Shark Vs K2CNC modle 14X14

[REG]

Any good dealership certainly knows the inner workings of a vehicle on a MUCH higher level than the owners. I was the service manager in a new car dealership for many years, and I sent all my techs to schools (taught by the manufacturer) for many days every year, just to increase their knowledge of the vehicles and keep up with changes. While the owner of a car may be the best person to know when something isn't working like normal, no one can know the inner workings better than those who designed it, built it, and/or repair them every day.

As for Rockler knowing the product, I don't think they can be expected to know much more about any of their products than how well they're made, how well they perform, and how well the manufacturers support them. I would expect that any that don't meet their standards are no longer sold by them. That's one of the main reasons to buy from them.

My comment was a simple analogy. Naturally the manufacturer knows the inner detail of how it went together but do they know how well it performs under real use. Customer feedback to the manufacturer is the school of learning hence more of the purpose of "recalls". But I didn't intend to make a topic to quarl who knows "the stuff" better. My intent was Shark owners experience more operational time with the variety of operations (from differing bits to differing materials). Users helping users on the how to and the why typically works. When it doesn't NWA is there.
A while back there was a forum member that was experiencing a problem with his controller. Fellow members suggested all sorts of stuff without solution. Then Tim dropped in and suggested replacing the controller.
I am a 1 year owner of the SPP and I had my issues with my machine but Tim helped me both on the forum and in email. I have no complaints on the level of support.

Bobby

[rungemach]

A lot of good thoughts on this issue so far.

I wanted to clarify that in my prior post I did not mean to say that Rockler or NWA provides NO support,
only that I feel a more visible presence would be helpful and an opportunity for them.

If NWA has a full time position for handling customer issues, perhaps introductions are in order. Lets meet our "new best friend"..
I am sure that support has improved from when I got my machine, and there is most likely more room to get even better.

Rockler is a bit more involved than just a distributor as they seem to have house branded the machine and sell it exclusively. Their responsibility is a concern for happy Rockler customers and expediting solutions with the manufacturer NWA. They may step in with information and videos etc, but operation and repair of units requires factory knowledge.

NWA being the designer and manufacturer should have intimate knowledge of how the machine is made, what design trade offs were done, what typically breaks, how to maintain and keep the machine in adjustment, how to set it up correctly and get it square and level, etc, etc.
They also get an aggregate user experience as they should be fielding the bulk of these issues.

We users can then take a correctly functioning machine and learn to drive it. We can share our projects and "how I did this" type of experience.
We step in to help with machine issues when it seems that there was no other help forthcoming, or when we might have already solved it ourselves.
That is fine, but the factory should be best equipped to get to the direct solution the fastest.

Another responsibility we have as users is to ask for what we think we want. That can be better instructions, parts lists, machine features etc.
There is a necessary place for constructive criticism, and requests for changes and features. This should be meant to help NWA build a better machine that fits our needs.. (like the HD perhaps)....( I believe the non HD versions of the "pro" class 24" machines should be dropped due to flex issues, just my 2 cents. If you don't think you need the strength, you will at some point. That is not the place to save a couple of hundred dollars, but I digress...)

I own a Shark, perhaps older than many of yours, and If I point out what my wants and needs may be, I am not trying to bash Rockler or NWA or your judgment for buying one, or call anyone's baby ugly or their mama fat. If you feel your machine and support experiences were great, that s a good thing, if not, there is an opportunity for improvement. I think we could all agree that more factory visibility on the forum "couldn't hurt".

We as users may need to consider how we handle our posts when we have a machine issue, to be sure that if a solution was reached, we communicate it.
When a posting just ends, with no closure, we can assume the problem was not solved.

John is correct, if solutions are posted in the forum, it can help them from not having to solve the same issue over and over, one by one, on the phone.

Bob

[Joraft]

My comment was a simple analogy. Naturally the manufacturer knows the inner detail of how it went together but do they know how well it performs under real use. Customer feedback to the manufacturer is the school of learning hence more of the purpose of "recalls". But I didn't intend to make a topic to quarl who knows "the stuff" better. My intent was Shark owners experience more operational time with the variety of operations (from differing bits to differing materials). Users helping users on the how to and the why typically works. When it doesn't NWA is there.

No intent to quarrel, just to have a friendly exchange of varying opinions.

I would agree that no matter how much any product is tested before release, it is once it is in the hands of everday users that many problems tend to surface.

And yes, users are probably the best source of "tips and tricks" for using any machine. However, it is the manufacturer who is the best source for information on inherent and common problems that may arise, and how they have addressed them. Some manufacturers try to keep these problems at a "one on one" level for fear that they'll be flooded with similar complaints, and/or possibly damage their reputation. But time and time again it has been proven that being open and keeping customers well informed is the way to build a reputation for excellent service.

[Joraft]

If it sounds like I'm complaining about the level of support for the Shark, I'm not. How can I know, I don't even have my machine yet?

My intial comment was that after reading through this entire forum, I got a little worried. I have no idea what the support is like through other means.

I also became a little worried after downloading and reading the user manuals for the earlier models. I found them to be rather incomplete.

To those of you who say my worry is for nothing, I hope you're right.

[Joraft]

... Knowing even more today than I did last year and the year before about CNC machines, vendors, and their uses, today I'd still start out with a Shark HD ...

That's good to know. I came to the same conclusion, but with no actual experience to base it on.