[Micheal Donnellan]

hello
Am thinking about buying either the LG 900 or the LC 900 from wklasers.
Has anyone here got one and what was your experience like with them.

[SkipW]

Hi Michael,

I have an 80w LC6090 coming from WK Laser. It's sitting in LA waiting for the paperwork to clear so I can get it delivered to me.

Jack Yin and WK Laser have been great to deal with so far.

Regards,
Skip

[wklaser]

Hi, skip, many thanks for your commendation..

[SRT Mike]

Hi Skip,

I have communicated with Jack and I think the machines look very good and the price is attractive. We're considering buying one in the not-too-distant future.

I understand that it's a different kind of laser tube that will not last as long as a machine from Epilog or Universal, and we are OK with that.

My questions are...

1) Did the machine arrive OK and work OK when installed?

2) If there are any issues, were they resolved quickly and reasonably?

3) What is the real-world life span of the laser tube? I know they rate them at 1000+ hours, but others have said that the tube will be worn out just from sitting for 3 months.

4) What was the total price you paid, above the cost of the machine for shipping and customs/import duties?

5) Overall how happy are you with the machine and would you buy it again given what you know now?


It appears Jack is trying to break into the market with a good product and if the after-sale service and the product is as good as the before-sale service then we're sold

[SkipW]

Hi Mike,

Yes, the CO2 tubes used in these lasers are the long glass tubes as opposed to the smaller metal RF tubes used in ULS, Synrad, Epilog, etc. I can't tell you about the longevity because my machine hasn't been delivered yet.

But, I do know that Photovac Laser in Ohio has had good luck refilling expended Chinese tubes. They also add some type of gold compound to the tube to increase its life. They guarantee them for 1 year but said they should last a couple of years. They charge $1200.00 to refurbish one. That sounds expensive unless you go through 3 or 4 imported tubes per year, then it's not too bad of a price.

I'll know more about the machine in a week or so, I hope. I'm also still waiting to hear what the customs fees and taxes are going to be.

Jack Yin at wklaser has been good to work with so far. I think the after sale service will be there too.

Take care,
Skip

[SRT Mike]

Hi Mike,

Yes, the CO2 tubes used in these lasers are the long glass tubes as opposed to the smaller metal RF tubes used in ULS, Synrad, Epilog, etc. I can't tell you about the longevity because my machine hasn't been delivered yet.

But, I do know that Photovac Laser in Ohio has had good luck refilling expended Chinese tubes. They also add some type of gold compound to the tube to increase its life. They guarantee them for 1 year but said they should last a couple of years. They charge $1200.00 to refurbish one. That sounds expensive unless you go through 3 or 4 imported tubes per year, then it's not too bad of a price.

I'll know more about the machine in a week or so, I hope. I'm also still waiting to hear what the customs fees and taxes are going to be.

Jack Yin at wklaser has been good to work with so far. I think the after sale service will be there too.

Take care,
Skip

Good deal Skip, thanks for the info. My purchase timeframe is probably "this year" so I will wait to see how things work out for you before I commit. Please keep us posted!

I dont mind some quirks (I've built CNC machines and I am comfortable tweaking to get them right), just so long as the basic machine is sound and does what it says.

My only concern is the laser tube life. I would not be using it very frequently (maybe once per week for a half day per use). I would not want the tube to be useless after 3-4 months with that light of a use. If the tube life depends on the laser on-time, then I expect I will get a long time out of it. If it depends on the total time including time it's sitting there turned off, then it would be excessively expensive to replace the tube for every 10 times I use the machine

[Micheal Donnellan]

hello
Whats the duty and VAT like over wherever you are, robbery here.

CIF to port price + 26% DUTY + 21% VAT = 52.46% in fees

robbery here and I thought the huge charges were only on the Cars here
car+Duty+VRT+VAT

VRT is basically illegal to charge since we joined EU, but goverment pays fines as they are way less than profits made bythe tax.

Irelard is an annoying ripoff to live in.

[jinweike]

Dear Michael:
LG 900 is CO2 laser engraving machine, it is 60w laser power and better for engraving. It will have a more accurate resolution for engraving.
LC 6090 is CO2 laser cutting machine, it is 80w laser power and better for cutting. The mechanical design is different from LG900. You will have fast speed when cutting.
So you can choose the machine according to the usage of the machine.
Linda
Jinan G.Weike Science&Technology Co.,LTd
[email protected]

[Cutting foam]

Micheal,
If the duty was cheaper in the north a business friend could import it for you and then sell it to you VAT free if your registered for Vat.............. just an idea.

The rates do differ and if you deal with someone up their it maybe worth enquiring about, as shipping charges are usually cheaper to the UK.

The shipping company/freight forwarders will usually know the import duty as they have to take care of it at point of entry into the state and is added with their other costs.
In the past we have had to pay the Vat & duty when the equipment arrived in Ireland.
Ringing the revenue is hit and miss, one person say one thing and another could be different, depends on their interpretation of the machine. I think going with the shipping company is best as they do this type of thing day in day out.
There is some info on importing at revenue.ie

[A+ Machining]

Have you received your machine yet?
How long did it take to get?
Are you happy with it?
Thanks A+

[SkipW]

Have you received your machine yet?
How long did it take to get?
Are you happy with it?
Thanks A+

Hi A+,
It's been about 6 weeks since ordering and I haven't got it yet, but it's getting closer . The first date I got from the freight forwarder was 9/17 to arrive in Pittsburgh, then I received a fax from them yesterday saying the date is now 9/22. Hopefully it's on a train somewhere heading this way.

