Hurricane Laser

[Tim Patterson 4]

New to the laser community; I am looking at purchasing an entry level Hurricane laser and am looking for any reviews or feedback in regards to performance, ease of use, customer support etc. From what I have seen they appear to offer a good unit at a low price that is attrcative to a beginner. Any feedback and or advice would be greatley appreciated.

[Ross Moshinsky]

It's a Gweike laser. They get pretty good reviews. As for Hurricane: You have several issues buying from someone like Hurricane but it's just the nature of the beast.

1. They are "small" now. I believe as a result, they are rumored to offer pretty good customer service. If their business continues to grow, will they grow with it? If they don't, you can expect very poor customer service.

2. On the flip side, if business is slow, are they going to just dump the company and move on to something else? If you think about it, once all the machines are gone, all they have invested is $5000 into a website. It's not that difficult to move on from that. Once they are gone, you're left trying to deal with China directly.

My opinion is that I'd buy from Rabbit Laser if I was a beginner and not looking to import myself. The whole point of selling Chinese lasers in the US is to allow the customer to avoid the hassle and risk of buying directly from China. It's also to provide the next level of customer service and information. Hurricane's website has no information about actually using the machine. No write-ups. No projects. No technical information. I'd be very concerned with their level of knowledge and it's simply a hassle having to call them up to learn how to use the machine. Online tutorials would go a long way.

I don't think they will screw you but I also don't think they offer enough services and security to warrant the increase is price vs shipping it in yourself. Rabbit seems a step above the rest in this regard.

[Rodne Gold]

What is "entry level"? , if its one of those small desktop things like this one , I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole regardless of how it is modified/tweaked etc.

[Tim Patterson 4]

I am looking at their Ivan model, a bit bigger than the desktop.

http://hurricanelasers.com/ivan







What is "entry level"? , if its one of those small desktop things like this one , I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole regardless of how it is modified/tweaked etc.

[Rodne Gold]

Seems very high pricing - that laser gonna cost you 10 grand before you finished
the machine should NOT cost you more than $3-4k ex china with some spares.
90 Watt tube +$1,000.00 $200 for a cheapy , $450 for a RECI
Rotary Attachment - Roller +$895.00 - from china $200
Rotary Attachment - Chuck +$895.00 0 from china $200
1.5 inch lens +$250.00 $40 for the same ex china
2.0 inch lens +$250.00 $40 for the same ex china
5.0 inch lens +$250.00 $40 for the same ex chin

Not sure I would go for this machine at those prices......... up to you whether you want to pay double or more...
Tons of threads re chinese machines , you need to read em to get a "feel" for whats on offer.

[matthew knott]

Shhh Rodne, you will let the cat out of the bag :)
5 thousand us dollars for a Reci glass tube, be gutted if that got broken during shipping!
Im shocked at some of the markups people are charging for directly importing chinese machines and selling then on.
Guess if you can get away with it, fair play, but its a lot of money for hand-holding IMHO

[jordan djeu]

thanks... that's exactly what i needed to know.. so Hurricane are Chinese laser...

[Donald Ethredge]

Yes Hurricane Lasers are Chinese lasers, I basically purchased mine from them because I was able to physically look at them and speak with them in person in Vegas, and felt I would like to deal with a person not try to figure out from forums how things worked. And it also eliminated the fact if I ordered it direct and something happened I did not have the same issue I recently had with a damaged piece of equipment that was valued at over 5000.00 I ended up getting 2400.00.

So far everything has went smooth, and been able to call every time and get a person to help me out.

[Ron Philman]

I reviewed hurricane laser about this time last year. They have added some US components to their machines
so its not all Chinese...whats going on with them now?

[Jerome Stanek]

I saw they lost a law suit against them but they say they are still in business.

[Dan Hintz]

I saw they lost a law suit against them but they say they are still in business.

A $2M lawsuit... I would be very concerned about the viability of the business. Also, searching on the owner also turns up several lawsuits in the past for "misappropriating" funds from charities and such.

[Josh Borlovan]

They are simply a middle man between the US consumer and the chinese laser manufacturer. Proceed with caution.

