Hi everyone, glad to find an engravers' forum that seems to be alive.
We have been in 3D crystal gifts business for 6 years and still loving it except for our total dependency on our laser machine manufacturer.
We own a C-Jet2 from Cerion (just ONE piece so we are really dependent) and when the laser machine needs repair it costs us way too much. We have to send the machine to Germany and be out of business for weeks! The price of the laser repair is close to our monthly turnover. A new laser (according to Cerion) is even more expensive. The warranty is just 6 months.
Our knowledge about laser types is almost non-existant. All we know about the type of laser installed in the machine comes from the tag inside it =)
So if anyone is an expert in that field we can of course quote what the tag says )
Our questions are:
- is there a thread for owners of 3D subsurface engraving businesses (a.k.a. SSLE or 3D Laser or 3D Crystal Engraving)?
- could it be cheaper to buy the laser itself directly from the laser manufacturer (we have heard that the lasers Cerion installs is Italian made but we couldn't find out the name)?
- are there cheaper but still RELIABLE Chinese lasers that could be installed in Cerion's C-Jets?
- what is i exactly that degrades in such lasers with time: the diodes? Can one repair the laser by replacing the diode or whatever it is that eventually degrades? Any chance we would be able to do it ourselves thus saving a lot of money?
- are there ppl in this forum with similar machines and thus the same problems as ours? =)