Buying Used Tortec Speedy 400, what to look for?

Hey guys, I have a chance to by a local Trotec Speedy 400,

*I tried to fix the title sorry to all you OCD's out there... *

I have very little knowledge of this particular machine, were moving up from a Gweike machine...

What would you check for , what would you look for on a used machine if you were buying ? Its 4 years old... And looks like its brand new from the photos have seen...

Main concerns would be the laser tube ( Ceramic? How do you reference trotecs lasers...) and its life span. Ive read up that it is very hard to determine HOW long they actually last, and thats fine I get it. ( My G-Weike RECI tube has lasted for 6 years and is still fairly strong) .

What happens if a Trotec laser fails. Recharge? New unit? Cost on that? It WILL fail, no one knows when haha Sorry for the ignorance I just want to know everything going in.

The seller knows nothing, how would I check to see what wattage the laser is? Is it Clearly marked on the machine? Im assuming in the serial?

Just curious on this for you owners who have had one for years and may be able to give me insights onto what to look out for!

Thanks in advance!

Did the seller use it? how does he know nothing?

Is it set up to run? if so, easy, take scrap ply and a file and see if it will run. Cut and engrave. Noise? everything seems to work? bed moves, laser fires, gantry moves without excess noise....

If not, then visual is all you can do. I would say at that point, maybe 20 % of new price. You take a chance of it needing tube recharged and even other major repairs.
(probably not, but no guarantees.....)
If he really doesn't know much, then the better price you should be able to cut with him.

I just made the same jump you are looking at this summer. Chinese machine to a lightly used speed 400. Could not be happier. The difference in speed is incredible. The brand new 2019 speedy 400s are faster than the older units. Not sure if that matters to you or not, but it may help you in your negotiation.

I would echo what John said. I brought clear acrylic to test. Make sure it engraves and cuts. You want square squares and circle circles. If you can't test it, then make a lowball offer. The machines are good and pretty durable, but the parts can get expensive very quickly.

You will want at least 80 watts of power to be able to take advantage of the speed. There is a nameplate on the back of the machine that should say the wattage on it.

If/when you need tube repairs look into Evergreen laser. I gave them a call during my research. They were extremely helpful. Their price was reasonable, but I forgot the exact quote. Only downside was a 4-6 week turn around time.

Great thanks guys!

"The guy who ran the laser is no longer here" is why he doesn't know what's up. Pretty large furniture factory shutting the doors.

I guess there's no hour counter on these fancy lasers hey? That would be easy to tell the usage.

OK So pretty standard stuff, I'll make sure to run it. He says it's running.

So are the tubes repairable? Refillable? How does that work, and what would a ball park be for servicing the tube eventually? I think that will play into the offer... If its 10 grand for a new tube that is a couple new Chinese lasers...

Thanks for the help guys!

The tubes are repairable. They (ceramic) are relatively new so it's hard to forecast life span but there are a lot of these on the market and I haven't seen many references to the need to repair or replace these tubes. There is a job history file however, it can be erased or lost during maintenance operations. Trotec tech support is very good. I've been in the business for 23 years and have owned or operated Universal and Epilog extensively. Trotec is superior which is why I bought my second one a little over a year ago.

You might want to look at some of the Trotec videos on sending jobs to the laser before you go. It is a pretty different workflow than the Chinese machines.

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Originally Posted by Chris Thomason

You will want at least 80 watts of power to be able to take advantage of the speed. There is a nameplate on the back of the machine that should say the wattage on it.

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OK so after the initial inspection the machine is clean, very clean in fact. It is an 80W machine. .. Man I had hoped it would have been the 120W...

I heard that trotecs laser source in comparison to a Chinese tube is more powerful 80w vs 80w? Is that accurate?

It comes with a rotary mechanism. and a vacuum table as well as a aluminum slat table. a 50mm lens and a 100mm as well.

I was wondering about the exhaust fan? Im assuming these use a separate source for the exhaust? Just like my Chinese lasers? I turned it on and it didn't seem like it had that built in.

Another thing to note is no passthrough... ( I think... Im gonna take a wild guess and assume that the back panel would be latched with magnets and just flip down should you want a pass thru version... this didnt seem to be very easy on this machine... )

So all in all at 18K I think this may be a pretty good deal if it cuts as I hope. Honestly I would have loved to have the 120w... I also got quotes from my local Trotec dealer and an 80w looks to be about 45K with all the accessories.

So I guess the only question is how many of you wish you had the 120 w... haha

For the size machine, 80 watts is enough for everything you want to do with it....
It's made for speed engraving, not as much for cutting. Good job. sounds like good price also.

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Originally Posted by John Lifer

It's made for speed engraving, not as much for cutting.

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Fair enough I realize I'm not going to cut through 1" oak with it... but you know it's one of those things where you want the most versatile machine.

So quick search online for what happens when my tube is toast...

Found the laser rebuilding company Evergreen laser

https://evergreenlaser.com/iradion

Am I right to think that Trotec uses Iradion tubes? If so they have a recharge for 1K... thats very manageable ( considering I have about 15 print heads in my shop that each cost 3K and are INKJET AND HORRIBLY DELICATE haha )

If thats the case I am going to pull the trigger, I can deal with that cost on a tube that seems to be incredibly reliable. Unless its an easy switch to 120 w from 80w then it may be worth it to buy a brand new tube ;)

And does anyone know the method for testing how many watts a laser is actually putting out?

Attachment 420106Also. Sorry for the insane amount of questions haha ...


I read that in around 2012 they switched from Synrad to Ceramic tubes... Would the "C" in C80 signify that this is in fact a ceramic laser?

Seems like a good machine and price. I’ve got a newer machine that does not have the C. Honestly I don’t think there is much of a practical difference between metal and ceramic tubes.

Also as an FYI I would take down the negotiated price and serial number off the internet. Not a good idea to broadcast as that machine could be swooped up.

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Originally Posted by Andrew Kazakoff

And does anyone know the method for testing how many watts a laser is actually putting out?

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There is a tool for that. You used to be able to rent them. It's a small device that you put in the laser, put it in the path of the beam and manually fire the beam. It absorbs the energy and reports the value.