[Larry Bratton]

Run away! Fast

[Ron Philman]

They are simply a middle man between the US consumer and the chinese laser manufacturer. Proceed with caution.
I can see why you're saying that. But, lots of US companies import and resale. IMHO its the value the company can add before delivering to the consumer that makes the difference. But
in this case it appears that hurricane isnt in any position to do that....thx.

[Ron Philman]

A $2M lawsuit... I would be very concerned about the viability of the business. Also, searching on the owner also turns up several lawsuits in the past for "misappropriating" funds from charities and such.

Yep, just read where a Gene Sherman on CNC Zone posted his hurricane laser review. wow.. probably part of this lawsuit.

[Bert Kemp]

Yep, just read where a Gene Sherman on CNC Zone posted his hurricane laser review. wow.. probably part of this lawsuit.


If you read back further in the cnczone posts you will see were Hurricane took his 13000 dollars and never delivered his laser. Gene Sherman was not a part of that suit. FSE sued Hurricane for 2 Million and won that Judgement. Its all part of public records you can look it all up.

[jerry platter]

I am using a Charley 80 watt. Satisfied with flat goods, cutting, etching, photos, etc. but the settings for the rotary devise is giving me fits. They don't answer phone calls or respond to emails but I was able to reach them by phone the other day. So, if you have a question, just keep calling their 800 number until someone answers.

[Dan Hintz]

So, if you have a question, just keep calling their 800 number until someone answers.

Probably not a good system to purchase if you have to cross your fingers someone at the "help desk" will answer the phone today.

[Ross Moshinsky]

Probably not a good system to purchase if you have to cross your fingers someone at the "help desk" will answer the phone today.

It is what it is. In other threads I've explained how this works. You're buying a laser first and customer service second. You never know when someone is going to sell their business, close their business, or simply close their business.

When you're small, all you do is have time to take care of your customers. When your business grows, you have to grow with it, which is hard. That's why so many businesses close after 3-8 years.

There was always a strong chance that Hurricane was going to fail. It's part of life. When you buy these lasers through importers, you're basically paying for a guaranteed working machine. Service is just the icing on top.

[Mark Smith61]

I have a Hurricane Ivan that I bought Jan 2013. I'm happy with it and I was happy with Hurricane Lasers. As for the lawsuit, I looked up the info that was available online and it does give me some concern, but the lawsuit is not related to the way Hurricane currently does business. The owner of Hurricane apparently worked for the other laser company and left them and started his own company. They claimed he used company secrets to run his own company. Must have been something to it as the court ruled in their favor. However, if you look at customer reviews on that other company there is nothing stellar about them either.

I also read the complaints from the other guy and I have my doubts about his complaint. And contrary to what was written on here he did not lose $13k. He ordered a laser and wanted some custom things on it and was told he would have to give a non-refundable deposit. He did that and when he canceled his order he acknowledged knowing he was going to lose his deposit.

So back to his complaint. He knew the laser was being imported and was apparently given a date it would be there. He scheduled an open house at his store and needed the laser for the open house. He says he was promised the laser in time for the open house and didn’t get it and he says there were unanswered phone calls and bad customer service. The laser didn’t make it for the open house but was available for delivery the next week and he was mad so he cancelled the order knowing full well he agreed to the non-refundable deposit.
I’m not going to dispute the claims he makes as I was not there. All I can tell you is my experience. When I ordered my laser the delivery date they told me happened to coincide with the ARA convention in Vegas. So I decided to kill two birds with one trip and arranged to attend the ARA convention and at the same time get my training on the laser and then on the last day load my laser into the truck and bring it home. I was told by the people at Hurricane that would be great with them, but I was cautioned that they could not positively guarantee that my Laser would be ready as sometimes there’s shipping or customs issues, or other issues. So I knew good and well that even though I had made hotel reservations and planned the trip, there was the possibility my laser wouldn’t be ready and I took the risk. Turns out it was ready and everything worked just fine.


