I am visiting Taiwan next month and would like to buy some ballscrews for a homebrew CNC machine. I was wondering if anyone can suggest where to find this?
Cheers AB
[edited for poor humour]
I’ve heard there is absolutely no home brew scene in Taiwan.
You might try this place.
[quote=“trubadour”][edited for poor humour]
I’ve heard there is absolutely no home brew scene in Taiwan.[/quote]
i heard wrong!
It’s difficult to DIY because its more difficult to find the stuff, but it can be done, you just have to know where to look.
There are a few screw shops around the Mingchuan West rd. MRT station… they might have what you are looking for.
Taiwan has many reputable ballscrew manufacturies. This one even has English on their website: gtenballscrew.com.tw/company-english.htm
I googled ‘ballscrew’ and found this and many other interesting informations and images. 
[quote=“Charlie Phillips”]Taiwan has many reputable ballscrew manufacturies. This one even has English on their website: gtenballscrew.com.tw/company-english.htm
I googled ‘ballscrew’ and found this and many other interesting informations and images. [/quote]
Yea but the problem with those companies is that they often are wholesale and therefore have very high minimum orders. You just need enough to complete a machine those companies are unlikely to help.
[quote=“Taiwan Luthiers”][quote=“Charlie Phillips”]Taiwan has many reputable ballscrew manufacturies. This one even has English on their website: gtenballscrew.com.tw/company-english.htm
I googled ‘ballscrew’ and found this and many other interesting informations and images. 
[/quote]
Yea but the problem with those companies is that they often are wholesale and therefore have very high minimum orders. You just need enough to complete a machine those companies are unlikely to help.[/quote]
My bad. I thought you were taking the piss when you were talking about screw shops around Minchuan Road. 
If you can arrange to arrive during one of the trade shows at the World Trade Centre, you’ll find what you want. I’ve seen ball screws and precision lead screws offered at the Machinery show and at Taitronics. However they are unlikely to sell you a one-off unless they can smell a larger contract to follow. Try alibaba/aliexpress.
Or, frankly, you could just go to eBay and find yourself a proper CNC lathe, which will work a lot better than anything you can build in your basement. I just checked and there are several under US$4K, which you could no doubt update with new electronics if you felt so inclined.
Thanks everyone for the advice.
Tai Wei Fu was spot on, Mingchuan West Rd had a few places that sell ballscrews. Not a stocked item but only 1/2 a day to get in stock.