Would the CMS 110V version form UK work in the US

You'd have to seriously consider the cost of flying and whether the buying group was splitting the cost of that.  The only cheap flight is Pan Am. [wink]
 
A German dealer gave me a quote last year on a CMS setup, shipped to the US. Sounds like I shouldn't say who, though.
 
awdriven said:
A German dealer gave me a quote last year on a CMS setup, shipped to the US. Sounds like I shouldn\'t say who, though.

a pm from someone who may or may not know of european dealer who may or may not ship to the U.S would suffice and be helpful = ) lol
i hear nothing and see nothing. human nature in brooklyn = )
 
shoe maker said:
awdriven said:
A German dealer gave me a quote last year on a CMS setup, shipped to the US. Sounds like I shouldn\'t say who, though.

a pm from someone who may or may not know of european dealer who may or may not ship to the U.S would suffice and be helpful = ) lol
i hear nothing and see nothing. human nature in brooklyn = )
[blink]

lol  Risky.    Dealer and Fog member!  Cus Dealer would loose Festool and Fog member would loose good deals with dealer as Dealer would be angry with Fog member! lol

Maybe some one knows a rogue Dealer lol! ssssshsshsh

jmb

 
Keep that info to yourself. I shared a guy and now they will not ship to me anymore. I should never of let the cat out of the bag.

Once certain items started selling more Festool called them on it and thats' how they found out the dealer was selling over seas. I guess selling 30 Pigtails in a month all of sudden was enough.

So again, keep it to yourself or the source may dry up quick.

One dealer all of a sudden selling 10 CMS in a month after selling maybe one a month will put up the flags.
 
well that hit a dead end fast. lol might have to look up some long lost german relatives, lol
 
The answer to the question is "YES" it will work, but at what price and amount of effort to import a CMS-GE 110V into the US.

This is what may be needed and involved.

First you need to pre-order the items from your local (UK) festool dealer. 

The CMS-GE 110V unit is free standing and does not attach to the MFT-3 table. The VL unit I am told does attach.
Most find the rear extension table and the side extension table helpful, the sliding table (SLT) was also suggested by some.

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You will need adapters for the hoses to connect to your Festool vacuum.
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and an LA 50 fence.
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Some of the cardboard boxes themselves when packaged are greater than 62 linear inches and American Airlines slaps a $150 charge on all oversized items.  So three of the boxes will exceed these dimensions and would be associated with a fee of $450.

Sending via fedex, is best done if you already have an account with Fedex, but pricing varies from 400-600 GBP (without the account discount);  there are also firms who ship upto 50Kg for 340 GBP, but you have to drop them off at London Heathrow.  If you bring some stuff with you in a large suitcase like the inserts or modules you can claim your VAT back at the airport, which can save you 400 GBP (actually equates to what you pay in shipping); they rarely ask you to show them all the items, and if they do you can simply show them that you fedexed some items out.

When you fedex items, their value in dollars should be stated.  Plastic items less than $30 often do not get duty levied in the USA by customs, Aluminium items less than $2,000 often do not get charged duty.  If a shipment is valued at $1720, the duty is around $50, and you pay for that thru fedex once the items have been delivered.  Fedex rates for shipments around 1200 GBP are inclusive of insurance, but I do not know the details or the fine print..

OK, so if you have not been put off by the ordering, shipping, VAT refund and US customs processes you then need to adapt the power plugs to work in the USA.

Simplest strategy:

Purchase a connector from the UK 110V plug to your US 110 V tool ( see below)
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Please note that the plug-it end is designed for UK 110 V plug-its and has an extra rubber nub so has to be cut/filed off so it fits the US tools.

Then purchase a UK 110 V connector

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and in the US a tool replacement cord and wire them together.
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So it can be done, but you need to have to be very motivated ( or should I say addicted!!), or you can just wait for the CMS-GE to become available in the USA.  Then there will be no UL rating issue and your warranty will be applicable in the USA.

Not sure what aspects of the CMS unit need UL testing, but if it is the switch, I am not sure why Festool could not simply create a CMS unit for the US market and use a UL approved NVR switch. ???

Venk

 
achtung! the Festapo is watching you and their Festo-Wulf 190's (*) will intercept any aircraft trying to exfiltrate their technology!
everyone involved will be arrested and taken to a camp where they will recieve a two day course about being patient! you will also recieve pizza, free T-shirt and a hat before being released.

* your aircraft may or may not be intercepted by the Festo flying penguins, once they managed to get them to fly outdoors.
;D
 
Hmm...good info here.  I've been lusting after a cms unit for a while now.  Just realized I have a good buddy living in Germany right now who will be moving back in the next year or so.  Will have to see if there is any room in his shipping container when that happens...
 
The CMS units are just frames, plugs, switches, fences, etc ... no "active" parts. US TS's, PS's, OF's, etc should all play nicely ... Worst case you're customizing plug and socket.
 
The CMS units I have seen in person have a paddle on-off switch typical of fixed machines. On the CMS electric power is supplied to that switch with a connected cable. Power for the tool leaves the switch with a cord terminated in a female receptacle. So, that is hardly different in general than hundreds of router tables sold in the USA every year.

A switch is largely a switch. It would be simple to change a European 230v power plug to a 115v version. Same for the female end. Possibly UL has an issue with the design of the paddle switch.

So, for personal use it would not be difficult to convert any European CMS to USA electric power.

However, be careful if you are an employer. Until the CMS is listed by UL allowing an employee to use one almost certainly would void your workers comp insurance policy and might well violate Federal and State electrical/safety labor regulations.
 
I picked this up from a automotive forum a while back and I guess this should be at least semi-acceptable way of organizing local delivery address in the UK with freight forwarding to NA?  [scratch chin]

I've used similar services to purchase some items from Germany from companies not wanting to ship abroad with great success. 

The service costs something, but it's still cheaper than flying over yourself to fill in the UPS/DHL papers to send gear to yourself.
 
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