Now in the other guys complaint he claims Hurricane assured him the Laser would be ready no if ands or buts about it. But the owner of Hurricane in a rebuttal says he told the customer there was always the chance of problems with the delivery. All I can offer is Hurricane in fact did tell me that.

In June I went to Vegas for another convention and stopped by Hurricane’s new showroom to say hi. While I was there I was asking questions about how to properly clean my laser. I forget the gentleman’s name now, but he said here let me show you and he took me in the back where several lasers were. He spent about 45 minutes with me showing me exactly how to take the lens apart and how to clean it and all the lube spots on the machine. And this was not scheduled in advance. I just dropped in off the street.

[Pete James]

This is not to defend Hurricane, but to provide some balance.

In November of 2013 I ordered what is listed on the Hurricane website as the 30W Lisa model (their least powerful model). I was told it would take 3 to 4 weeks to ship from Las Vegas because the model was new and they had not received the first ones in from China (G Weike). I was always able to get John on the phone and when the machine was a little late, he volunteered to upgrade it to their 40W Floyd at no additional cost to me and he shipped the next day. I took delivery on 12/13/13.

I have not had any major problems and the few times that I had questions there was always a tech rep readily available.

[Mark Smith61]

Your experience sounds similar to mine Peter. I had added more to my post above but I must have deleted it by accident before posting. What I had also added was that I have called Hurricane for support and questions probably five times over the last year. They have always answered my phone calls and always answered my questions. The last time I called them was just a couple of weeks ago just before Christmas. A person answered the phone and emailed me the information I needed within 10 minutes of hanging up the phone with me.

[Mark Senior]

I've ordered what looks like their Floyd machine but direct from G Weike and there's over $5000 difference in the price, I know they are running a business but it's quite a markup?

[Ross Moshinsky]

I've ordered what looks like their Floyd machine but direct from G Weike and there's over $5000 difference in the price, I know they are running a business but it's quite a markup?

How much should he mark it up? If the machine gets stuck in customs for example, that could be a $500 right there. He's got to pay rent, internet & phone, ect ect ect. He could buy 10 machines and sit on 3-4 of them for a month or two because no one wants to buy that machine.

Is it too high of a markup? Depends on who you ask.

[Mark Smith61]

The Floyd machine is listed at $8000 on their website which includes shipping and fees to get it to Vegas. Are you paying $3000 including all the fees?
e

[Jerome Stanek]

I bought the same unit for $3199 after I picked it up in Chicago.

[Mark Smith61]

It was $3199 total including all the shipping charges and customs fees and everything, and it was the exact machine Hurricane is offering?

[Mark Senior]

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b615/rentaghost2/LG500Floyd_zps1c468a04.jpg (http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/rentaghost2/media/LG500Floyd_zps1c468a04.jpg.html)

[David Somers]

Mark Smith61,

Keep in mind that once you involve a middle man in the process your costs go up. Ross was discussing markup earlier. I don't know the costs involved with Hurricane,
but for the company I will very likely end up buying from eventually, Rabbit Laser USA, there is certainly a markup compared to buying direct from China. Which way you choose to go is going to depend on what you want.

For example. While I would love to own an Epilog or a Universal or a Trotec, I am just a serious hobbyist at this point and may or may not get a real return on this investment over the long haul. That would be nice....but....

I can buy a larger, more powerful laser from Rabbit for a bit over 1/3 of the cost of a big Epilog that actually is smaller and less powerful. And....if I wanted to, I could save big $$ again by ordering direct from China. I might do that ordinarily but I still have a day job that chews up a ton of my time right now and I am not willing to take the chance on having to fuss with the whole ordering process from start to finish to get that savings. The whole purchase might go as slick as White Lithium Grease, or not. NotIn this case I would rather deal with a company with a good reputation here to order from, get the machine checked before it ships, and even come out to fire it up and align it and get me running on it, as well as provide support and parts later on. I have lived in far flung places and I know what it is like to deal with businesses halfway across the globe where English is a second language at best and time zones and date changes make doing business a challenge. If I had the time to devote to that if it were needed...no problem. But it had potential to become an issue for me. The extra $$ were worth it for me to deal with a local (US based) company and avoid the issue. And I will still save a huge amount compared to a having bought from one of the big 3 western laser companies. In other words, I will likely choose the middle road.

