Hi everyone. I hope everyone had a restful holiday season. We have now returned from holidays on Jan 4th and are back getting into the swing of things.
We have started shipping general parts, end mills, and other supplies this week, but machines will start shipping next week (Jan 11). If you placed an order recently that isn’t a LongMill, please note that although most items ship within 1-2 days, there may be some variances in when items ship.
For more day to day shipping updates for LongMills please check https://forum.sienci.com/t/list-of-shipped-machines/1215/
If you are reading this because you are planning on ordering a machine, I ask that you please read this update carefully as will provide important information and answer many of the common questions you may have. If you have any other questions that are not answered in this post, please check the FAQ. For any info not provided in this post or in the FAQ, feel free to get in touch with us.
LongMill production
With COVID-19 numbers rising, most of our staff are currently working from home. Our staff who went away over the holidays are working from home with the 14-day mandatory quarantine. Some of our core staff members on the operations team are currently working at the office to continue shipping orders out and running the 3D print farm.
Lead times for new orders
The current lead time for LongMills is 4-6 weeks.
We expect lead times to remain around this range for the next little while as we have had a large influx of orders come in during December and into January. We currently sell machines than we are able to build per week, which means that our lead times will not decrease until we are further able to scale production even more.
We are currently in the process of hiring additional staff to help us decrease our lead times, as our current bottleneck is from how quickly we can pack and assemble kits.
I am expecting some volatility in the lead time near the end of February and March, as we will likely be running out of gantries and rails around this time. We are currently working on producing more parts but there have been steel shortages and fluctuating aluminum prices that have affected the industry.
Once we begin to run out of these parts, lead times will likely change.
Besides rails and gantries, we have ordered 1000 machines worth of other stock, such as lead screws, electronics, motors, v-wheels, nuts, fasteners… so these items should keep us going until March/April.
Currently, about 40% of Batch 4 has been sold.
Current lead times
Orders #27725 and onward are expected to begin shipping Jan 11th. We expect to ship around 40-50 units per week until we are clear of the backlog of orders.
Orders #27725 to #27883 expected to ship week of Jan 11
Orders #27885 to #28016 expected to ship week of Jan 18
Orders #28017 to #28092 expected to ship week of Jan 25
Orders #28094 and onwards expected to ship after Feb 1st.
Commonly asked questions
If you are interested in ordering a LongMill please read this section.
Is there any way to skip the line/get my machine faster?
- No. To keep things fair for all of our customers, we ship all orders based on when they were ordered. There are no exceptions. The only way to get a machine faster is to order one sooner. If we have updates to the lead time, they will be posted here and on the forum: https://forum.sienci.com/t/list-of-shipped-machines/1215. If you want to see where you are in the queue for your order, please check the forum.
Does it make a difference in when I get my machine if I pick it up?
- The only difference it will make will be that you will not have to wait for the shipping/transit time for the machine to ship. Typically, machines take around 1-3 days to ship within Ontario. Otherwise, there is no difference.
When do you charge my card/take payment for my order?
- Your card will be charged at the time you place your order. This is to ensure your place in line, purchase parts ahead of time, and have the most accurate estimates on production and delivery.
How can I cancel my order?
- You can cancel your order with no penalty any time before your order ships. Please contact us through our website or email us with your order number and a request to make a cancellation. A refund will be processed through your original method of payment.
Can I add other items to my order before it ships?
If you’ve ordered a LongMill and wish to add other items to your order afterwards before it ships, please choose “Local pickup” (for free shipping) and add your LongMill order number. Some items (such as the T-track sets) cannot be combined for shipping.