Excellent Chinese Chuck

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

As Ketan alludes to – chinese quality of goods is related to the customer’s requirements. If substandard goods are rejected by the importer, the manufacturer will soon learn to supply goods to the spec required – they don’t give anything better than the specification, as that costs them profit.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Posted by Bob Stevenson on 28/03/2021 12:52:27:

I have two Sanou chucks supplied with my little Warco lathe (WM180) and was surprised by their quality when they arrived…. The only 'con' for me is that the jaws are not only very hard but also 'as machined' with very sharp serrations…they easily damage work pieces unless you are prepared. I have made copper jaw covers for my 4-jaw and use a collection of copper split tubes for the 3-jaw, which I don't use very often as i usually use 4 Jaw or excellent collet chuck also made by Sanou. The Warco supplied chucks have the name Feurdo but are facsimile and bear same model numbers etc.

My nice looking Feurda supplied with a new Warco lathe was most disappointing as it's average run out at all diameters was .25 mm although the obligatory ficticious inspection report alluded to a run out of .03 mm! My solution was to reduce the back plate register diameter, re-cut the screw counter bores because as usual a normal not flat bottomed drill had been used & then trued up the chuck with judicious tapping using a nylon faced mallet.

Tony

[Ian Skeldon 2Participant @ianskeldon2]

During the quest to get the best accuracy I could from my Chester DB 10 and achieve a parallel cut to over 120mm cut I could never get consistent results and even after marking if I removed the work and put it back into the chuck it wasn't anything like concentric, sometimes the run out was visible. I tried everything but had to concede that the chuck just wasn't very good. I ordered a fairly cheap 125mm dia 3 jaw chuck from ARC, it arrived quickly, I cleaned it, although it probably didn't need it. Put it onto the back plate and wow, what a difference. I can't be 100% sure, but I think I paid less that £50 including postage. So then I was able to shim the head and I now get 0.01mm run out over 120mm length of cut, I am certainly happy with the chuck that I bought from ARC.

Edited By Ian Skeldon 2 on 29/03/2021 10:05:04

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Thank you Ketan for that detailed overview. You will be ideally placed to make properly evaluated comparisons and you have reinforced my own views on Chinese supply. They can and will supply to whatever the customer asks for but to not one penny more as the saying goes.

If their customer can absorb rubbish, then that is what will be supplied.

I have a German friend, now retired who worked for a well known European earth moving and excavator company which sourced many of their manufactured parts from China. The quality spec. was met to the letter when the work was supervised by his company resident engineers, but if that was broken by absence for any reason, standards slipped to the point where automatic scrapping was called for by his company of everything made in the interval.

It does seem to be a very alien concept to me to be able to deliberately produce sub-standard work like that.

Regards Brian

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Brian Wood on 29/03/2021 10:16:40:.

…

It does seem to be a very alien concept to me to be able to deliberately produce sub-standard work like that.

…

Everyone does it, and although they didn't call it that Planned Obsolescence started in the 19th Century. Although customers like stuff to last forever, it makes less sense to manufacturers. As it's impossible for them to stay in business if they saturate their market, they either have to come up with must-have improvements, or to make stuff that wears out and has to be replaced.

Myford are an example. Selling lathes lasting 60 years plus for sale mainly to ultra-penny-shy model engineers meant ever shrinking sales of their relatively costly machines. Too many Myford fans bought second-hand rather than keeping the firm alive by coughing up for a new one. Myford fatally competed with themselves, and might still be with us had their machines been engineered to only last 30 years despite the best efforts of owners who enjoy repairing things…

Dave

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Brian Wood on 29/03/2021 10:16:40:

Thank you Ketan for that detailed overview. You will be ideally placed to make properly evaluated comparisons and you have reinforced my own views on Chinese supply. They can and will supply to whatever the customer asks for but to not one penny more as the saying goes.

If their customer can absorb rubbish, then that is what will be supplied.

I have a German friend, now retired who worked for a well known European earth moving and excavator company which sourced many of their manufactured parts from China. The quality spec. was met to the letter when the work was supervised by his company resident engineers, but if that was broken by absence for any reason, standards slipped to the point where automatic scrapping was called for by his company of everything made in the interval.

It does seem to be a very alien concept to me to be able to deliberately produce sub-standard work like that.

Regards Brian

It's such a well known phenomenon to foreigners doing business in China is has been given its own name: Quality Fade.

The product starts off great, all to the overseas buyers specs. Then over time, Chinese manufacturers gradually reduce material qualities and quantities to enhance their profit margins. Sometimes with disastrous results both quality and safety-wise.

Part of this is because of the uncertain political nature of industry in China that Ketan alludes to. Factory owners cant be sure they will be allowed to continue in business next year, so they focus on quick profits this month.

Whole books have been written on Quality Fade, it is so well recognised. Lot more about it here **LINK**

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