I do have to admit that I was not impressed with what I was finding by nosing around Hurricane. They may be a great company with good folks working for them. My personal comfort level was just not there with them. All I am trying to say is put their product in perspective....consider their place in the supply chain for these things and the prices start to make more sense. And then you can decide where your comfort levels are in terms of who you want to order from...direct from China....from a local supplier with the attendant price increase that will come with that, or do you want to buy a Western Machine. They can all be good choices from what I see depending on your needs, your resources, and your business model. (or lack of it in my case! <snort>)

Dig through the forum a bunch. You will find lots of info here on all aspects of this.

And good luck! Hope your choice ends up being an excellent one for you!!

Dave

[Travis Wizniuk]

I've ordered what looks like their Floyd machine but direct from G Weike and there's over $5000 difference in the price, I know they are running a business but it's quite a markup?

Yup as a business owner it always amazes me when people balk at a markup... Everybody forgets, that not only does the person/business have to pay expenses, but the business has to make sense. If they are only making a little money selling product X, then it makes no sense. It has to be a business they can build and be rewarded for or they could simply go to work for someone else and have a much easier life.

Another thing to consider is demand.. The lower the demand for a product, the higher the markup. Lasers would be considered a pretty niche product with a fairly low demand, and thus a higher markup.

Just some food for thought...

[Mark Smith61]

David, you addressed this to me, but I've already bought a Hurricane laser and have been using it for a year now. I'm happy with it.

[Mark Smith61]

Yup. Lasers aren't the only thing coming from China and everything has a markup probably in excess of 100% for most everything.

[Mark Smith61]

I'll agree that the pictures look the same, but that doesn't mean they are the same machine. Even in the photo you can tell the controls are different.

[David Somers]

Sorry Mark Smith61! I thought I had the flow of the thread firmly in hand! So much for that!

Glad you like the Hurricane!

Whoever I thought I was talking to.....the ideas are the same! I say sheepishly! <grin>

Dave

[Pete James]

We routinely sell products at markups of 100%. If you are in business, you should get the largest markup that you can. Why would anyone sell something for $5000 that they could sell for $10000?

[Jerome Stanek]

there was no shipping because I picked it up the there is no customs for me as they were paid for when it reached the USA. It does didn't have the CV5000 chiller but that was a $500 add on. the add on legs came with mine no charge. along with the 60watt tube.

[Scott Shepherd]

It's called "Support". Who do you think pays for the guy on the other end of the phone when you call a couple times a year to ask for help? The reason the mainstream machines are expensive is because they have higher quality parts, higher quality drivers, and they offer support for the life of the machine. That's got to be paid for somewhere. The importers that are giving support in the USA are doing the exact same thing. They are taking parts they believe to be inferior and replacing them, then they are offering installation help, and phone support.

It's not rocket science. Support has to be paid for somewhere, by someone. Sounds like some of the importers are just trying to give a better business model and giving a tier of support that wasn't previously there, or isn't there at all in many cases. Charging more for that service isn't gouging people, it's paying for their staff to help you.

[Mark Smith61]

You picked it up in China? Or was shipping cost built in?

[John Kaspar]

This is not an advertisement as I know they are banned on Sawmill but rather a clarification for the value of all in the laser community. First, thank you to Mark and the many other happy Hurricane Laser customers for their support. We work very hard to provide the best quality and support in the community. There are also many other great companies out there such as Rabbit Laser, Epilog, Universal, Trotec on and on. It is this competition that is helping the entire industry to improve quality and lower costs. Free markets working the way they should.

As mentioned and admitted I did work for FSL prior to starting Hurricane Lasers. Let's just say that Henry and I had differing opinions on business practices. I did not have an non compete. I also did not have hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep fighting a frivolous lawsuit so our attorneys withdrew and therefore he won the suit. As mentioned by other viewers winning suit and collecting are two different things. Hurricane is in business and will continue to be. Perhaps I will have to pay a portion of what we make to the extent the law requires. But losing a lawsuit does not mean you have to shut your business. If it did there wouldn't be a business left in this country.

