[Professor Kink]

They are a big sponsor here, I can't find any review of talk about their stuff though.

Their units look nice - any comments or reviews from anyone here who has one of their units? How well is the hardware and software working out for you?

[Pplug]

I use a the same controller as the thunder laser machines on a retrofitted ILS III. Except I bought mine from lightobject. They use virtually the same software and practically the same dsp. The only difference is in the firmware password and Ethernet connectivity on the light object board.

So far the software has been stable and the controller has been accurate. The one disappointment I have is that there are no English measurements in the software. Everything is in mm with no way to change it.

The thunder laser program has more English and logical sounding buttons in the lasergrav program as well.

Support and documentation looks to be sketchy and incomplete from thunder and that's the main reason I went with the light objects awc-608. Light object has a good forum for many of the questions I have had in my retrofit.

BTW, the two Chinese companies are having a pissing match right now over who did what with whom over these controllers.

[Professor Kink]

Hmm, interesting.


I have been looking for a laser machine off and on for some time. First it was Eplilog, but I started looking more seriously elsewhere when I realized at least comparable machines could be had for 1/3 to 1/2 the price, and I couldn't really get a clear idea of what exactly the extra money buys me from Epilog. (If anyone can say, I'm all ears.) I don't want to BUILD my own machine, I just want to use and maintain it.

FS Laser was my frontrunner with their 5th gen unit until recently, now that I have more seriously hunted down info and reviews. I read the odd grumble about them but had good hopes for the 5th gen hobby machine, didn't hop on the kickstarter because I felt it was worth the extra 400-600$ to wait and see some reviews first. Their heavy-handed management of online stuff is disappointing, but not a deal breaker.

But I have to admit that FS Laser dropped almost off my list after reading about things like upside-down lenses, even in the most recent 5th gen units. I will accept a certain amount of glitches and gotchas in even high-ticket items because it's part of the territory with specialty hardware... but I have to say, if I received a laser engraver/cutter and the lens was mounted backwards, I'd ship that thing back because it says "they don't know what they're doing". I mean, sure it still mostly works but this is a core piece of your product and it shouldn't have such an elementary mistake; one time should be one too many! I'm not turned completely off FSL, but man the fact that people have run into this a non-trivial number of times is really... offputting.

There are many more options in the same price point than I realized, but you know, they all sort of start to look the same after a while. :tired:

[gweikelaser]

Yes,for laser machine ,because a long shippment to customer,we can't gurantee all machine without any preblems, and a small damage may cause something wrong with laser rays but we will test all our machine before we shipped, only the qualified machine can be sent and good after-sale service also is more important

so choose a good supplier will be more important

Best Regards
Lucy Lee
G.WEIKE LASER
[email protected]

Hmm, interesting.


I have been looking for a laser machine off and on for some time. First it was Eplilog, but I started looking more seriously elsewhere when I realized at least comparable machines could be had for 1/3 to 1/2 the price, and I couldn't really get a clear idea of what exactly the extra money buys me from Epilog. (If anyone can say, I'm all ears.) I don't want to BUILD my own machine, I just want to use and maintain it.

FS Laser was my frontrunner with their 5th gen unit until recently, now that I have more seriously hunted down info and reviews. I read the odd grumble about them but had good hopes for the 5th gen hobby machine, didn't hop on the kickstarter because I felt it was worth the extra 400-600$ to wait and see some reviews first. Their heavy-handed management of online stuff is disappointing, but not a deal breaker.

But I have to admit that FS Laser dropped almost off my list after reading about things like upside-down lenses, even in the most recent 5th gen units. I will accept a certain amount of glitches and gotchas in even high-ticket items because it's part of the territory with specialty hardware... but I have to say, if I received a laser engraver/cutter and the lens was mounted backwards, I'd ship that thing back because it says "they don't know what they're doing". I mean, sure it still mostly works but this is a core piece of your product and it shouldn't have such an elementary mistake; one time should be one too many! I'm not turned completely off FSL, but man the fact that people have run into this a non-trivial number of times is really... offputting.

There are many more options in the same price point than I realized, but you know, they all sort of start to look the same after a while. :tired:

[wolfau]

I am in the process of purchasing an LC 1290 from Wk Laser.

Spent over a week researching and sending a ton of emails to Lucy. Lucy has been very helpful.

Its the company that stands out the most and I have also been informed there is a US company is in the process of building a printer driver which should be adaptable to the WK Laser Cutters.

Just notice when someone has an issue or question on the forum and see which company is there to help. That says enough in my books.

Hope this helps.

Joe

[Professor Kink]

That is a good point. At some point I'm going to have to just pick one.

Also it's good to remember that sometimes it's not so important to find the ~~~~best~~~~ unit, it can be acceptable to get a unit that 1) works, and is 2) within budget. If it does the job properly and is within budget, really what more is needed?

[tejaswood]

I have had an FSL 40w for the last 10 months. As a matter of fact I have been running my laser since 9am this morning without any issues. It is now 5pm.

[phylo]

I am in the process of purchasing an LC 1290 from Wk Laser.

Spent over a week researching and sending a ton of emails to Lucy. Lucy has been very helpful.

Its the company that stands out the most and I have also been informed there is a US company is in the process of building a printer driver which should be adaptable to the WK Laser Cutters.

