Shipping to UK in 2024

1

Hi, I’ve been looking at the One Infinity range of CNC routers for sometime, but as I live in the UK not 100% sure on how to go about importing such a machine and the cost (i.e. tax & shipping).

Is there anyone how has recently purchased one of these and had it shipped to the UK ?

If so, could you let me know what sort of cost did you incurred getting everything shipped from Canada to the UK and how long did it take from placing your order.

Any help would be grateful, as I want to make sure i get the correct CNC.

Many thanks

2

Im in the uk. Purchased one of the originals in 2021.

Shipping: comes in two parts. 1F then UK customs. The former everyone feels the latter was much longer than i anticipated. I think it was kicked around in Heathrow airport for at least a couple of weeks.

Tax: well get the latest import info from uk.gov website; its a shocker. Or do as i did and be damned and pay whatever it is.

I really like my 1F, no regrets. I mulled over a Shapepoko.

1F Support is great, the forum is funny and supportive if a little light on diversity, but thats not 1Fs issue.

I’d never used a CNC before but I found the original 1F a breeze to setup once i had made a table, but the 1F is damn heavy. My first table wasnt a good one, but good enough to get started.

Dont sweat getting the perfect setup at the start. Just jump in and learn.

1F is easy. Modelling and CAM paths is the tricky piece.

3 Likes
3

Thanks for the reply, it’s good to hear that 1F have good customer service.

I might contact 1F direct and see if they can assist with shipping and give advise on import to the UK.

The other question is size, as I’m new to CNC’s I’m not 100% sure what size of machine to go for, one part of me is saying go for the largest I can afford, then the other part of me is saying why pay the extra for something I might never use. Any advise on size of CNC to get ?

4

where are you in the uk

5

I’m in worcestershire

6

Half way between both of us.

Size: what do you fancy making?

I have a journeyman and use it like an enthusiast. I spend most of my time in the lower left corner but when making boxes, draws i use the full width. I think it is about right for my circumstances; im not production milling many part and i dont need to mill out 8x4 sheets.

I am currently milling lots of aluminium for a project my son wants help prototyping. Quite a learning curve for me, im no mechanical engineer/machinist.

The 1F is a great machine. Had mine sine july 2021. No issues. I have installed an 80mm spindle but only after playing with a makita for a while.

The journeyman is big and needs a big shed, a big sturdy table, room around it.

1 Like
7

Not really sure what we want to make on the router, probably a mixture of small and large items, so I think the working area will only be needed on a few occasions.

I’d been looking at the Journeyman, as that will fit quite nicely into my workshop.

I think my one concern was if i went for the smaller unit which is 32" x 32" would I regret not going for the Journeyman (48" x 32") as realistically there is only a couple of $100 more.

The one thing I’ve realised is all the add-ons soon mout up, i.e. spindle, dust extraction, material of a table, then the router bits.

The one thing I was going to ask is 1F have suggested for the Z axis I have the closed loop stepper motor to prevent the Z axis with the weight of the spindle slipping, as you’ve got a spindle do you ever have an issue with this, or have you got a closed loop stepper motor ?

Also regarding the spindle I’ve noticed online there are a lot of cheap spindles from China, are these value for money or would I be better off going for a more expensive version? or are they all the same ?

Any advice would be grateful.

8

Spindles: there is a load of stuff on the forum about spindles. Look for the excellant contributions from @Aiph5u .

I bought a VFD and spindle from 3dtek in the UK. But when i stuffed that one in (Cross threaded) and went back to get another i could not raise a response. I looked at DE sourced spindles and they are much more expense than “chinese” imports. I went “Chinese” for my spindle as an experiment figuring i could get through a number of these for the cost of a DE spindle. Aiph5u will not be pleased. I did have to put my own earth to the spindle chasis. Wasnt too tricky with a screw driver and a bit of soldering.

I have a 2.2kw air-cooled spindle. Ive never had z-slide droop.

Addons: yes vacuum is extra, but that is useful in the shop more generally. That was my justification.

UK Bits: i get mine from APT or Rennie tools. Very quick to deliver. You can get Amana bit from other online sources.

Table: i went the box route. Two slabs of 25mm mdf with batton braces. Weighs a ton. Dont do that. Others on the forum have some good ideas.

Things i have found useful (remember im original journeyman)

  • network cable to the shed and local wifi access point (i threw network cable down the length of the garden, 90m. Been there 2 yrs. No jssues thus far).
  • big screen and a mouse (not an issue for the Elite)
  • old pc so that can VNC remote connect into main pc used for modelling and cam in order tweak and the reload gcode over the network. Saves loads of walking.
  • for me main bits are 1/4, 1/8, 2mm and 1mm, downcut if i have a choice. Ball end 1/4 and 1/16, 1/32 for 3d carves. 45 chamfer. I also use a 45 chamfer on occasions and a diamond drag bit (special use cases).
  • good lighting
  • 1/4, 1/8 and 4mm collets.
  • i have a 3d printer for various things; cable strain relief, tool holding, caps and covers…
2 Likes
9

I’ve taken the plunge and ordered a Journeyman, so now just got to wait a couple of weeks (8 to 10)

1 Like
10

Hey @DMan1, how did this work out for you?

