Galvo Quote - Any Good?

[Jiten Patel]

I have got a quote for the Galvo, which I am inclined to believe is very attractive.

30w Co2 Galvo.
Full Rig - Power supply etc
PC
Custom Honeycomb table with jig.
Lots of free laserables' (cermark, arcylic etc)

£15500 (ex VAT at 17.5%) - Total - £18212!

Thoughts?

[Rodne Gold]

Well here's a formula you can use to see if its worthwhile;

1/2 the quoted or advertised output , double the quoted or advertised running costs and if it all makes financial sense after that, then go for it.
The NET profit the machine must make per year must be at least 1/2 of its purchase price .
You need the machine to make at least GBP10k a year , probably have to turn over something like 40-60k a year with lasered stuff - or more - to clear that
So you looking at around 200 quid a day or about 30-40 quid an hour. Can you do that?

[Dan Hintz]

Rodney,

I think he's trying to determine if the quote is in line with what other machines cost...



Jiten,

I've never spec'd a galvo unit, so I don't know what they go for on the open market.

[Jiten Patel]

Rodne,

40-60k a year to make a net of 10K? As we are doing wedding stationery, the mark up is impressive to say the least. If we were turning over 40-60k a year, net would be a smidge over the 10K mark :D.

We already have a mass of interest, and have already infiltrated a massive wedding events company who said they will sell our products to potential clients. They get around 200 orders a month for a full wedding package which means 5% = 10 orders a month as a given (wishful thinking maybe!)

[Jiten Patel]

Dan, spot on, thats what I wanted to know, whether or not I am paying over or under the odds for a machine like that.

I think I've got a pretty good deal, but then thay may be my naivety.

[Dan Hintz]

Jiten,

Very few here (any) have access to a galvo unit... I'd be interested in hearing who you decided on, how it works out for you, what software you can use, etc.

[Jiten Patel]

Jiten,

Very few here (any) have access to a galvo unit... I'd be interested in hearing who you decided on, how it works out for you, what software you can use, etc.


What are the reasons for not going with a galvo? Spot size? Marking/cutting field size.

I have to say, one we played with the machine all day, we are quite limited in what we can do. We cannot acheive the fine details some of you guys produce with your fine work. But for us, at the moment, detailed pictures etc are a by product to out primary goal, Intricate wedding stationey, hence our name, Intricate Creations.

The software is quite limiting in the sense its more geared towards industrial applications. But for our applications its enough (again this is from a very limited time with the machine). It uses Weldmark from Raylase.

We will definately be investing in a flatbed for pictures and other fine detailed work once we get on our feet. We saw the results and they are truely amazing, but for the minute, we need the speed. Can't really afford to spend 10-15 minutes per card. 20-60 seconds sounds like a nicer figure.

The Trotec SpeedMarker CL seems like the baby we are going to go for.

[Dan Hintz]

You hit on the reason... galvos are significantly faster than beds, but beds allow a larger field for cutting. Most go for beds for the larger working field, and I believe galvos tend to cost more, as shown by your US$20k+ price tag for a 30W unit... put that size working field and cartridge power in a bed unit and the price drops much closer to US$10k.

Is there an option to use a print driver within a standard program (Corel, Illustrator, etc.), or is the control program able to accept standard file formats (CDR, AI, SVG, etc.)?

[Jiten Patel]

You hit on the reason... galvos are significantly faster than beds, but beds allow a larger field for cutting. Most go for beds for the larger working field, and I believe galvos tend to cost more, as shown by your US$20k+ price tag for a 30W unit... put that size working field and cartridge power in a bed unit and the price drops much closer to US$10k.

Is there an option to use a print driver within a standard program (Corel, Illustrator, etc.), or is the control program able to accept standard file formats (CDR, AI, SVG, etc.)?


No print driver at all. Softward accepts most file formats, DWG, PLT, EMF, JPEGS, EPS etc. No AI though which I was gutted about as I use Illustrator and EPS from CS4 did not work for some reason. But EMF files did work, so not too much of an issue. The software is noway near as easy to use at the flatbed ones. Also you need a special PCI card to use the machine, no USB which isnt a problem as they are supplying a standalone PC.

$10k would be nice, around £7k. Maybe next year on the flat bed front.

They did offer us a second hand 100w galvo (£70k brand new), for £15k, but as the saying goes, if its too good to be true, it usually is. So we will stick to the 30w brand new.

[Dan Hintz]

Would you mind PMing me the company info? I wouldn't mind looking into them...

[Jiten Patel]

WOO HOO!

I am now the proud owner my very first laser. A Trotec SpeekMarker CL 30W Galvo.

Bring on the fun!

[Mike Null]

Congratulations and good luck. If your Trotec is as good as mine you will be very happy. (mine is not galvo btw.)