Member postings for Ketan Swali

Hi Lee,

I have read most of this thread.

You mentioned earlier: ' If the migration was done correctly, nothing would be lost.'

I believe that you later suggested making certain modifications to the existing be-spoke software. If this is possible, it could be a good thing, provided they are for the betterment of site functionality, and provided such modifications could be rolled out a bit at a time to enable existing users to get used to the changes.

Possible exception would/could be if the site software is changed and if the site is moved - migrated to a new software. If this were to be considered, in addition to users of the site having to get used to the new software, there is another issue to be considered. Neil Wyatt said earlier that this forum ranks consistently in the top two busiest hobby engineering forums worldwide. One of the ways it got there is due to its ability to be found on search engines - in particular Google.

For example, if you search a particular subject/topic on Google (which in my opinion is far better than the search facility on this site), the probability of a particular popular ME forum thread (url) coming up in organic search are very high. For better or worse, this 'reputation' for the topic and this site has been built up over time.

If MTM were to move over to a new software package and nothing would be lost as you say, there is a question about what would happen to the original urls/links to the original threads? Looking at the existing format of url on this forum suggests that probability of it changing to a new format are high.

If the urls change, the site would have to do a site wide 301 re-direct for all the old threads. This might be okay, but difficult to be sure about how Google Search will deal with or look at these re-directs in terms of 'site/link reputation'. The way Google algorithm works changes all the time. If Google Search looks at this favourably - that is well and good, but if it looks at it in a negative manner, than probability of finding a link to a discussion on this site reduce. In turn, this could effect world ranking. In turn this could affect how much an advertiser is interested in placing an advert on this site. Depending on how the new site performs globally, this could be a short term issue, but difficult to be sure.

On the flip side, per my understanding, the new formats of urls available for forums could be more search friendly. However, how long would it take for the googlebots to crawl though, understand the value/reputation of the site post changeover to NEW software to stay at the existing world ranking, or improve its ranking due to the introduction of the newer search friendly url format. I am sure that these are questions which MTM would also need to consider.

Ketan at ARC

Hi Mark,

First check the guard switch to make sure it is not being triggered due to the guard not being closed properly.

If it is not the guard switch, then disconnect machine from power supply, and check if any wires especially the ones which connect to the circuit boards have become loose, for some reason. When checking or removing boards, be careful to not touch the underside of the circuit board near the capacitors, as they do store a good level of energy, to give you a cick, if you are not careful.

Was there any adverse jamming event which took place before you started having this issue?.
Are you using any spray oil/fluid, which could have somehow got into the speed control pot?. There is one person I know of who had, which is why I ask.

If the above checks fail to resolve, call and speak with Ian on Monday after 10am.

Ketan at ARC

Hi Adam,

We too used TNT for larger parcels 30kg to 70kg.. I knew our TNT driver Darren from 1996 until he left TNT in early 2018,,, frustrated by the changes post takeover by Fedex. He knew most of the small and large Syston business owners and their teams on personal name basis. After he left, TNT replaced the service in our area with sub-contract operators, and the service has failed to meet certain expectations. With a few exceptions, we stopped using them a few months ago.

Ketan at ARC.

Hi Bill,

We did consider this option. When negotiating with couriers the rates they give us are based on volumes we can push through them, and this would be based on a daily collection basis. This courier would be our default courier of choice to expedite dispatch of orders.

If we consider the idea you suggest, we would first have to figure out if our website shop providers could implement the idea. Probably easy enough to do, but there after the processing time for us would increase as:

• we would have an alternate option to look out for during order processing and chances of error could increase depending on various human factors
• the alternate option would cost the buyer more, because the quantity we would move through the alternate provider would be less,
• Most importantly: the collection of goods by alternate carrier would be ad-hock rather than a daily collection, and we would have to book in the collection. Depending on the time of day the order is processed and collection is booked, the parcel could be collected on the same day, or the day after.

Although the idea is good, implementing it would bring in a new set of issues which we would like to avoid.

Ketan at ARC

Thank you everyone for your response.

Ian Davidson - our Sales Manager and I will take these comments into consideration.

On the one hand it seems that the gap between Parcelforce and DPD is little, but DPD still comes out better due to its notification system, which seems to be working better than the PF notification system in terms of reliability.

Bazle makes a valid point about checking what happens when things go wrong. Various posts have been made about current delays with PF which is also a concern. One issue has also been raised about DPD.

As a seller, we have to weigh up the increase of parcel cost if we move back to DPD, against the cost of time it takes my team to resolve delivery problems. In this respect, our analysis shows that the increase in cost to move back to DPD is much higher than the cost of time to resolve the problems with PF.

However, at the same time, we have to take parcel receivers views into consideration, which I am doing by creating this thread.

If and when we decide to use DPD again, there will once again be the back office question about checking what happens when things go wrong, and how DPD will deal with it, in comparison to PF.

Ketan at ARC

I have been thinking about making this post for the past two weeks ever since I had a visit from the DPD rep. Another thread on this forum has prompted me to make this post.