Just notice when someone has an issue or question on the forum and see which company is there to help. That says enough in my books.

Hope this helps.

Joe

Who is making the driver? I would be very interested in checking it out? Have you received your laser yet?

Phil

[Sandgroper]

They are a big sponsor here, I can't find any review of talk about their stuff though.

Their units look nice - any comments or reviews from anyone here who has one of their units? How well is the hardware and software working out for you?

I tried to look into the Thunder Laser, but when I go past the introductory page linked from the ads, my antivirus warns me that the page is dangerous. It does look very much like the AWC-608 though.

[CNCKing.com]

Never heard of them but the number of manufacturers has grown incredibly fast and it's surprising how competitive the industry has become as a result.

Jon

[Pplug]

I tried to look into the Thunder Laser, but when I go past the introductory page linked from the ads, my antivirus warns me that the page is dangerous. It does look very much like the AWC-608 though.

It is different from the AWC-608 from light objects. I think there was a big spat between the two companies. Here is what I think of the Awc-608:

I have an Awc-608. I bought it from lightobject to refurb an old laser from 2001. I have to say the laser works flawless. The controls are a little quirky and the LaserCad software needs a serious English revision to get out the chinglish. That being said the actual controller does its job nicely. With the PPI feature, we have burned through 1/2" MDF with minimal burning on the edges. I have even gone through 3/4" poplar knots and all. We are using a Reci 80w tube.

The nice thing about the Awc-608 board is the inclusion of Ethernet. However they don't tell you upfront that the Ethernet has no DHCP ability and addresses, subnet, and gateway must be set manually. The controller also has a USB connector for a HD or thumb drive that can act like a local HD. We use this to store common canned jobs like the ruler project every kid makes in my technology classes, otherwise, we use the Ethernet. Jobs are also stored in the controllers internal memory when they are loaded into the controller.

Setting up the controller for your specific use can be a pain in the but because of the chinglish in the manual and program, but, once you figure it out and tweak it for you setup, all is good.

The programmer and Marco (runs the light object forum) have been helpful with integrating new features and reworking old features to work better. Another user and I had a problem with the way the z table motion worked. In a week or two Marco talked with the programmer and then sent me a custom firmware update to address the problem. I believe the update made it into the current mainstream firmware version. One issue with the programmer is that he doesn't always document the changes made to the software.

There are many improvements that can be made to the software like, grayscale engraving, printer driver, and reworking the chinglish. However, we are overall happy with the controller and how easy it was to integrate with the old power supplies and motor drivers. If we had to do it all over again, I would have no problems purchasing the Awc-608 from lightobjects.

I'm going to start another thread with this reply so any body who wants to ask me any questions can without changing the subject of this thread.

[mtechus]

My review of ThunderLaser from my own research and speaking with them was ok.
I did like the look of their machines and sales was responsive as well.
Their English was pretty decent actually.
I didn't purchase from them first due to the time to get a unit minimum: 45 days to my door on East coast
not to mention the shipping customs fees involved which is over $1k. In my case I needed a unit w/in 2 weeks.

Lasergrav software seems to be their own Chinese proprietary software. I couldn't find any user base online about
it meaning I would have to rely almost exclusively on support from China. Aside from the 12 hr. time difference, I've
never had much luck with tech. support over seas. On top of that I don't like mom-n-pop laser software that doesnt have a broad
user base which is why I didnt purchase from FS laser among other things. I thought Lasergrav would be similar to LaserCUT 5.3
which has a very broad user base but support was not familiar with it.

I elected to buy an import from a US based company which has turned out so far to be a great decision.

[speedythinker]

No, it is not the hardware is totally different even though it looks similiar. See attached images. I used to carry both card (I name it 2011 DSP and 2012 AWC608) but there is hardware issue on the 2011 and still not solvable. 2011 come with PHCad and it stucked at v4.45. Even though Thunder hired someone to rewrite new software but without hardware fixed, it won't go too far. The change is only the 'skin' but not down the core level. Because of that, it limit the card from from further improvement possible. When the parties dismissed I stopped importing the 2011 but focus on AWC608 because of the flexibility of the card and the power of the new DSP chip. Note that Thurnder didn't make the card or machine. They just re-packed it and put a new logo, like most company does in China or USA. Me too, I found a good manufacturer in China and let them OEM machine for me.

Anyway, the AWC608 is a new design controller card with different DSP chip. The 2011 DSP came with FPGA while the AWC608 doesn't. The software looks similiar because both software were designed by the same programmer - Mr. Li . He started a new company and he is the owner of the AWC608. Most DSP software for CO2 laser in China looks similiar as there is a reason. The companies who developed the DSP card tried not to put burden on a customer's back when switch over from a company product to another. You may now know that a laser manufacturer in China are always carry different DSP card for machine per client request.

See two older model DSP cards that I used to carry (2011 DSP) and the latest AWC608
1st model: dual voltage +24V and +5V
2nd model: single +12V
3rd model (current) AWC608

Attachment 201078
Attachment 201080


Let me know if you have any question. You may 'PM' me if you have any question regarding the Thunder as I don't want to talk too much about them in the public.



Marco
Lightobject.com