I’m looking into upgrading to a larger CNC in the year and a 1F is top of the list at the moment. Would be a much easier choice if I didn’t have to worry about international shipping and import tax etc. If you could answer your own questions from the original post that would be ace!

11

Hi Gentlemanimal
The whole ordering process was very simple, infact too simple, as you feel spending so much money should in some strange way be more complex if you know what I mean.

There are a couple of key things to take into account these being

  1. Onefinity were true to their word and the machine was shipped exactly on the date (i.e. in my case 9 weeks after ordering)
  2. During the 9 weeks there is little communication as to the status of the order from Onefinity, but not sure what I expected.
  3. On the day of despatch (which in my case was a Monday) I was e-mailed by DHL who gave me a tracking number so I could see the location of the 5 boxes.
  4. The next day after being dispatched DHL asked me for an “EORI” which you need to have before the boxes can be shipped to the UK. You register for an EORI number via the “UK Goverment Gateway” https://www.gov.uk/eori . It only took about 30 mins to register, then it take about another 2 hours before the number becomes live. I then filled this in on the DHL website, which was very simple, if you delay in doing this then the shipment might be delayed.
  5. The 5 boxes then arrived with me in the UK (at my home address) on Thursday morning (i.e. 4 days), this included clearing customs in the UK.
  6. About a week later I received an emailed statement from DHL, which seemed very complex and not easy to understand, I think this is just confirmation that DHL has paid the Customs Duty / VAT on your behalf. About two weeks later I then received an invoice form DHL for the amount of to be paid, which you can do via a bank transfer

4 of the five boxes are large and heavy (approx 5 ft long), all of which I have to commend Onefinity as they were all well packaged.
Shipping to the UK which you pay Onefinity was 650 US Dollars, this is payed when you place the order
The total Customs Duty / VAT was approx £475

Due to knowing shipping and Customs Duty were going to be high, I ordered a number of additional items, my reasoning being I’m already paying for shipping, so I’d recommend think what you want and what your may want in the near future.

Additional items I got from Onefinity were
80mm spindle mount (no extra cost)

Stiffy rail (no extra cost)
Suckit Dust Boot Pro
3 Axis Touch Probe
Eazy Z Tool Setter
Elite Z-20 Braking Closed Loop Stepper Motor

I’ve also purchased the following items for my Journeyman

2.2kW (220v /3ph)water cooled spindle, with ceramic bearings, I got this from ‘G Penny’ on ‘Aliexpress’
2.2kW (1ph to 3ph) ‘Invertek’ inverter, this is more expensive than the Chinese versions but its made here in the UK and the quality is very good and iis more than capable of running the spindle
CW3000 water cooler, for the spindle. This might seem to be an overkill, but when you add up the costs of a water pump, a container, digital thermometers you are not far off the cost of a CW3000 water cooler.

The last thing I need to sort out is my dust extraction system

As an Engineer by trade, I’m very impressed by the overall quality of my Journeyman, and I have to take my hat off to all at Onefinity, so I would highly recommend.

I think like most people who don’t get involved in export / importing goods the thought of dealing with Customs can be overwhelming, other than getting the EORI number, DHL took control of everything else, so that part was stress free and simpler than I had expected.

Hope this is of help.

Let us know if you need anymore info.

Regards

Mark

4 Likes
12

I ordered way back Jan 2021. Getting it the UK Heathrow was quick. Getting it out of Heathrow, in my experience, wasnt quick at 2 weeks - constantly in customs. Not a Onefinity issue. Possibly i hit the holiday season (arrival was July).

1 Like
13

@DMan1 thanks for replying with such a thorough answer. This is great info for me, and I’m sure will be read by a lot of people over the next few years who are considering a 1F (relevant xkcd: xkcd: Wisdom of the Ancients).

1 Like
14

Hi guys my name is Andrew and I am ready to pull the trigger on the Onefinity Woodworker Pro. I would like to know if there is anyone from Northern Ireland in this forum who has purchased a machine from them.Im a little bit worried about the tax/import duty etc to NI as I know its a pain to get things just from mainland GB to NI. I had a look at the Workbee and it looks ok but not as rigid looking for as appealing as 1F but if it’s going to be a buster on tax etc then I may have to rethink my options.

Thanks
Andrew