Are Laser Engravers Always Broken

[Mark Maslonkowski]

Hello all I am new to the forum and I would like to start out by thanking you all for your vast knowledge base. Now down to it. I run a small home buisness as a part time supplement to my full time county job. I currently have a small CNC and am looking to add a Epilog or universal 50watt unit to my tool inventory. I will not be running day in and day out but I would guess a few hours every other day or so. My concern is is this not constant use a problem? Second looking around here everyone seams to be having problems with no matter what brand of unit are lasers inherently always broken? I plan to make a few bucks with it but with an $18000 investment upfront I dont want to be nickeled and dimmed to death after that kind of investment. Thanks for your input and time

Mark Maslonkowski

[Craig Matheny]

Mark you have to remember if this was a post about Fords they would always be broken also.. There are many people on here and we run our equipment all day my Epilog cuts 1/8" Plywood day in and day out 10 hours a day 7 days a week. I have had my Epilog for 4 years I bought it as a demo 2 years old have put maybe 1600.00 into it and that included a new tube, lens and mirrors. I am planning on buying a second Epilog this summer new, I can not comment on the others but I see many topics about problems and then great customer service and how they are back up and running 24 hours latter.

[Joe Pelonio]

It may seem that way, but who would post on the forum that there laser is running fine?

I have replaced two tubes, two motors and the encoder strip, also 2 mirrors and a lens on my Epilog, but since the last repair it's been going 4 years with no problems at all. Knocking on wood.

[Mike Null]

My Trotec runs every day and it's near 7 years old without any repairs or downtime.

[Mark Maslonkowski]

I know what your saying Joe we all tend to ask questions when we are in a jam on forums such as this and I value you input, bu when you are looking at a large investment like a laser one begins to wonder when all you seam to see is constant problems.ThanksMark Maslonkowski

[Dee Gallo]

The posts seem to run in cycles - sometimes about the fun things we are playing with, sometimes the production jobs we are involved with, sometimes the tech issues we run into, sometimes the software questions people have. Personally, I'm running two now and the only thing I've had to do is level the bed and replace an encoder strip on a laser I bought used 4 years ago. The other one has had nothing done to it, even though it is used pretty heavily. So maybe you are not seeing the whole story, as Joe said.

Any piece of equipment has the potential to be a lemon or a gift from heaven. Doing your research helps you get as good a laser as you can afford and learning to run it well helps you avoid problems for the most part. I started with a used Epilog, ran the heck out of it for two years and upgraded...after selling the 15 year old laser for the same amount I paid for it ( and never had to repair anything on it).

So yes, this is the place for folks to come for advice and help with problems, but that does not mean there is nothing but trouble to be had. If you read ALL the threads, you'll see a LOT of happy successes.

Good luck, dee

[Mark Maslonkowski]

Thank you Dee you seam very respected in this forum and I expect if I purchase a unit I will be looking to you and the other very knowledgeable people here for hep so once agin thank you for your input. I see you are running epilog units from what I have trad of your pos you seam happy is that a true assumption. I am currently looking at the mini 24 or the helix any comment?

[Scott Shepherd]

We've been running the same Universal for 4 years or so and the only cost has been normal maintenance items, like bearings and belts. That was preventive maintenance. I can't recall us having to spend any money to repair the machine.

[Dee Gallo]

Thank you Dee you seam very respected in this forum and I expect if I purchase a unit I will be looking to you and the other very knowledgeable people here for hep so once agin thank you for your input. I see you are running epilog units from what I have trad of your pos you seam happy is that a true assumption. I am currently looking at the mini 24 or the helix any comment?

Yes, Mark, I'm very happy with my Epilogs, they have been reliable and loads of fun. I don't have a big bed or lots of power, but my Minis can handle whatever I want to do. One thing I can tell you that I've learned is that regular and thorough cleaning/maintenance is one key to avoiding problems. Just like any tool or equipment, a laser requires certain conditions in order to produce the best results.

