Hi all.

I'm sure there are a lot of reviews (actually I've read a lot on this forum) of lasers cutters, but would like to make a compilation of new info, as well as link to good reviews, so anyone who want to purchase a laser has some clear info to start considering the options.

In my case, I have a Full Spectrum 40W Hobby Deluxe.
I rarely used it, and it lasted not even two years.

In my opinion, there are a lot of better machines, but I can say that now that I have some knowledge, went thought a lot of issues that I didn't expected, and found that what I was worry about back then was actually not big deal at all... so then, I would not recommend FS and that is why I myself I'm checking on other companies to get a new machine instead of keep maintaining the one I have.

There are out there great and well known products from Epilog or Universal Laser, as well other EU companies as Gravograph or Trotec... but all of them are a big deal of money... so let's focus here on some mid range, not the 500$ laser you can find on Ebay, nor the 8000$ for a top small laser; something that a small shop of a hobbyist can afford.



So... Full Spectrum 40W Hobby Deluxe review:


MY SETUP
Model: 40W CO2 Deluxe Hobby Laser
How long I had it: about a couple of years
Did I replaced the tube?: No, but would be more than necessary. Actually, FS recommends even to replace also the power supply for that time span which costs the same price as a new tube.
Would you recommend it: Absolutely no


SUPPORT
Support is contradictory.
I never called them, but I know another user who used to phone call them, and he only got long waits but never a solution.
Email seems right, they are fast replying (considering different time zones), but it's not really useful either... most of the times the answer is asking to send back the entire machine which can be as expensive as the machine itself; if you can't afford it then they ask to send back the power supply, the control board, etc or directly tells you to buy a new one; but never got a real conversation where you explain what is wrong and they tells you what you can do test and hopefully solve it by yourself.
So you get a clearer idea, even for simple questions, the directions can get more messy that the trouble itself... When I insisted them on checking my problem instead of sending it back, a technician told me to remove the SMD chip of the controller board and solder a new one by hand, when the issue was that actually the wiring of a motor was connected in the wrong place (although I sent a picture of the board and the wiring)

Anyway, that depends of who attends you I guess, technicians comes a go.

So then, you can try the forum to get real practical support from other users... but sadly their forum is highly moderated (censored), that's not only my opinion, you can read about the same topic everywhere you check the company profile... the same way that their politics is harassing and even banning you and your machine from the forum and software updates... so although this is about the machine itself, you are better thinking about who you are going to deal with.

Something that simple like knowing the right temperature threshold for the water that cools the laser has been asked a tons of times in the forum, but still no simple plain answer (or it has been edited...) like keep it about 20ºC and never over 30ºC... instead you just get that their lasers works great in Las Vegas at local temperature with a bucket of water... whatever that means, you'll only find good words without real content.


HARDWARE
The machine itself is Chinese production, but FS makes the control hardware (retinaEngrave).

I've read a lot of complains on Chinese software, but in this case, hardware is the worst part:
The case is not bad, standard construction... but plate that hold the laser mount is somehow floating, so I added an extra piece to connect it to the main frame and make it more stable.
The the mirror holders are terrible and there is no way of getting a solid adjustment.
The lens holder is the worst of it, cheap (bad) alu milled work:
- the top mirror is not at 45º... they even provided it with a bit of tape to try to correct the angle.
- the enter for the laser beam is not centered, I had to mill it to the right because the beam was hitting it.
- the head is not fixed, so with time is slightly tuns, and you need to readjust... I ended up gluing it.
- the lens itself is not center either nor flat, so the final quality of the output is quite questionable.
You can try and try to adjust it, but there is hardware issue that can't be solved, so you better replace some parts and start over.

I've also read about a lot of amazing issues that I luckily didn't experienced, including bad alignment of the frame, resulting in weird deformations of the cut/engrave shape.
But what you will most certainly get out of the box is:
- bad alignment of the mirrors. Not a problem of the shipping, they are not aligned at all.
- bad alignment of the Z table. You will need to remove it and adjust each one of the four screws... but anyway I found it goes out of alignment over time again and again, since the system is poorly designed at so many levels; and also, the honey comb table provided is poorly made, so it actually doen't keep the same height all along, basically you need to live with a few mm offset, not good at all if you want to use 1.5inch lenses
- the air pipe to the lens holder is zipped/folded so the air doesn't pass through.
- the belt tension is not right.
- the machine is not grounded.

So, no matter what, you'll never get a perfect perpendicular beam, there are too many issues in the path to be able to make it go down totally straight.
In the same way, no matter what you'll loose some power in the far corner of the table.
The better you calibrate you machine the better results you'll get, but don't lie yourself, there are some quality limitations that prevents you of getting a 'perfect' result.
Don't misunderstand me here, 'perfect' is subjetive, I know is not an Epilog or other precission machine, but anyway for its price range I expect more control... like if I cut a square out of 3mm MDF, both sides (top and bottom) are going to measure the same instead of getting angle cuts; so if you are planning to make complex inserts, think twice.


SOFTWARE
The software is made by FS.
It's buggy, even if you go just for the stable (non BETA) version, but to be honest, they are continuously upgrading it.
Anyway, some time ago they stopped the official support for 'old' (mine was about a year old at that time) models, pushing you in the direction of buying a complete new machine... their last model.
Over all the issues with FS software, it actually works well, but don't expect it to be a plug and play printer although they sell it as a printer driver.
Some issues related to precission and repeatability comes and go depending of the software version.
Also I remember that when I got it everybody was complaining about connection issues, and then they started selling a piece o alu foil to cover the electronics to later ground everything (you even had to scratch out the paint of the case for that), alluding to some interference caused by the laser radiation... a few software updates later the problem was solved and no need of alu foil or scratching anything....




So I hope you found it this useful, and hope you have something to share about this or other machines from Thunder Laser, Gbos Laser, Jinan Quanxing, G weike, Red Sail, TurnKey, etc...
You can write you own review, or if you know a good one, just post the link here so everything get indexed in the same thread.

Take care, and happy lasering