Chinese machine tools quality

I was an expat in China for 4 years, 2000-2004, when we built and started the most advanced semiconductor factory in all of China at that time. When we sold the factory I stayed on site till I finally signed off the asset, line-by-line to the new owner - a Chinese company. However, the Chinese owners being smart businessmen, knowing they did not have the experience and expertise to run the factory, they hired an all Taiwanese team, from the Ops Manager down to section managers. Why Taiwanese, these folks have started semiconductor factories in Taiwan and they spoke the business language. The department managers were all US educated.

The situation in our factory was more the norm than aberration in that time frame. In the early 2000s, almost all manufacturing operations in China were ran by Taiwanese. In some cases the Chinese partnered with Germans for specific technology like the MagLev high speed rail from Pudong Airport to Shanghai. In automotive, Buick had a big presence and later on BMW. Y'all can Google high speed rail and BMW engine in China, y'all be surprised.
 
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So the question that arises is, is the famous South Bend quality still present? Perhaps some owners of recent South Bend lathes can shed some light.

Nope, not quite. They are not the same company, Grizzly bought the rights & is just using their name although they have came out with models that try to resemble original SBs.

I don't doubt the quality of the new South Bends but IMO they are not worth the money for the larger models. I haven't seen one in person but for some of their models, you can get something of equal or greater value for less cost.

I have used a number of heir SB branded blank backplates though & they are better than any other blank backplate I've used from Asia.
 
If you were there in the sixties......and remember it.................in 1969.a small lathe ...Hercus 9" SB clone cost more than a new Australian sedan car,and in those days twice the price of a Toyota Corona or Corrola.....Something like $3500 .....and it came with standard equiptment.......meaning virtually nothing......no chucks ,no steadies,,just two centres,a faceplate and a driveplate.......Buying new Pratt chucks added another $500+...........By 1985,the price of the 9" Hercus had risen to $7500 still with the same equiptment...........By 1975 ,the first of the Taiwanese lathes had established a market here......the famous 13x36 with Norton box,belt drive head,and full equiptment(two chucks) for around $1500......At the same time there was also a lot of Indian lathes on the market.......but typically with Indian stuff,greedy middlemen priced the Indian lathes out of the market....
 
My son and I went together and bought a discounted CQ6125 lathe, it was stripped down. So I looked them up to find out about them and a dealer for the options. I found there were two factories making them XIMA and SEIG . The SEIG ones were assembled , the XIMA, from the test results, were fitted. Even at Chinese labour rates, fitting cost money. You know where most 10x22s come from.
 
I purchased a Birmingham 1340 GH last year and have pointed out some quality issues on this board but by and large it isn't a bad machine. Cuts pretty straight and holds size well. Some things I have improved upon as holes were drilled and tapped crooked but like I say by and large it is a good lathe. Surely not job shop capable but garage hobby shop it will do.
 
One bottom line is this. You have to trust the dealer you buy from if it is new - no matter where it was made. If you are buying used, you are on your own, or with whatever expert you can bring.

I just bought a used 14X40 Chinese made lathe, which was imported directly by a local dealer. My dealer still stocks all the spare parts for this 12 year old machine. the ways are in great shape and the bearings and headstock are pristine... It will very likely outlast me.

I feel Chinese made stuff can be good, if you pay the price and buy something way above the bottom price point.
 
The mentality in China design and manufacturing is “good enough”. Unless someone is shoving a boot up their rear they will always look to cost reduce (I had first hand experience, company I worked for qualified some pvc pipe with threads on one end. The samples met all of engineerings expectations. When the first production run was imported and sent to assembly the pipes all failed.

They bid on the supply of the threaded pipes and after getting the order they decided to cost reduce the part, but did so by adding more filler. It looked the same, good enough, but did not meet its intended service. If you recall the same thing happened with baby formula in China. Good enough.

As long as someone is watching like a hawk then the products are fine. The problem will show up when you turn your head away....
 
The mentality in China design and manufacturing is “good enough”. ..

Unfortunately not just China. Crap is manufactured in every country in the world and product is not always from where you think.
100% agree with keeping on top of manufactures which is why complaining about bad service and/or poor quality is so important. I have often found that company owners or senior management have no idea about how customers are dealt with or that shortcuts are being taken in manufacture or material sourcing. Sometimes product defects arise from some designer not knowing what a product is actually meant to do.
Today there is an ever growing disconnect from reality for a very sizable portion of the population. This is a problem worldwide and in my opinion is a flow-on from the Chicago School of Business mentality that states: " A business is just a model, you don't have to know what the business is or what it does. All business is run the same. The principles of running a business are the same regardless of the business".
My opinion has always been that to run a business you have to understand its product or service from the ground up.
 
If you go back to post#`1......he mentions Japanese junk...............the elimination of junk exports was a policy of the Japanese government.................The MITI was formed to completely eliminate junk and to impose quality standards on all exports.....that is how Japanese machines became the best ......China has never done anything like this,seeking to increase exports and employment by the most rapid means...........pure capitalism where the buyer buys exactly what he wants.........simple rule is that there is no place for trust....the buyer must inspect everthing before payment,and furthermore be capable of inspecting everything he buys.
 
A good example is the faulty electrical cable and components that have recently caused much distress on the Oz market.............greedy suppliers have happily retailed this product with high profit margins,only for the established names to be burnt (just like the wire) badly when all the compliance markings turn out to be false ,and the insulation fails in short order.The importers have simply evaporated ,and gone back to China ,beyond the reach of Oz legal system.
 
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