Shipping

Since our machines are made to order at the manufacturer's facilties, i.e. Germany for CNC-Step and Japan for MITS, we typically organise the shipments to go directly to the customer, rather than to us and then onto the customer. This helps to minimise shipping lead-times and costs. Lead-times for CNC-Step machines is typically 4 weeks for the High-Z range of desktop/benchtop sized machines, and 8 weeks for the T-Rex and Raptor machines. Delivery times after shipping is around 3-5 days to most parts of the UK & Ireland. For the MITS PCB machines, lead-time for build is typically 1 week and shipping a further 5-7 days on top of that.

The normal order process starts after the order is placed by the customer and we have confirmed receipt of payment. At this point the build request is sent to the manufacturer and the machines enter the build queue at the respective facility. At this point, which is usually 1-2 working days from placing the order, we are able to provide the customer with a more specific production time and estimated shipping date. When the machine subsequently ships, we are able to provide you with a tracking reference and contact details, so that you can more closley liaise with the shipping agent regarding which day the machine will be arriving with you. We encourage customers to contact the shipping agent in advance of delivery since there may be the opportunity to organise a mutually beneficial delivery time, whilst avoiding the scenario of missed deliveries.

Note that we are also able to offer delivery to UK highlands and islands (and indeed across Europe and farther afield). Most places are usually covered by the standrad delivery costs, however ocasionally, for the more remote locations, there may be a surcharge applied by the shipping agent, for which we will be able to advise you, once we obtain the shipping quote. Note that for the larger machines, such as the T-Rex and Raptors, delivery prices are more of an estimate and we will propvide you with an exact quote, once we have obtained your full address details and can obtain the relevant quote from the shipping agent.

Our shipping calculations can take into account the delivery of items from more than one supplier, whilst also accommodating items that are travelling under a machine crate shipping charge. For this reason we generally recommend that customers order any large or bulky accessories at the same time as their machine order, minimising shipping charges for accessories e.g. protective cabinet for machines.

For smaller items of software and accessories that we hold in stock, we typically send these via Royal Mail Special Delivery. Accessory orders that are supplied direct from CNC-Step in Germany are typically sent by UPS on a 4-5 day service. In most cases, for accessories/software that are part of a machine order, we co-ordinate delivery to be during the same week as the expected delivery of the machine, however if there is a need to obtain some of these items in advance, or as mutiple deliveries, we will usually aim to accomodate you and offer you a solution to meet your needs.

CNC-Step machines are currently sent by Dachser Logistics www.dachser.co.uk and MITS machines are sent by Nippon Express Air Freight www.nipponexpress.co.uk. Note that all relevant import duties and taxes are paid by Prototools and are incorporated in the prices quoted on the website.

If you still have any questions regarding shipping, please get in touch and we will be happy to advise you further.