SFX100 kits at Aliexpress vs

[knob2001]

Hi

I have been looking for a few weeks for the best way to acquire the SFX100 in Europe. From what I have come to understand, there are three ways to get it:
- DIY, looking for the parts one by one on Aliexpress and aluminum factories around the area.
- Buying a complete KIT on Aliexpress
- Buying a KIT from specialized stores like eRacingLabs.

While my budget might fit the Mega+ from eRacing Labs, the options scattered around Aliexpress in the form of kits are quite striking.

I understand that Aliexpress is like flipping a coin, however, I keep thinking that many of the parts if you choose the DIY route will also come from China. We are talking about a complete SFX100 KIT with the Thanos driver for around 2400€ tax and shipping included (white drivers, 150mm, and shielded cables).

I guess the question will be the typical one (and sorry for not having found the thread if there was one about it): I understand that the 3200€ of the eRacing kit (taxes and shipping included) have no competition in terms of quality and they are at another level than the rest, but the AliExpress kits are tempting (1K€ less) Are the completed kits from Aliexpress reliable? Do you know of any kit from a proven seller?

Thank you very much

 

[Daniel R.]

Concerning Ali Express kits:
It's only the mechanical parts is think. No Software included.

 

[DonDonki]

The kit I got from Ali was disappointing. One of the servo drivers was DOA. I ended up opening it up and re-soldered a resistor to get it to work because it was so hard to ship electronic goods to China. Then one of the actuators sounded very rough. Sent a few video clips to seller but he insisted that it was normal. I opened the actuator and found the surface of the inner wall was very rough. Then seller shipped a replacement aluminum extrusion, but that caused even more problem because the inner wall size was a bit different and now the slider wouldn't fit. Eventually I sold the whole kit to a someone with a 3D printer who got it working after reprinting the slider.


If you have a 3d printer and enjoy building / fixing stuff, then buying from Ali should be fine. Otherwise I would save the trouble and just go for turn key options from PT or eracing labs.

 

[knob2001]

If you have a 3d printer and enjoy building / fixing stuff, then buying from Ali should be fine. Otherwise I would save the trouble and just go for turn key options from PT or eracing labs.

Thanks for the info. That is my biggest fear, the unreliability of some of the parts.

I'm very used to printing 3D stuff. I'm also into DIY for several years now (I did my Thanos controller when it had to be done by soldering the PCB yourself to drive the wiper motors and a bunch of hall sensors), but as a lot of people would say at some age, sometimes it is just great to buy stuff already done. Anyway, my main concern is whether you take the DIY path or the KIT path, both need the same several parts from China.

Sadly, PT is way out of my budget right now. I think it is time to dive into that 450-message beast post about SFX to try to update the bom to 2023 (and EU).

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[cnhoff]

I got my mechanical kit from NTL Bearing and could not be happier. There is a lady called Amy, that is very helpful and will answer all of your questions upfront and helps you with choosing stuff. There is also the possibility to change the kit, e.g. I got an SFX150 and longer shielded cables, she sends you a proper offer for everything you ask her for. In the end, the purchase is done via AliExpress, tax was already included, so no nasty surprises at the doorstep.

Thanos was not included, you have to buy from another source as were the printed parts.

As I said, a very good experience overall. If you are interested, I can hook you up with her.

 

[knob2001]

I got my mechanical kit from NTL Bearing and could not be happier. There is a lady called Amy, that is very helpful and will answer all of your questions upfront and helps you with choosing stuff. There is also the possibility to change the kit, e.g. I got an SFX150 and longer shielded cables, she sends you a proper offer for everything you ask her for. In the end, the purchase is done via AliExpress, tax was already included, so no nasty surprises at the doorstep.

Thanos was not included, you have to buy from another source as were the printed parts.

As I said, a very good experience overall. If you are interested, I can hook you up with her.

Thanks again. After reading about Amy in another post, I've mailed her asking for SFX100.

I started a part list BOM myself just to have an overall idea of all the pieces. There is a STEP file in Aliexpress from one seller with all the parts in CAD. It's very helpful to have the vision step by step. The main problem right now is how to find the 100x100 aluminum piece. Kinetik and Motedis (the usual suspects for these things) don't work with that dimensions anymore.

The parts in CAD: (just to have an idea, not the real sizes as these are their own design)

srt100 complete assembly.STEP

drive.google.com

Let's see what Amy says. And thanks again for the info.

 

[cnhoff]

The profile Amy provides is a little bit different on the inside, bit she sends you an stl to print a slightly adjusted slider. No probs at all.

 

[knob2001]

The profile Amy provides is a little bit different on the inside, bit she sends you an stl to print a slightly adjusted slider. No probs at all.