A few years ago, for parcels over 2kg., we generally used DPD for dispatches to all U.K. postcodes. As time went on, DPD as a group became bigger and bigger, and with that came an increase in some back-office problems. So we shifted to Parcelforce, which also happens to be cheaper than DPD.

On the whole, so far we are happy with Parcelforce. In the coming months, I believe that Parcelforce may come under pressure due to a higher load of parcels going through their system. We are already seeing certain cracks in their back-office operations, as they are taking longer to resolve a small number of delivery issues.

My question is, what do members of this forum based in the U.K. feel about the delivery service they have experienced specifically with Parcelforce or DPD ?

If possible, I would like to take forum members responses into consideration before deciding if we should, or how much we should consider DPDs proposal, which will cost us more than Parcelforce. If there is very little difference in the level of delivery service between the two, there would be little point to switch, at present.

Ketan at ARC.

Soon after CV-19 started, we quickly realised that there were transit delays with every carrier, depending on where the customer is based, be they in U.K. or elsewhere around the world.

Royal Mail uses the term 24 and 48, broadly to classify the previous 1st and 2nd class service. I prefer to use the term 1st and 2nd class for the purpose of this post.

Prior to CV-19, we used the 2nd class service for sending out low value orders. However, due to delays in transit as RM came under pressure, we quickly switched to sending all parcels by 1st class, where we would have previously used the 2nd class service. Even so, there are still transit delays to certain areas in the U.K.. We will resume using the 2nd class service for dispatching low value orders as and when we fell that the service has stabilised.

For U.K. parcel weights over 2kg and upto 30kg, we are still using Parcelforce. We find that they provide a reasonable level of service within the U.K., which costs us much higher than other well know low cost carriers. However, we are unsure how their system will cope in the coming months, so we are also looking at DPD, which comes in at an even higher cost. I will start a separate thread on that subject.

For overseas shipments, we were using a combination of Fedex and Parcelforce. They were okay to a certain extent, but during the months from April to July 2020, we experienced some difficulties with both of them, and we still have some outstanding disputes with both. From August we switched mostly to DHL for overseas, which costs us more than Fedex or Parcelforce.

Although all of the above changes have increased our costs heavily and reduced our profit margins, our turnover has increased, thanks to the custom we receive, for which we are always grateful.

My team tries to get orders out as soon as it can. The main delay in dispatch of orders is on Monday and Tuesday, as this includes processing orders received over the weekend when we are closed.

Ketan at ARC.

I believe he is still around, and I think he is still using his lathe after getting some help from Hopper. He made general posts over the years on various topics, last of which was in April this year.

Ketan at ARC.

Every now and then I like reading archive articles as published in the recent issues of Model Engineers Workshop magazine. I also like reading certain old topics on this forum.

There are always new members joining this forum, many of whom may be unaware of discussion which have taken place in the past, which could be of interest for them to read. Here are a few which are memorable to me:

Starting off in memory of the late John Stevenson who passed away on 23rd of October 2017: Todays update from Bodgers Lodge content as the name suggests.

next: Brian Johns Optimum - New Lathe arrived today his was a real beginners story over time.

John McNamaras: DIY Epoxy Frame based CNC MILL this I believe is still work in progress, and I read somewhere that he will be posting new developments soon.

So, which old threads are memorable to you? specifically those which you feel newer members will enjoy reading... ideally with content which is helpful rather than ego related anger or patronising.

For reference, I feel that this thread may be a good place to post links to such topics, if moderators and readers feel it to be appropriate, specifically for this forums ME threads.

Ketan at ARC

Edited By Ketan Swali on 24/10/2020 19:29:42

Hi MC Black,

Thank you for your comments and observations. We at ARC are glad that you are pleased with your purchase. We know from experience how difficult it is to please you, which includes the choice of delivery systems we use.

I will try to explain some of the reasoning behind what we have done.

The books are broadly generic, using products available from various sellers around the world, rather than specifically from ARC, even though many products were supplied by ARC.

Under normal circumstances, if a person purchased the books from an independent company, the 'Arc Product Guide' (APG) would not be supplied with the book.

The thin 16page (including cover) APG booklet is complementary, and only sent to customers who purchase the books directly from ARC. We just did this as an extra idea. it is not part of the book.

The long-term aim is for other companies around the world to sell the books. So for example, if AUSEE in Australia sells the books, the APG will not be supplied to them. It would be wrong for AUSEEs customers to be directed to ARCs website.

We just wanted to try out the idea of guiding the reader to a source of purchase for a product talked about in a book.

There were two Catalogue 11s included in the package, because you had ordered them...One ordered earlier in the evening and one ordered with the books. The covering letter accompanying the Catalogue 11 does say in one of the paragraphs... 'For up-to-date information on prices and/or product details, please visit our website..' So, we felt it appropriate to link the QR codes in the APG to our website. Whilst I understand and respect your views, we chose to link the QR codes in the APG to pages on our website.