As for being what I call a Chinese box mover. We are not. We provide optics from Meller Optics here in the States vs Chinese Optics. This promotes less variance in the cuts and engraving and a longer life. We also are proud of our 2 year full warranty that covers everything including the tube.Thank you and Happy New Year!

John

[Mike Null]

John

I have edited your remarks to remove what I perceived as advertising language.

[matthew knott]

Fair play for letting John defend himself, his customers seem happy and the mark-up is neither hear nor there if you need the services and experience he offers, if you want to go-it-alone pay someone in China and hope you can sort it out yourself. I paid £3.85 ($6.16) for a coffee yesterday, wonder what the markup is on that Starbucks.

[Ray Beaty]

Fair play for letting John defend himself, his customers seem happy and the mark-up is neither hear nor there if you need the services and experience he offers, if you want to go-it-alone pay someone in China and hope you can sort it out yourself. I paid £3.85 ($6.16) for a coffee yesterday, wonder what the markup is on that Starbucks.


I have an Ivan 60w I bought 2 years ago and the machine has worked like top and the staff at Hurricane Laser has been superb when needed for advice or trouble shooting.

[Ron Philman]

I have a Hurricane Ivan that I bought Jan 2013. I'm happy with it and I was happy with Hurricane Lasers. As for the lawsuit, I looked up the info that was available online and it does give me some concern...
Seems to be good experiences early on but with the current landscape - $2m law suit, and I guess now this Gene Sherman, suit. Thats a lot of smoke..and Im sure attorneys or FS will pursue collection.

[John Kaspar]

Mark,

Nothing to be concerned about as we are open and doing well.

Ron,

As far as collecting that will take some time as they will be entitled to some of our net income but nothing else. Might take 50 years to pay them off if ever. As stated earlier, if every company that lost a suit had to close there would not be anyone in business.

John

[Mark Smith61]

Just wanted to add that just yesterday (Jan 17, 2014) I had the need to call Hurricane for tech support. The phone was answered in two rings and my problem was solved in about 30 seconds. Of course I felt like an idiot when I heard the answer and the lady fixing the problem didn't even know she fixed my problem. When I bought the laser I also bought the rotary attachment. I just never used the rotatory attachment until now. So I finally got it out and hooked it up and followed all the directions to set up the software but whenever I'd hit test it was clear I didn't have it configured right. I played around for an hour and couldn't fix it and finally called. She asked the diameter of my material and I told her three inches. She said, "okay let me convert that to millimeters," and I said, I'm such an idiot. I had not converted to metric. What a dummy. Problem solved. So Hurricane is still in business and answering the phone and fixing my dumb mistakes.

[Steve Lambert]

This might be a bad sign: if you google Hurricane Lasers it still brings up the link to their website, but when you click the link takes you to Full Spectrum Lasers home page. All the other links that come up on Google are dead-- support, etc just give a HTTP 404 error. I don't know enough about it to say for sure but it seems possible this company is gone.

[Ross Moshinsky]

This might be a bad sign: if you google Hurricane Lasers it still brings up the link to their website, but when you click the link takes you to Full Spectrum Lasers home page. All the other links that come up on Google are dead-- support, etc just give a HTTP 404 error. I don't know enough about it to say for sure but it seems possible this company is gone.

Most likely had to give their business to FSL because of the suit.

FSL won't get the millions, but it was plenty obvious they were going to put Hurricane out of business.

[Scott Shepherd]

It doesn't look good. Their domain name registration was changed on Feb. 12, 2014 to a company that specializes in transferring and handling bankruptcies and legal judgements.

[Dave Sheldrake]

OK this is getting complicated

from Hurricanes facebook page


Ross Buffington (https://www.facebook.com/ross.buffington.5) wondering the same thing....got and email from John saying Hurricane is now World Laser but that's a website out of PA. Hurricane still in business?