I've received the answer from Amy. Really good price, especially the shipping costs. The design is a little different. As far as I can see, some bolts are M10 instead of M8, which I'm pretty sure correspond to the extruded aluminum holes. So, yes, as you said before, the STL is going to be mandatory to print the modified parts.

Great to know the bill of materials is matching with the original SFX-100 part list too, even the nuts and bolts (albeit different metrics). The prices from Amy are cheaper than looking for each part around half of Europe stores (with their respective taxes and shipping costs).

Let's move on! And thank you for the info. I'll try to update the main post to share my experience.
Regards

 

[knob2001]

Hi!

Nearly twenty days after, the package arrived home. As promised, customs costs (if any) and extras were none, just the price I paid. If you can't afford the already mounted units, this seems to be the right way to do it. And it can be paid by PayPal, which feels a little more secure.

Now, I have to print everything and start mounting each of the four servos with the thousands of nuts and bolts, which I presume will take a couple of weeks at least.

Regards

 

[cnhoff]

Mine was shipped by train from China to Germany

But also took around 20 days and came well packed and everything. Going strong for a year now…

 

[Karim8888]

Hello im just like but i couldnt find this 450 beast blog or contact Amy
can you please tell me how to do that

 

[knob2001]

Hello im just like but i couldnt find this 450 beast blog or contact Amy
can you please tell me how to do that

This is the mail: skye@ntl-bearing.com

Good luck!

 

[Karim8888]

This is the mail: skye@ntl-bearing.com

Good luck!

Thank you for your fast response
do you happen to have the link for this beast 450 replies thread you mentioned ?

 

[Karim8888]

This is the mail: skye@ntl-bearing.com

Good luck!

Also can you please tell me how much she charged you ?
and how is the sfx doing with you

 

[knob2001]

Hi!

Some updates and some advice. The holes of the aluminum Amy sent didn't match the threads. The threaded inserts self-tapping were bigger than the holes and very, very low cost. They weren't self-tapping at all. So I had to drill the 32 holes to make them a little bigger (M12) and then, with an M14 screw tap, create the threads for the matching M10 screws.

With all the stuff assembled (the Bambu Labs P1P did wonderful work with the 3D pieces... I can't recommend it enough), It was time to test the 4 servos. Everything worked as expected

https://imgur.com/a/Wa15nC0

After some days of dealing with SRS and Motion, I have some questions regarding the Motion Compensation with the Witmote that I will ask in the main thread.

Great experience overall.

 

[RetroGamer101]

Hi

I have been looking for a few weeks for the best way to acquire the SFX100 in Europe. From what I have come to understand, there are three ways to get it:
- DIY, looking for the parts one by one on Aliexpress and aluminum factories around the area.
- Buying a complete KIT on Aliexpress
- Buying a KIT from specialized stores like eRacingLabs.

While my budget might fit the Mega+ from eRacing Labs, the options scattered around Aliexpress in the form of kits are quite striking.

I understand that Aliexpress is like flipping a coin, however, I keep thinking that many of the parts if you choose the DIY route will also come from China. We are talking about a complete SFX100 KIT with the Thanos driver for around 2400€ tax and shipping included (white drivers, 150mm, and shielded cables).

I guess the question will be the typical one (and sorry for not having found the thread if there was one about it): I understand that the 3200€ of the eRacing kit (taxes and shipping included) have no competition in terms of quality and they are at another level than the rest, but the AliExpress kits are tempting (1K€ less) Are the completed kits from Aliexpress reliable? Do you know of any kit from a proven seller?

Thank you very much

If you have access to a 3D printer (friends, hacklab, library) and enjoy building stuff, then buying from China could suite you. I too, got my SFX150, from Amy (remember to get _longer_ shielded cables and white servo drivers).
Be prepared to source the other parts (Thanos board recommended) and tools, this took some time.
If you have more money than time, then you can go with the commercial options.
For some nice upgrades, check

, and other build treads for TL and belt tensioner builds.

 

[MiniMadRyan]

Hi All, looking at ordering an SFX100 kit through NTL. Just wondering, is the Thanos controller included with their kits now, or do we still require purchasing one elsewhere?

 

[cnhoff]

It's not, unless Amy quotes it. I don't think they resell Thanos boards.

 

[MiniMadRyan]

It's not, unless Amy quotes it. I don't think they resell Thanos boards.

Thanks, I appreciate it! Will order one when everything arrives!

 

[egolgeli]

Hi All, looking at ordering an SFX100 kit through NTL. Just wondering, is the Thanos controller included with their kits now, or do we still require purchasing one elsewhere?

Hi. Have you ordered from NTL? I am also planning to build SFX-150 and NTL sounds like a reliable source. If you already ordered from them, can you share how was your experience? Did they manage to source the Thanos board? If nothing is wrong with you, could you share the price as well?