Chinese product having loose screws, nuts and bolts! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 11:33:23 am
content: What is the deal with this! Almost everything I buy built in China seems to have loose screws, nuts and bolts! Is it just me or does anyone else experience this? I just make it a habit anymore to tighten up all the fasteners on product coming from China. Are they still using handheld screw drivers?

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 11:51:47 am
content: look at my signature, it made it when bought my Rong fu Zay-45 :-)

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 11:52:37 am
content: Nice!

author: Artlav
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 03:16:17 pm
content: Is that a cheap power supply?When i bought the first one, it had a loose screw inside.Rattling among uninsulated wiring.When i bought the second one (first one died hard after a few years), i checked for loose screws inside.All was well and tight.But then the main transistor blew up after just a few days.It's always one thing or another, for whatever reason...

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 05:10:52 pm
content: 5 year olds do not have the hand strength to get screws tight.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 05:18:54 pm
content: Quote from: mojo-chan on September 29, 2014, 02:26:41 pmI'm not bashing all gear made in China and I don't buy because it's cheap. It's just been an unacceptable volume of gear recently from China that fails QC, mainly screws, nuts, bolts and fasteners.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 05:20:01 pm
content: Quote from: G7PSK on September 29, 2014, 05:10:52 pmI had that thought too, but was not sure I wanted to go there!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 05:52:21 pm
content: $20k production machinery, with loose bolts, screws and assorted other issues, least of which is it still had sand from the casting in parts. But after a few years it now still runs well, and has been upgraded to another manufacturers part kit ( copy of a copy of a copy but much improved) and still with all the costs worked out a lot cheaper than actually fixing the machine it replaced. Just the most critical parts for that were quoted at $60k.Ok, Chinese rubber parts are generally best described as barely better than nothing, and their ideas on cabling are somewhat flimsy, along with the non existent idea of using a dedicated ground connection for each electric motor, but those are attended to as they break or I have to work in that area. Some real ingenious mechanical methods used, and those are easy to replicate or repair when they go wrong.The less said about Chinese bearings the better, SKF or NSK replace them whenever possible, and always run a lot better.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 06:14:43 pm
content: -What is the deal with this! Almost everything I buy built in China seems to have loose screws, nuts and bolts-didn't seem that you own iPhones, ipads, or laptops.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 06:42:48 pm
content: Quote from: Terabyte2007 on September 29, 2014, 05:18:54 pmIn fact, you buy a kit, and a chinglish manual would not be readable, so you can also see those chinese products as "items pre-placed in-place"

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 08:04:29 pm
content: Or better a jigsaw puzzle, nearly complete.

author: mcinque
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 29, 2014, 10:28:38 pm
content: Quote from: Artlav on September 29, 2014, 03:16:17 pmYes, it is.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2014, 01:25:30 pm
content: Quote from: mojo-chan on September 29, 2014, 02:26:41 pmExactly.But you can turn crap into clay. I have a friend who designed his own CNC machine using home brew electronics and an el-cheapo milling machine. The Chinese machine was full of swarf, crook bearings, loose bolts, nuts and screws (including some stripped threads.) He didn't complain because he knew he got what he paid for. However, he rebuilt the machines ground up with quality bearings and he now turns designs he does in Solidworks into real objects milled to an accuracy of within 10 microns.

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2014, 02:17:02 pm
content: I fully understand the concept of buying cheap gear. Most of my main test gear consists of Agilent, Fluke, Rigol and etc. However, even with the gear that may be cheap, the plastics, PCB work, wire, nuts, bolts and screws should not be falling apart or not connected. This is just shear laziness and bad QC. If I buy an Agilent, I expect very high quality and accuracy, if I buy a cheap chinese piece of gear, I expect at least something that does not need re-assembly or repairs before use. At the least, it should meet it's rated specification regardless of price. How well it performs within the rated specifications really depends on the engineering behind the product.For example, I bought a 50 dollar USB energy/power meter. Yes, I would not expect a very high quality build. When I received the unit one of the 4mm banana jacks was rolling around in the sealed static bag. Not only was it detached from the main unit, the nut that secured the post was no where to be found. Upon opening the box, I found that it was never installed because both the washer and nut was not inside the case. It was obvious that it had never been installed but just tossed into the static bag and sealed. You tell me, is this acceptable even for cheaper gear? No, it's not acceptable in any situation unless it's sold as broken or a kit.