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View Full Version : Hi, newbie here



jordan djeu
07-02-2012, 4:16 AM
Hi, just found this forum awhile ago and finally join in, my name is Jordan and I located in Vegas and I currently own a Epilog Zing 30Watt laser(as a starter engraver) and been using it for a year, then afterward, i got myself another laser, Epilog Helix 75watt(GREAT POWER GREAT SPEED AND LOOKS REALLLY COOL!), I still think my laser couldn't keep up with the work i am doing, and they both been running great for 10 hours a day everyday non stop, i plan to get 2 more 60watt lasers because i don't ever find myself using full power on the Helix, I heard the top laser brand were Epilog, Trotec, and UNL, i was thinking of getting another Epilog but just not sure if I would want to spend another $20,000 for one, I hear that Trotec actually does work faster than Epilog but correct me if i am wrong, i was also looking at the hurricane lasers because a 60watt version is only $5,500. Anyone has experience with them? i was looking at their website i don't get whats a water chiller is (like watercooler for computer?? would it leak? safe?), and that awkward long thing sticking out of the laser, looking at the belt seems like they will wear out quick since i will be using them 10 hours a day, do i get what i will pay for or are they just as good as Epilog? Please help :confused:


and also the question i been wondering for quite a while.. i sit in a small room with 2 lasers right next to me everyday, is it bad for health? I heard from Epilog they say the laser radiation emitt just as much as a regular light bulb, sometimes i am not sure if its the dry weather in Vegas causing my nose bleed or is from the laser... :eek:

Rodne Gold
07-02-2012, 5:02 AM
Health issues most likely fume and not radiation linked.
Cheaper lasers might or might not do what you want , depends on what you doing? For $20k you can get 4 or 5 of em....
Lots of discussion on cheaper chinese machines. There is a sticky thread on Tips and tricks at the top of the forum , worth a read.

Adrian Hernandez
07-09-2012, 9:47 AM
I would not advise anyone to buy a chinese laser machine if their work is anything more than cutting birch plywood.

Rich Harman
07-09-2012, 1:24 PM
I would not advise anyone to buy a chinese laser machine if their work is anything more than cutting birch plywood.

Oh no! I haven't cut hardly any birch. Sure wish I would have known that ABS, Delrin, acrylic, plywood, mat board, paper, styrene, mylar and MDF wouldn't work well in a Chinese laser before I bought one for a tenth of what an equivalent mainstream machine would cost. :D

Richard Rumancik
07-09-2012, 5:09 PM
Jordan, if you've been doing this for more than a year you probably aren't a "newbie" anymore - if you have the work to entertain purchase of another laser then maybe it is justified to get a laser similar to what you have. If you are busy keep in mind there is a learning curve with the Chinese laser; you need to be prepared to take some time to learn the software and machine. Note that you won't be able to transfer files/work directly between machines and you will have to reestablish settings for repeat jobs.

Another option would be to see if you can pick up a used machine similar to what you have. Then there would be no learning curve involved.

As far as "laser radiation" there is nothing emitted from laser tube that would enter the room and affect your health. The radiation involved is the energy of the beam which is all contained in the laser enclosure; it is not like ionizing (nuclear) radiation if that is what you are thinking. There may be some electromagnetic radiation emitted from the power supply/electronics but it is no worse than your computer, cell phone, wireless network, TV, etc etc.

jordan djeu
07-12-2012, 12:54 AM
Jordan, if you've been doing this for more than a year you probably aren't a "newbie" anymore - if you have the work to entertain purchase of another laser then maybe it is justified to get a laser similar to what you have. If you are busy keep in mind there is a learning curve with the Chinese laser; you need to be prepared to take some time to learn the software and machine. Note that you won't be able to transfer files/work directly between machines and you will have to reestablish settings for repeat jobs.

Another option would be to see if you can pick up a used machine similar to what you have. Then there would be no learning curve involved.

As far as "laser radiation" there is nothing emitted from laser tube that would enter the room and affect your health. The radiation involved is the energy of the beam which is all contained in the laser enclosure; it is not like ionizing (nuclear) radiation if that is what you are thinking. There may be some electromagnetic radiation emitted from the power supply/electronics but it is no worse than your computer, cell phone, wireless network, TV, etc etc.


