Rodne Gold
11-30-2011, 4:10 AM
60w Tube gonners , after 840 hrs of use , $160 for the replacement. Thats 20c an hour "running cost"
However the tube did NOT fail due to being "used up" , it was engraving perfectly till it failed.
The "chiller" supplied is the cw3000 , basically a bucket and an aquarium pump and a puter fan blowing on the water- a piece of rubbish. Considering it cools with water evaporation , the level drops and the water gets hot. My operator noticed the tube cutting in and out and the water level low , the flow sensor sensed the low level and stopped the firing intermittently as the flow reduced.
Problem is , my operator topped up with a LOT of COLD ionised water , the glass of the tube was obviously hot due to limited flow and when the cold water hit it , CRACK!!!!
End of tube!!! Took an hour to put in and align the replacement (i bought a spare when I got the machine) and we were back in business.
I will NEVER buy a cw3000 chiller , will only get the cw 5000 which is a true chiller (but is about $500 extra)
So now I want to get 2 x 60w tubes as spare , a cw5000 chiller , some other bits like lenses .. will prolly be cheaper to get a new small $2500-3000 machine at the same time if one considers freight etc.
However the tube did NOT fail due to being "used up" , it was engraving perfectly till it failed.
The "chiller" supplied is the cw3000 , basically a bucket and an aquarium pump and a puter fan blowing on the water- a piece of rubbish. Considering it cools with water evaporation , the level drops and the water gets hot. My operator noticed the tube cutting in and out and the water level low , the flow sensor sensed the low level and stopped the firing intermittently as the flow reduced.
Problem is , my operator topped up with a LOT of COLD ionised water , the glass of the tube was obviously hot due to limited flow and when the cold water hit it , CRACK!!!!
End of tube!!! Took an hour to put in and align the replacement (i bought a spare when I got the machine) and we were back in business.
I will NEVER buy a cw3000 chiller , will only get the cw 5000 which is a true chiller (but is about $500 extra)
So now I want to get 2 x 60w tubes as spare , a cw5000 chiller , some other bits like lenses .. will prolly be cheaper to get a new small $2500-3000 machine at the same time if one considers freight etc.