World Lasers Is run by a guy called Greg Rawley

Greg is also the MD at Bell Laser LLC

It's getting way too complicated to bother looking further.......

cheers

Dave

[Steve Lambert]

Not trying to beat a dead horse about this, but I happen to know someone who just bought a Hurricane machine and is still waiting on a couple of parts (spare tube and rotary attachment). They may have some problems getting service and support from Hurricane, and I thought other people here might run into the same issues if they need to contact Hurricane. I did find that Hurricane's service and support webpage is still operating so if anyone needs to contact them they may still have some luck: it's now located at http://world-lasers.com/service-support (http://world-lasers.com/service-support) and it seems that the various links from there are still active even though their home page links to World Lasers in Pennsylvania. All in all I would not be terribly confident if I were an owner of one of their machines but there may still be some resources for Hurricane owners.

[Dan Hintz]

'Twere it MY equipment on the line, the big question to me is are the two companies mentioned one and the same? I'm getting the impression from info listed here the answer is 'no'...

[John Kaspar]

Don,

Thank you for the feedback. Yes people can import directly. I can reference a dozen or so that have and we have had to sell them parts etc after months of work to get a laser to run. We do include US optics from Meller and a 2 year warranty that covers everything including the tube. We have outstanding service and support. All of these things cost money. It amazes me how everyone says buy direct and save. While that is true about lasers it is also true about almost any other item you purchase. If support, warranty etc are not important than by all means go direct.

Tim we would be happy to help you out and provide many references from 400+ happy customers.

Thank you.

John

[Bert Kemp]

Isn't Hurricane Laser no longer in Business ?????

[Mark Smith61]

Just got back from a wedding in Vegas yesterday. Last Friday (2-21-2014) I stopped by Hurricane Laser's showroom in Vegas and they are still in business and I recognized all the same employees there that have been there for a while. Even said hi to John who was there. And even though I still can't remember the guys name, I got another half hour of free lessons (or included in my original purchase price lessons) on use of the software. Now that I'm more familiar with the laser and the software these continued lessons (a year after my original purchase) are very helpful because I can retain the information much better.

I'm still very comfortable doing business with Hurricane Lasers and it's very good to see that their long time employees aren't bailing out on them. Normally if it's thought the company is going under the long time employees start heading for other jobs, but they appear confident in what they are doing and appear to be staying. Let me add a little info about me if it will make people more comfortable. I run a small wood and laser shop and it's my retirement job to keep me busy. I retired in 2011 after a 28 year career in law enforcement. The last 17 years of that career was spent as a Criminal Investigator in a prosecutors office where I worked mostly white collar crimes and political corruption type cases. I was also cross-designated as a Special Deputy United States Marshal and worked on an FBI White Collar Crime Task Force. The reason I put this info on here is because I'd be the first person to run from a crooked company. I have researched Hurricane Lasers and read about the disputes they have had. I will admit they give me a little bit of concern, but I also know good an well that disputes arise in business and people get accused of things they did not do. Is that what happened to Hurricane? I can't say for sure obviously, but I see a lot of the signs that this is a business dispute versus any type of fraud.

When I first started looking to buy a laser one of the companies I looked at was the one Hurricane is having this dispute with. I found a lot of negative info about them from their customers so I skipped on them. Hurricane didn't have that same negative info so I ended up buying from Hurricane. I knew that Hurricane was started by people who used for work for the other company. So I can't personally vouch for John or for Hurricane, but I can tell you my background and experience has been in dealing with these types of issues in a criminal setting, and if I wanted to buy another laser tomorrow, I'd have no problem buying from Hurricane Laser. I guess everybody else is going to have to decide for themselves if that is the right choice for them or not.

Also, apparently as part of the lawsuit, Hurricane did lose their web domain name but not their business. So if you go to their old web address it does direct you to the other company. John sent out an email to all their customers last week explaining this. Do weird things happen like this in Courts? Yes, they do. I had a friend who got a divorce and he ran a concrete business. He was ordered to give his ex-wife all of his concrete tools in the divorce settlement and was also ordered to pay alimony. He tried explaining to the judge that he needed his tools to work to earn money to pay the alimony but the judge didn't care. So yes, Judges do make weird decisions in court.

