Hurricane Laser Purchase

[Donald Ethredge]

Well I went ahead and started the process of purchasing a Hurricane Laser, I had stopped by there location while in Vegas and had a demo of the equipment and was fairly inpressed with the build of the machines, And also liked the fact the company to deal with the unit is located in the US.

Yes I did have some reservations about the company being fairly new, but figured everyone has to start somewhere. I ordered the Category 1 Floyd 60w with 12x20 laser area. I will keep everyone updated on the process as well as service after the arrival if I have any issues.

[Keith Outten]

Congratulations Donald on your new machine. We will be interested in your comments about the new laser, I haven't seen anyone here with that make or model yet.
.

[matthew knott]

At the moment im trying to think of a name for a laser! I can see the appeal of hurricane (was a great WWII british plane) but i find it odd to name the models after actual Hurricanes that lots of people where killed in, seems like a odd thing to name a product after. If anyone has a good name for a laser please let me know.
Good luck donald, i think its a good idea (unless your very confident and have the skills) to pay a little extra for local surport.

[Bill Learning]

Hello everyone, I've been reading here for 5 or 6 months now but first time posting. First, thanks to everyone on this forum for the wealth of knowledge they openly share. It is the first forum (on any topic) I have come across where the conversations always seem to remain friendly and civil. It's weird, I feel like I know some of the frequent posters without ever having conversed with them! Anyway, back on topic.

Donald, just thought I would put in my 2 cents as I recently purchased a laser from Hurricane Lasers as well. I did not have the luxury of visiting them in person and had the same reservations as you about them being new. They just had the best combination of price for features that I was looking for in an American supported company so I went for it. After I made the purchase I found out about some nasty issues/lawsuits between them and another company but by that time my laser already shipped and I committed to purchase it so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

While waiting for the laser to arrive they were always very responsive and nothing but friendly to me. When it finally came (weeks feel like years when wating for a new toy), everything was present and accounted for, even though the crate was somewhat suspect. I assembled and visually inspected everything and finally summoned the guts to turn on the water pump. A very short time later, water was pouring out the back of my laser! Thankfully I had not powered on the unit itself yet. I quickly turned it off and surveyed the damage. It turns out there must have been a crack (from shipping I guess) in the most fragile section of the tube and when water pressure was applied it came off completely and water was free to pour out, including over several electrical boards in the compartment under the tube. I dried up the water as best I could between curses and made a call to Hurricane. I thought, here we go, we'll see how this pans out.

From the outset of my calls with them after that incident, the only question was whether to send me a whole new laser or just the tube. I suggested we just let the machine dry for a couple of days and try a tube. I felt I was able to get virtually all of the water dried up so I was just dealing with residual moisture at this point. They quickly overnighted me a new tube and it arrived as promised the next morning in one piece, so that was impressive to me. I installed the new tube, aligned the optics and have been having a blast ever since. So based strictly on my personal interactions with them and not on whatever issues they have with the CEO's previous company, I cannot complain at all about their service.

As far as the machine itself, I was impressed with the build quality, especially for a "cheap Chinese laser". I will qualify that by saying I had no experience with lasers whatsoever before this, and my purchase is strictly for hobby purposes. I do not have any business venture assiciated with it at all and I do not depend on it in any way for income. After getting the wonky software/dongle combo working for LaserCut it has been virtually flawless ever since and it is the most fun I have had with a shop tool of any kind, "regular" shop tools suddenly seem very boring to me. Just in experimenting with different materials over the last month or so, I have made things that I think are really cool to have made at home, but I guess that's just the novelty of it since I am new to this.

Donald, I look forward to hearing what your experience is in comparison and I hope it all works out for you. Sorry for the rambling post!

[Joe Hillmann]

At the moment im trying to think of a name for a laser! I can see the appeal of hurricane (was a great WWII british plane) but i find it odd to name the models after actual Hurricanes that lots of people where killed in, seems like a odd thing to name a product after. If anyone has a good name for a laser please let me know.
Good luck donald, i think its a good idea (unless your very confident and have the skills) to pay a little extra for local surport.

I just looked at there website and looking at the names of there lasers kind of leaves a person scratching there head wondering what the heck they were thinking when they named them. Is it supposed to be a symbol of power or just a bad joke?