I think i am pretty familiar with the laser by now... learning curve shouldn't take too long for me if they work just like a printer, so i am guessing Hurricane laser are US brand but Chinese made laser is it(they actually located in Las Vegas too, pretty close to my office)? I will leave the cutting with epilog and engraving with the chinese laser, that's what i am doing right now i use my Zing (30watt, cleaner, slow but less fire melting the belt) to do the cutting and use the helix (75watt, speeeeed and nice dpi) do all the engraving. and thanks you so much for explaining to me about radiation. I think the nose bleed is mostly from the fume when i engrave and cut wood while both laser using 1 exhaust blower, yes i need another exhuast but i got to make more room. I am going to bring some of my file over to Hurricane sometime this month and see how they perform compare to my epilog. thanks you everyone for the input!

Jordan

Rodne Gold
07-12-2012, 2:33 AM
If you buy a Chinese laser - you will have to change both your designs and workflow on some graphics - not one of them actual does a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) out of Corel and they do not act as a simple printer would. IE what you see on screen will NOT be engraved as you have seen it in some cases. (Like a line with width will NOT engrave with width , you would have to convert these to outlines and then fill to get "a line with width")
Be aware , in respect of engraving , the chinese machines are about 1/2 the speed of a fastish western machine , you might need 2 to get the same thruput as a fast mainstream engraver.

jordan djeu
07-12-2012, 5:13 AM
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!! THAT'S WHAT I AM CONCERN ABOUT!! THANKS A LOT!!! ok back to Epilog...

Richard Rumancik
07-12-2012, 11:12 AM
I think i am pretty familiar with the laser by now... learning curve shouldn't take too long for me if they work just like a printer . . .

Jordan, I cringe every time I hear (see) someone say this - I have been lasering for quite a few years and I sure don't think of my laser as a printer. I think some laser manufacturers came up with that analogy way back (perhaps because laser systems had a LPT port and printer driver interface.)

As they said . . . just create your drawing and press PRINT - nothing to it. (And I can teach someone to drive a car in 15 minutes. Nothing to it.)

I had a tour recently where the tourguide showed me a new Epilog - he did not know I already operated laser. He told me he could teach me how to use it in a hour. I understand what he was saying, but after several years I am still learning . . .

jordan djeu
07-12-2012, 1:31 PM
236663

this is a quick snap shot of my lasers, my space is kinda crowded and kinda messy.. doing lot of projects at the moment...

Rodne Gold
07-12-2012, 4:57 PM
Thats tight!!!
You actually got space for another laser?

jordan djeu
07-27-2012, 5:59 PM
Hi.. please help, both of my Epilog laser start having problem

first the zing stop firing correctly, laser tube giving up, sure i am not surprise been running it almost 24/7 for one year, almost 5000 hours on it (heard it suppose to last 30,000 hours somewhere)

second is my 75 watt helix, had it less than 6 months and the power starting to be weak, and please see attach picture my artwork turns out to be all weird.. search on google ppl say i need to lower down the speed because stepper motor has too much torque that will make knock out of aligment, did that too to 70% but still happening, what is going on? laser lens and carriage are all clean, clean the plunger too i am now confuse -__- (attached picture, the frame on the left is normal, the frame on the right is badly engrave, what's the reason?)

now i am stuck with 2 expensive lasers and my work just totally stuck

Glen Monaghan
07-27-2012, 7:48 PM
Jordan, you really should start a new thread when you have a question/problem like this that is unrelated to the original poster's issue/comment.

While stepper motors are used in the zing, the helix uses DC servo motors with linear (X axis) and rotary (Y axis) encoders. Assuming the frames (looks like you've used parts of the popular Aztec/Mayan calendar to make this design?) were done on the helix, then it would appear there is a problem with the encoder for the x axis (assuming the laser head was scanning left and right from top to bottom of the photo). Try cleaning the encoder strip and blowing out any dust or other crud that might have gotten into the encoder sensor that rides over the strip.

-Glen