyways, I hope you guys have your machines up and running, and best of luck!

[vincenttor]

I haven't used the drives at al so for me this was not the case.
Attachment 205300

Made my own controller case a while ago with dm drives from leadshine.
Another nice thing is, i opened up the cable sleeve or holder and noticed that 1 wire of the 220v was not connected to the psu but touched the outside of the smaller psu, good that i did not used it otherwise it could have been messy.
Same as that the watercooling tubes were connected on the spindle , well connected, hanging half of, if i did not opened up the housing first to have a look water would have sprayed everywhere.
Water and electricity don't mix
And the CE should be fitted with some certificate that i haven't seen yet btw.


But still its just theft, if it could not have been managed to work with the drivers psu etc they deliverd.
Why still take this 100usd more and plain simple mount different ones ?

If its not possible or needs different adjustments, say so, and who knows someone says ok, what is it going to cost to upgrade the whole electrical system.
But no, they do not say anything that it is not compatible, (not quite sure of course if it isn't) and they quote that we get 3.5nm steppers for 100 usd more.
Then if all is delivered suddenly after a couple of months when finally the specs list of the steppers comes to the surface it seems we have 2.1 nm steppers.

If you order something, pay more for it, you expect to get it.
like i said, the small things i won't complain to much as it is already been fixed knowing you buy something for less from China, but the ripping off part.
Come on

This should be good advertisement for your company/business right ?

[floriske.nl]

That said, I think TBI/PMI is a wash, they likely use the same machinery (if not the exact same one!) to make their stuff, so I don't know if that's a legitimate beef.

The quality might be exactly the same, but it's just not right to supply another product than ordered/quoted.

The ground wire issue sucks, but really how long did that take to fix? You didn't mention in the first list that you needed CE compliant machine (though I guess that should be assumed) but I learn to never assume anything.

You are right, didn't mention this in the list, but we actually did order "CE Conform" machines and even received a certificate. It's all about not keeping promisses. And all in all the fix still took a few hours, time wasted which could have been spent on more usefull things if they stuck to their end of the bargain.

These two issues are pretty minor so...

Did you reed my post correctly? I already stated some issues wheren't that big, but put them all together .......

Homing switches were two screws? Another 1-minute fix?

A 1 minute fix? No not really. Determining the new switch position, drilling holes tapping thread, mounting the switch, re-wiring. Once again: time wasted which could have been spent on more usefull things.

I think a majority of water-cooled spindle users here just use an aquarium pump, as it realy doesn't take a lot of flow to keep the spindle cool; too fast a flow is equally not good.

There's a big difference between one pump and another. Believe me, if I would blow water through the hoses myself it would most likely run faster. The pump is made for bigger diameter hoses which have less flow resistance.

The Z axis could have shifted during shipping, and it's always practice to set up a machine after taking delivery.

If nothing else went wrong this one wouldn't even have bothered me, but once things start following up on eachother.......

I don't say this to offend, but when dealing with these international suppliers, concentrate on teh big fish and let the little ones go, and you might get further in negotiations.

G-Weike isn't really a "little fish" in my opinion.

The steppers. I think when a deal sounds too good to be true it is. You look like you didn't request also upgraded drives and PSU. I would guess the 3.5N-m steppers would require at least three times the voltage of the 2.1N-m to operate optimally, which requires moe expensive drives to handle that voltage, as well as the PSU.

The deal wasn't too good to be true since it was actually made and payed for. The machine's PSU is 40V and should easilly be able to run these steppers, drives are leadshine M542, same goes for those.

I know on some smaller machines grease nipples are not provided since the linear rails will never, ever see anything close to the forces that they can handle.

Yet again, please read carefully. I wasn't complaining about the missing grease nipples themselves but about the fact that they lied about being able to order them for us.

As to the current setting, most Leadshine drives have automatic current setting (I believe it's DIP switch 4) you just turn off and off fast and it will auto-tune.

Nope, current has to be set by hand and was set too low. With the set current we only got 75mm/s2 acceleration out of the machine, with the raised current we got well above 1000mm/s2 (unusable, but proves the difference, machines are now set on 400mm/s2)

Considering the hundreds of horror stories I've read here on the 'zone I think you guys actually made out alright. Most issues were monor and easily solved with almost no cost.

We aren't unhappy with the machines, we are unhappy with the way we where treated by G-Weike and that they are not willing to refund money we paid for an upgrade we did not receive.

