Importance of Trotec's 'Harsh Environment Kit'?

[Chris Schenck]

Greetings!

I'm finally about the take the plunge and buy my first laser -- a Trotec Rayjet 300 (80 watt). This will be used as a small business / hobby laser. The only optional accessory I'm unsure about is Trotec's "Harsh Environment Kit" which supposedly provides extra protection against dust and contaminants by shielding some of the sensitive components of the system.

I'd like to know if anyone here at Sawmill Creek has had experience with this accessory option for Trotec lasers, and whether it's an important feature to get for this purchase.

Thanks in advance!

[Mark Sipes]

Are you refering to the Integrated Exhaust System Atmos Compact

Many applications create dust, debris or smoke during processing. To help keeping the machine in good working order and more importantly to get the best lasing results, it is mandatory that an exhaust solution is introduced to the laser. One of the options is a self contained filtered exhaust system, that can also be the machine base. This minimizes floor space and creates even a more mobile system.

You will need an exhaust system of some kind to evacuate the fumes and dust. Is the Red dot pointer, air assist and rotary part of the initial purchase......

[Chris Schenck]

I think their harsh environment kit is different than the exhaust system. I'll buy a pump for the system exhaust, but I did decide to spring for their air-assist pump as well, even though it seemed pricey. The red dot pointer comes standard on the machine.

My understanding is that the harsh environment kit just provides extra physical shielding of some kind. Here's exactly what their description says: "Offers additional protection and is recommended for contaminant-intensive operations such as rubber stamp or wood manufacturing."

I tried to google for more information, but it didn't yield useful results. Maybe my Google-Fu is weak. It does looks like the kit is an option for Trotec's "Speedy" line of lasers, so I was hoping that maybe someone on here with a Speedy might know more about it.

[Keith Outten]

The harsh environment kit is money well spent and it will continue to be an asset for as long as you own your machine IMO. Basically it protects all of the sensitive parts from dust and smoke, if they don't get dirty you will have less cleanup to do and the precision parts like the linear bearings will last longer.

The Trotec air compressor is also worth the expense, it is so quiet you can't hear it running inside the cabinet. It turns on and off automatically and you won't have an exterior air line to worry with.

There is a pretty decent sized group of Trotec owners here at The Creek, most have more experience with their machines than I do so I took their advise when I purchased mine and I'm glad I did :)
.

[Mike Null]

Job Control software lets you determine whether to use air assist. I always use it for cutting but not so often for rastering.

[Chris Schenck]

Awesome replies. Thank you to everyone! It sounds like I'll be getting the harsh environment kit then. I have one more question about the "Electro Optic Auto Focus" accessory. I've seen several folks here on The Creek say that they always manually focus, so I'd not planned on springing for the auto focus add-on. I just want to double-check to make sure that's not a decision I'll regret.

Is the auto-focus just a bit of a time-saver, and nothing more?
Also, I notice that "software autofocus" capability comes standard with the machine. What's the difference?

Thanks again!

[Scott Shepherd]

Chris, I don't know anything about the Rayjet, but on the Speedy 300 we bought, it said that if it was 75W or above the "harsh environment kit" was included. So we might have it, we might not :) I haven't been able to determine exactly what it consists of, so I assume we have it, since it was listed as included :)

As a new Trotec owner, I can honestly say that I have used the auto focus about 20 times. I don't see anything wrong with it, but the manual focus is just so easy, I'm not sure it's a big time saver to go without it. That's just my opinion.

I'm not sure on the software autofocus, but my guess is that's referring to the ability to control the focus based on color. We do use that. You can make certain colors focus at different levels. For example, if you want to engrave slightly out of focus to get a smoother look on certain materials, then you can do that, then when you go to cut out the object, you can make the cut color in focus so your kerf is the smallest. We use that frequently and it works excellent.

I don't know what the Rayjet comes with, but I've always thought that the software had 3 levels and the Rayjet used the lowest level, while the other machines used the higher levels. I'd probably make sure you have the advanced version of the software, if that's not standard.

[Chris Schenck]

Thank you, Scott. I bet you're right about the software focus being related to the color mapping. In any case, I'll go for a "Yes" on the harsh environment protection, and "No" on the hardware autofocus.

The software included is called "Rayjet Commander" so I'm not sure what level of software that would be. I'll ask about it though. Thank you again for the very helpful advice, everyone!

:)