It looks like it's going to end up at about 7+ weeks from order to delivery. I just hope it's in one piece when it gets here.

Take care,
Skip

[A+ Machining]

I asked him to ship mine to Philadelphia. I'm only 30 miles away so I am going to pick it up when it arrives.
Let us know when it arrives. Good luck

Thanks
A+

[FlyGuy007]

I bought and received mine in May and other than some issues with the PCI driver card its been a wonderful machine, IT just works. I have about 200 hrs so far on the tube and it workds like new. Be careful of the chiller... the water container inside appears not to be stainless so mine rusted quite badly within a few weeks of usage. I can still use it but truthfully, the pail of water is easier by a good deal and just as effective. Not as professional looking though.

Thanks
Mike

[A+ Machining]

I bought and received mine in May and other than some issues with the PCI driver card its been a wonderful machine, IT just works. I have about 200 hrs so far on the tube and it workds like new. Be careful of the chiller... the water container inside appears not to be stainless so mine rusted quite badly within a few weeks of usage. I can still use it but truthfully, the pail of water is easier by a good deal and just as effective. Not as professional looking though.

Thanks
Mike

Mike,

Wow,
Thats very good to hear. What model did you get? And how long did it take to arrive?

Thanks
A+

[FlyGuy007]

My order was as below, prices were super and Jack Yin was great to deal with. It took about 10 days after I placed the order for the machine to be picked up from WKLasers and shipped. About 1 week in transit and about 10 days fighting with a freight forwarder here in Canada. They were a real pain but one word from Jack and things got better quickly. I bought a bunch of spares which I have not needed but I bet I would have if I hadn't bought them :-)

LC6090 (80w) with 100mm lens installed
- Setup for 110v 60Hz
- The machine should be fitted with all attachments as discussed
Water chiller, stock water pump
air jet around laser head
exhaust pump and all safety interlocks as noted.
water chiller
spare 80W tube
3x Spare mirrors
spare 100mm Lenses
spare Drives

If you have any questions just ask as I found the group here super and I'd liek to return the favor.

[SkipW]

I haven't done much more than take it out of the crate and check everything out, but here's my impressions so far.

The crate was excellent and the machine was well packaged. The two (one is a spare) 63" long laser tubes were well packaged and appear intact. Big relief... now if they just work. There appears to be some moisture left in the water jacket of the tubes which I hope is from them being tested for leaks before passing inspection.

The machine itself looks very well constructed. One point of confusion to me though is the rear power connections. There is the main power connection and the 110v cord is supplied for that. It's the same cord as say your PC power cord. Three pronged male plug on one end, and the sort of modified triangle shaped female on the other. Where the female end of the power cord plugs into the laser, it's marked 220v.

Right beside this connection there are 3 other two pronged plugs all marked 220v. The blower, chiller, and air pump are all 110v and have 3 prong plugs.

I also noticed when I opened the side door to look at the electronics and power supply, the PS had oil all over the top of it. It looks like whoever oiled the rails above got a little carried away with the oil and it ran down. No big deal though. I don't think any got into the PS.

I got a happy surprise when I unwrapped the rotary attachment. It's the type with a 3 jaw chuck and a tailstock(see pic) . Very heavy duty and well made. I had thought they only offered the Epilog roller type rotary but I had really wanted this type for what I wanted to do with it. A+ there Jack.

I also got the USB upgrade because of all the horror stories about the PCI cards being touchy. They even included a 128Mb USB thumb drive for file transfers, or you can use the supplied USB cable to go direct from the PC to the laser.

Oh, Flyguy007, the chiller I got is the 3000 series and according to the manual it has a stainless steel tank. Is yours the 3000 series too?

Unfortunately I have work to do for a few days and can't start the setup yet. Bummer...

Hey, does anyone know what the two memory(?) chips are for that are stuck in the styrofoam in the one picture? Nothing in the documentation about them.

Skip

[A+ Machining]

It sounds very good. I really hope I get the same rotary attachment, its exactly what I wanted for my jobs.
Thanks for keeping us updated and the pics. Let me know what you find out about the electrical connections.
Thanks
A+

[samakthachai]

Hi Skip,

Two Chips in styroform are sparepart of laser power. I have some questions with your machine.
1) What software does this machine control engrave or cutter?
2) It use DB25-pin of parallel port( your CPU) to control your machine or not? or use PCBA to connect with your CPU.



Cheers,
Samak

[SkipW]

I have my machine operational now and I am very happy with it. I did have problems getting the tube to light at first but I finally tried to re-tighten the wire clamping screws on the back of the power supply and that's all it was. They weren't loose really, and I barely got any movement from the screws but after that... success !!!

Here's two pics of the first two things I did with it. The heart design is cut out of Manila folder paper (thanks for the file Luis), and the engraving is done on a piece of cherry wood. The engraving isn't the best, but it's a good start. Maybe a little less power on the next attempt. The bitmap I used wasn't all that high of quality either though.

All in all, I am very pleased with Jack Yin and WKLaser. They make a very good machine and Jack is a man you can trust.

Skip

[A+ Machining]

Congratulations Skip,
That looks great for a 1st attemp. I can't wait until mine gets here.
Keep up the good work.
Art D