Great choice with Bert Eding's controller. The controller and software are the best consumer-based stuff out there in my opinion and blow Mach3 out of the water!

Thanks, imo the best choise indeed.

Anyways, I hope you guys have your machines up and running, and best of luck!

No worries, after fixing all problems the machines run ok, exept for missing 1.4Nm of torque we are sattisfied with them, just not with the after sales of G-Weike.

[stucliff]

Floris, don't be so hard on Louie, I think he's trying to be on the positive side...

But you're completely right. You're doing what you have to. And is positive for the community, so hats off to you for taking the time to report that G-Weike is not totally reliable. Thank you.

I've bought a Chinese machine as well and I've found some minor issues too (most on the wiring), but I'm quite satisfied. But I've made the same mistake that all of us have made and that's to give the entire money upfront. In commercial practice nobody does it. The usual is that you pay some percentage in advance, and the rest of the money is given when you receive what you've bought, once it is verified that everything was done as agreed.

This is the right thing to do, but involves formal contracts and international legal steps that increase the cost of the operation. We both live in Europe and I'm sure that you (like me) have evaluated to buy a machine made in a EU country. It's safer because there are a lot of institutions and European laws that protect consumers. But dealing with Chinese companies is completely different and I think we make big mistakes. I think this is the best conclusion we can draw from all this. But nevertheless I hope you enjoy your machine and if you have any problem, I'm willing to help you (even thoug I believe that you have a lot more technical knowledge than me).

Regards.

[floriske.nl]

I'm not being hard to him, if it seems that way sorry for that!

I'm just trying to give some more explanation on his points.

If I still was in search of a CNC machine I would have appreciated some user experiences as well. It's a small effort to post our findings and might help people decide in the future.

Thx for you willingness to help, that's what a forum like this is all about after all!

[louieatienza]

I'm not being hard to him, if it seems that way sorry for that!

I'm just trying to give some more explanation on his points.

If I still was in search of a CNC machine I would have appreciated some user experiences as well. It's a small effort to post our findings and might help people decide in the future.

Thx for you willingness to help, that's what a forum like this is all about after all!

I don't mean any malice by my observaions; I'm sincerely trying to be helpful, not in technical tems, but maybe in perspective. I have bought parts from some more "well known" Asian suppliers in the past and was never fully happy with the fit and finish, and of course it never looks as good as the picture online, but I guess it's to be expected for the price I paid for the parts.

I'm sure your experiences will be appreciated by ithers looking for information on the company. Some builders are active participants in sub-forums here, which can be an indicator that that builder is reputable enough to converse openly about any issues. Sure, this forum can be one's only recourse, as any means of recovering money would be futile. To address specific points:

The quality might be exactly the same, but it's just not right to supply another product than ordered/quoted.

I'm sure that if everything else was fine, this wouldn't even be an issue. But really, if you order THK or NSK and got PMI I could see an issue here. But to prefer TBI (or HRB) over PMI just to make a point is futile. If there's one point to get over with it's this!

Did you reed my post correctly? I already stated some issues wheren't that big, but put them all together ...

I obviously did since I addressed each issue you had. Sure in totality, it alll ends up being in the details. As to the homing switches, what was there to rewire? You swap the x and y on the breakout board or controller board. As to the "correct" locaton of the switches, they probably had other ideas than you or I. This would more of a tailoring to your needs rather than a blatant mistake.

Yet again, please read carefully. I wasn't complaining about the missing grease nipples themselves but about the fact that they lied about being able to order them for us.

That's not how you presented it. You have a header saying "problems with the machine" then down the list in bold letters, "guide carriage did not have grease nipples." So as you presented it, it looked like you thought this was a problem. Maybe I'm a bit harsh, and I don't intend to judge you or what transpired, but there really is no context as to the timeline that these issues were addressed to the supplier. I'm not defending WKLasers either, but since they are not here to comment I think it's a bit unfair to expect other to judge a company or even flame them just based on the information here.

Nope, current has to be set by hand and was set too low. With the set current we only got 75mm/s2 acceleration out of the machine, with the raised current we got well above 1000mm/s2 (unusable, but proves the difference, machines are now set on 400mm/s2)

I actually built a drive box with a USBCNC5A, and three DM542s with a 48V PSU, driving three Kollmorgen CTP 180in-oz steppers. The way to auto configure the current is to quickly switch DIP4 off and on in one second.

G-Weike isn't really a "little fish" in my opinion.