[Tim Bateson]

Mark,

The real answer to your question is; It depends... Are you located anywhere near me?
If you answer Yes than, Of course you are going to spend a fortune on constant repairs, it would make more sense to sub this type of work out.
If your answer is NO, Then I can say I've used mine (bought used) for 4 years and it was even dropped off the delivery truck & I've spend $0 on repairs.

[Rodne Gold]

The BIG expense is gonna be a tube , and they do break/fail. You might be lucky and never replace one , you might be unlucky and replace em as soon as the warrantee runs out. Other repairs are sorta mickey mouse compared to that expense. To be really safe , I would budget for one every 3-4 years (Circa $3-5k) and a further $1000 a year for mirrors , lenses , motors and anything else,
(Basically operating costs of $1000-2000 a year). If you never dip into that budget , great , but at least you will have "provided.
The way you care for your machine will most likely also be a factor. Rigorous, careful and correct cleaning on a daily and weekly basis will tend to extend life as will running it in a well controlled dust free environement.

[Mark Ross]

We run Epilog 36EXT 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week. When we break down? Well...there is this silly little thing called preventative maintenance that we have decided to define as "when it is broken, fix it quick to prevent the boss from getting mad". Like with all our mission critical machinery, we keep spares around. The thing is mechanical and like all things mechanical it breaks down. But we beat the heck out of it, let it get dirty, have a fire or two, don't clean it out as often as we should and so on.

[Jiten Patel]

It's like buying a car - you can't expect to buy a car, and drive it all day every day without something going wrong. Sometimes you may get lucky and find a car that just refuses to die, and other times, you can get stuck with a pile of $hit that decides it doesn't want to do anything...ever!

So far, really happy with our Trotec, no issues, no problems (fingers crossed). It's been running 7 days a week, around 12-14 hours a day for the last year and a half.

[Mark Sipes]

If you do the scheduled maintenance recommended by the manufacturer, you might be looking at something like this

...............................Recommended........ ............................Actual

Replace X-axis Belt ..........2500 hr or year 2, $100................. year 8
Replace Motor Belt ...........2500 hr or year 2, $ 25 .................year 8
Replace Drv Gear Assy ......2500 hr or year 2, $ 75 .................year 2 & 8
Replace X Motor ..............When Problem Occurs $ 675 ......** Every 4 year..... 3rd motor brushes worn out
Charge Laser Tube ...........When Problem Occurs $1300 ......** year 4 Recharge
Replace X bearings ...........2500 hr or year 2, $100............ ** year 8 Failure
Replace 1.5" lens .............When Problem Occurs $ 250 .......** year 6 Operator Dropped
Circuit Bds/Cables ............When Problem Occurs $ $$$$ ..........none yet

Troctec 25W .......12 years in service & down for parts/repair .....19 days

[Dee Gallo]

Tim, you are a hoot!

[David Fairfield]

Ditto all what Dee said.

[Martin Boekers]

Maintenance is a key, some take good care some don't so that is a big variable. If you ever
watched a laser in action, you may be stunned how little repairs there are considering what you
ask it to do. The next question is how mechanically inclined are you? Some that aren't see more repairs
as others see them as tweeks or adjustments. Just like anything else though, take 10 cars 9 may be
fine and the 10th one a lemmon. Epilog and ULS are standards here, the next step up is Trotec
that seems to be top of the line, but it does cost more. Not sure where Kern fits in as I haven't
seen much here.

[Russell Ludwick]

I run my laser as a side gig since it doesn't pay the bills like my 9-5 right now. I average running it about a hour a week doing small jobs for people, I am on the far end of not using it consistently enough. I have a 6 year old Trotec that I've owned for about 1.5 years. I bought it with a loose belt that was causing the previous owner problems, but after I replaced a nut and tightened the belt, I've had no problems. I don't run it nearly as much as I should, but I'm pretty confident I could run it 8 hours a day with no problems, the thing is a tank.