I understand your concern over lack of INDEX. We debated this concern in-house, and once again, whilst I respect your views, after taking many factors into consideration (without going into detail), we felt that the CONTENTS at the beginning was sufficient.

Ketan at ARC

Apologies Peter. The idea of WPS was considered earlier. In terms of sales, having issue 50 and 51 in WPS would have automatically generated fast and potentially greater sales, especially to those who have the complete WPS series in their collection. But of what use would that have been to the total beginner who has yet to know what WPS is?

We wanted to see the pictures in colour, content laid out for easier understanding and reading, on high quality paper, and in hardback. The technical attributes for the books are totally different from what was possible with WPS or Crowood. These comments are made without any disrespect to those publishers or their profession.

By controlling the whole process, ARC got the products we wanted to present to prospective buyers.

Ketan at ARC

Edited By Ketan Swali on 17/10/2020 20:58:27

Hi MCB and All,

The ISBNs are the same as the product codes stated on our website.

As Jason mentioned, they are a reworking of the two series in the MEW. They have been edited, laid out and published by ARC.

Both books are based on modern day machines. Aimed at beginners who are:

• less inclined or able to join an engineering club for a variety of reasons, but still want to use a metalworking lathe or mill.
• less willing or able to ask for help, but need to ask basic questions, for example: what is a headstock of a lathe, or why an end mill should be held in a collet rather than a drill chuck, or even what is an end mill.

The books mentioned in Georges posts are great. They are based on older machines where the basic principals of turning or milling are the same as those used in the modern day machines. Most of the target audience of those books had some engineering background or access to machines in metalwork at school, so there is in my opinion some presumption that the reader has some level of understanding of terminology in those books.

During the editing process, ARC has tried to further elaborate, simplify, clarify certain basic ideas for the beginner, based on questions/issues we have come across over the years.

Ketan at ARC

If one reads the policy paper to which Michael G has linked to, and if it is truly implemented, the OMPs like Amazon and eBay will finally and hopefully be forced to collect revenue for HMRC. If the system works, it can only be a good thing, to deal with certain overseas sellers undervalue declaration which they won’t be able to do... hopefully, to get through the postal system. Also, maybe, if the revenue is already collected for small value goods, it could mean that couriers may not need to make a customs entry for the buyer, so, maybe no handling charge?. Not sure if this will happen though. All fun and games to look forward to on the 1st of January depending on how things pan out between now and then.

Ketan at ARC

Edited By Ketan Swali on 13/10/2020 19:05:14

Steve,

You may be right to a certain extent. Here is another possible reason for such companies to move to Prague as I mentioned on another thread a few days ago:

‘About three years ago, HMRC issued a warning to freight forwarders based in Southampton mainly, which were acting as fulfilment centers for mainland Chinese companies. The Chinese companies would collect revenue, fail to pay, and go bust, and start in a new name the next day, operating with the same freight forwarders - warehousing.. HMRC advised freight forwarders that changes in rules were on their way to hold the freight forwarder responsible for revenue which the Chinese company failed to pay. Being aware of what is coming, this kind of fulfilment business moved to certain ports in the EU, where the regulations are more relaxed.’

Ketan at ARC

Hopefully yes. ARC is lending them one of each of the following machines: SX2.7, SX2.7L, SX3 and SX3.5ZP, which they will get in the middle of next week. They will use them to make the kits.

Once the kits are made and fitted to those machines, we will sell off those specific machines. There after ARC will direct potential buyers directly to M-DRO. At present we do not intend to sell their kits, nor do we want any re-directing commission. As they are, the kits can be perceived to be expensive for model engineers, but are reasonable according to industry use.

As ARC has no intentions to make/sell magnetic scale kits at present, our idea is to direct people to a reputable U.K. supplier who can assist. There are other good U.K. suppliers all of whom can probably assist in their own way.

Ketan at ARC.

Hi Andy,

If you want a good magnetic scales system, Machine DRO - Allendale are the people to ask.

If you can wait for about two months, I think they will have a kit which will be machine specific.

For a 3-axis (5 micron resolution) kit from them include custom brackets, all bolts and full colour install guide, you will probably have to budget for £550.00 to £600.00 Inc.vat.

Ketan at ARC

Hello Rod,

Welcome to the forum.

Have you asked Amadeal or SYIL U.K. ?

Ketan at ARC

Yes Vic, I agree. John Haine was responding to my comment, which I made at 15:48, to which I responded.

If you read the post I made at 15:48 first, perhaps the rest, including what John said will make sense.

Ketan at ARC.

Mark,

Neils Clarke CL300M is a SIEG C2. Before he became editor, he changed the bearings to TRBs on his standard machine... I think about 12 years ago. Once he became editor of MEW magazine, he did his hells angel mod to 3-phase motor too.

Ketan at ARC.

That is okay provided the bearings have metal shields. However, no one really knows how old the grease/oil inside the bearing is, or the type of grease. So, difficult to say how difficult or easy it will be to remove. Worth a try I guess.

Ketan at ARC.