[big-div]

Hi All,

Looking into purchasing another machine for the shop ( Tight budget..) found these ebay special laser cutters (I know, you get what you pay for!). Has anyone here had any experience with these machines and/or seller? I have already worked out from feedback the seller is not in Sydney as stated, but is located in Hong Kong. I am sure I can iron out any issues with maintenance down the track, but there were a few negative feedbacks from damaged goods. I am obviously a little bit skeptical about the 2 year warranty & Free maintenance they offer.

Thoughts ?

Ebay Item

[Beefy]

The following is my OPINION.

My first alarm bell ringing is them claiming positioning accuracy of 1/100th of a mm. You have a hard enough time getting that accuracy on lathes and milling machines. When I'm going for that accuracy on my manual lathe, I have to make sure I cool the part before the finishing cut because even temperature changes the dimension. Yet here they are saying you can get it with one of their laser cutters. The cutter would need a very solid heavy rigid bed, gantry, z-axis, etc, etc to maintain anywhere near that accuracy. You would need precision ground leadscrews too. Does it have that or is it something like belt drive.

If they are spouting that sort of BS, they'll probably spout other BS.

Ask for one of there user/service manuals and see what their documentation is like. The biggest complaint I hear is atrocious documentation from Chinese suppliers.

Ask for other Australian customers contacts to see if you can get some feedback.

Good luck.

[rocabig]

I have the 50 w version (the next size down)
works well I use it for engraving not cutting
haven't had a problem you need to replace the laser tubes every now and then (they are a consumable item)
Richard

[big-div]

Do you have a link for where you got it from mate?

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

[LeeWay]

How much would replacement laser tubes cost?

[xjdubber]

The following is my OPINION.

My first alarm bell ringing is them claiming positioning accuracy of 1/100th of a mm. You have a hard enough time getting that accuracy on lathes and milling machines.

there is a big difference between positioning accuracy and machining accuracy, you cannot compare a laser that sees no forces other then the weight that it has to move around to a milling machine or lathe.

[Beefy]

there is a big difference between positioning accuracy and machining accuracy, you cannot compare a laser that sees no forces other then the weight that it has to move around to a milling machine or lathe.

I am not bringing cutting forces into the equation.

You would still need rigidity to maintain positioning accuracy of 1/100th of a mm. You would also need high precision ballscrews, high precision rails, etc. Every axis would have to be set up perfectly perpendicular to each other. Do you think the manufacturers place a precision machined block on the laser bed and do accuracy tests with a dial indicator to make sure they have perfection to 1/100th mm. Then when they don't get it they go to the great lengths to achieve it. That laser would cost a lot more than that if it was manufactured / adjusted like that, but more importantly if it could hold that precision.

Do you realise that even with the "solid" bed of a lathe, you still need to set up the bed with a machinists level. Why ???, FLEX. Yes the chunky cast steel body of a lathe can flex just by not being leveled correctly on a thick solid concrete base.

Now if you have to go to those lengths on a lathe to get full accuracy, do you think you stand a cat in hells chance of maintaining the supposed accuracy with that laser cutter, no way. You'll find that by simply moving the machine about you'll get different measurements, if you were inclined to do high accuracy tests with a dial indicator, etc.

Some plasma cutter manufacturers give the same BS claims for their tables. Even IF the table could achieve that accuracy, the floppy flame of a plasma would make it a completely pointless exercise. Point is plenty manufacturers make these BS claims to suck un-knowledgeable buyers in.

[xjdubber]

I am not bringing cutting forces into the equation.

When I'm going for that accuracy on my manual lathe, I have to make sure I cool the part before the finishing cut because even temperature changes the dimension. Yet here they are saying you can get it with one of their laser cutters.

You'r comparing running a lathe to accuracy on a chinese laser cutter. And no they don't say they can get that part accuracy with their laser cutter, the say it can position with that accuracy and most likely what they mean is that their steppers run at 100 pulses per mm, so if you were say running 25.4 mm per rotation that would 2540 steps (pretty standard and completely achievable).

Some plasma cutter manufacturers give the same BS claims for their tables. Even IF the table could achieve that accuracy, the floppy flame of a plasma would make it a completely pointless exercise. Point is plenty manufacturers make these BS claims to suck un-knowledgeable buyers in.

same deal here, however with plasma it less of a problem, kerf of the plasma arc is going to change with height, air pressure and other factors anyways. Thus the actual accuracy of a part that you can get, cannot be compared to a lathe or mill

[rocabig]

[QUOTE=big-div;1769006]Do you have a link for where you got it from mate?

50W USB Laser Engraving Cutting Carving Machine CO2 Laser Engraver Cutter | eBay

as for the cost of tubes a 50w tube costs about $420 delivered