I wasn't referring to the company, but the issues with the machine. I wouldn't have nagged the company of the small issues that you easily fixed. The main issue was the steppers, and I would have just hammered that one issue home. Trying to use all the minor issues as "leverage" does nothing with a negotiation, at least not with some of these import companies.

We aren't unhappy with the machines, we are unhappy with the way we where treated by G-Weike and that they are not willing to refund money we paid for an upgrade we did not receive.

I truly feel bad that you got "screwed" on your deal. It's telling that a company who advertises or advertised here would risk exposure like this. Truthfully, they would just change their name and advertise again. I see that this is your first time here on the 'zone so welcome! But if you did your research here you'd see that your case is not unique; this problem happens ALL THE TIME, and it's amazing how many times a thread similar to this comes up. It's also unfortunate that this community is probably the ONLY place where information like this is shared. Noobies seeing these machines on eBay wouldn't know where to look and the prices are so compelling. There are some points you elaborated on that clarified things, and others that begged more clarification.

But I do wish you luck; as you have both your machines up and running to your satisfaction!

[floriske.nl]

G-Weike has told us that they are definately not going to pay us back for the non delivered stepper motor upgrade. They blaim us for their mistake. Due to this I dare to call them plain old thieves!

Also some extra construction flaws where found during partial disassemly of one of the machines for re-alignment:

• Broken thread in the spindle clamp due to usage of too short bolts and fastening too tight
• missing bolts in the Z-axis ballscrew nut due to misaligned holes
• misaligned y-axis

[salzburg]

How did you pay for it? Your credit card company or paypal will get your money back if you act in time.
I've had several bad experiences with Chinese Crooks and paypal got me back all of the money I paid even though I just asked for a partial refund.

[floriske.nl]

We made a downpayment with paypal and the rest was payed by bank transfer.

Unfortunately paypal won't act on products which where payed with their service only partially.

[kuntheec]

Dear all

I hope my information will help anyone make better decision in buying laser or CNC.

I have a really bad experience with Chinese Gweike Laser or Wklaser. Any body has any worse experience?? Dont buy from this company.

I have order LC1325-M with spec of 150w laser tube, but what i got is 130W. When i claim this to saleperson, she said it is 130W but it can run max at 150w. What do u think about her reply. She didnot take any reponsibility. And spec shown in website is 150W that can cut 1.5mm stainless steel, but actually it cannt cut even 1.2mm stainless

Moreover when i ask for warrantee, she said it warrantee only machine case, not as mention in proforma invoice that "Warranty:2 year guarantee for whole machine except of laser tube & lens.technique support during machines'whole life.engineers available to service machinery overseas." And when she cant answer my question, she said i bought at very low price.

I hope that none will have any worst experience from this firm like me. Even i checked and confirmed everything before purchased

U can email for further evidence from me

Ben
Kunthee_cyahoo.com

[neoman1]

My friend I am having a serius problem with me new G weike LC1390 (100W) laser cutter. The machine has a strange problem when engraving! It looses its possition and finaly it makes loud strange noises and goes like crazy. I have tryed everything the Gweike company said and I made a remote session with the company's "tech guy".
First of all the tech guy asked me to change the pulse settings at the software and the stepper driver(the pulse was 5000 and they told me to make it 3200, stepper driver 3ND583 by leadshine). When I did that the machine was making huge movements. I told them that it does not seem to be ok but they said "it is ok" try to engrave. I did not started engraving because the head would hit the left side limit with a great speed and it would be destroyed. So I read the driver's datasheet myself and the pulse that they told me to use was not supported from this driver it only supports 4000,5000 and 10000 pulse. So I tried another pulse 4000 and still got the same problem. I sent them a video with the problem shown so clearly.
I believe that they do not have any idea what my problem is so they asked me to send them my controller and stepper motor (which I believe that they are responsible for my issue) and then they will send me another controller. I told them that I really need this machine to cut every day (because cutting is fine at the moment) and then they say to buy another controller and that I will get my money back when I send the old one back. The problem is that I live in Greece and we are having the "Capital controls" situation since April and it is impossible to pay anything outside Greece even through paypal.
So right now I am still talking to Betty from Gweike who contests my problem of sending money outside Greece. Of course I paied the machine with a Bank transfer in February 2015. I reading other people with problems and support complaints in this forum. Well I really wish I bought the machine from another Chinese company mayby JCUT or something or XYZ ... I do not know. I hope that my problem will be solved sometime cause I really rely on the laser engraving and that is why I bought it in the first place.