[Walt Langhans]

This is weird... I went to Hurricanes web site to see what model was being talked about and it takes you directly to Full Spectrum Website...

[Mark Smith61]

As part of the lawsuit settlement they had to give up their domain name. You can go to www.hurricanelasers.net (http://www.hurricanelasers.net) and that takes you to their new website location.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Sadly much of the info in the "About glass tubes" is inaccurate :(

cheers

Dave

[Scott Shepherd]

Sadly much of the info in the "About glass tubes" is inaccurate :(

cheers

Dave

Like this one....

"Air cooled tubes are reliant on ambient temperature and cannot be run for long periods of time. "

Okay, all you GCC, Epilog, Trotec, and Universal owners,, you need to make sure you don't run your machines for long periods of time :eek:

[Guy Hilliard]

I doubt I will ever have an issue with running my laser for long periods as the Trotec runs so fast I cannot schedule enough work to keep it busy for more than 12 - 15 hours a day. ;)

I do however take some time off to run the router as well (usually Saturday and Sunday). :p

[Dave Sheldrake]

Seems to be a miss-understanding about how the resonators are excited, RF, Radio Frequency at between 24 and 60 volts is a lot different to a plasma at 25,000- 40,000 volts @ around 10% efficiency. DC tubes have an upper limit on the amount of power they can produce before runaway, RF units aren't affected by the same conditions.

RF resonators do indeed produce an odd shaped beam BUT they are usually circularly polarised at the partial reflector unlike the linear polarisation of a DC tube, ergo DC tubes will cut better and with a tighter kerf inline with the polar planes whereas RF tubes cut equally in all directions.

Cost considerations aside RF excited resonators are indeed more efficient and produce a far higher quality beam profile over DC units.

To suggest nominally available DC glass tubes are superior is just plain wrong on so many technical levels.

cheers

Dave

[Dan Hintz]

Oh, God, you guys are missing the best stuff in there...

The laser beam on all glass tubes is naturally round as a product of the round tube the gases are held in. RF tubes are square or rectangular and with help from special optics, produces an oval beam.
A round beam because the rube is round... but a square beam because the tube is square :rolleyes: I'm going to start making square water hoses for grins and giggles.


Glass Tubes are excellent for cutting because they have a continuous beam instead of a beam that pulses on and off. You can cut Acrylic without having to flame polish the edges.
Yep, us RF-tube guys really hate our horrible acrylic cutting jobs... it just looks so ugly afterwards :rolleyes: Thank heavens there are DC-tube users out there to bail us out else we'd be suffering.


When engraving, RF tubes do have an advantage over Glass Tubes because of the pulse technology and the shadings of photographs. This advantage is short lived, however, because the photo softwares out there can convert an image to a bitmap that optimizes the photo for engraving and turns it into a series of dots that make the laser turn on and off when engraving the photograph.
We must create such horrible engravings with our RF tubes because of those square dots we're forced to make instead of the DC's smoother round dots... :rolleyes:

I could go on and on...

But why would you buy an expensive piece of equipment from a vendor who is obviously completely clueless about their own product? It almost has the feel of an April Fool's joke... almost.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Other than an SLC from GSI I've never seen any glass tube match an RF for acrylic edge quality Dan :)

The engraving is like comparing true greyscale with news print!

I love my Chinese machines but I have no illusions about what they suited to and why, what they do serves my purpose but in no way are they superior to a Western made machine other than in bang per buck (for my applications).

heheheh I recall one "laser vendor" telling a customer the RF tubes they supply were filled with RF gas! needless to say they didn't make the machine sale ;)

cheers

Dave

[Ron Philman]

A $2M lawsuit... I would be very concerned about the viability of the business. Also, searching on the owner also turns up several lawsuits in the past for "misappropriating" funds from charities and such.

The owner seems to be making another run: Hurricane Lasers --> World Lasers --> VIP Lasers --> Laser-Depot-USA

[Ron Philman]

Now PClasers.com