Thanks due worldwide & UK laser co. enquiry

[John Bion]

Hi all,
I have been reading through hundreds of threads in the last couple of weeks and am grateful for all the collected insights I have gleaned, this has been a great source for the uninitiated, thank you to all of you.

I am looking at purchasing a Chinese laser in the UK and have come across a company called RS Laser. Has anyone else had dealings with them? If so, what are your opinions?

I have an agricultural background and hobby woodworking with a packed workshop of woodworking machines and other tools, looking to turn the hobby into more than that with the aid of the laser.
Regards, John

[Rodne Gold]

Co only has one product on offer..hmmmmm....???

[John Bion]

Hello Rodney, particular thanks to you for all your posts. I am ex Zim/South African now in UK. I have visited them, they do have more products and appear very helpful but I was just not 100% sure of machines and wanted to check with others re after sales service, which to me as a clueless newby is of great importance.
kind regards, John

[Jiten Patel]

Hi John,

I enquired with them, but received hardly any information and even after chasing them twice, received nothing. Looks like the run of the mill Chinese affair. They are new and to be honest, unless you know loads about these machines (the Chinese ones) and can fix them, I would potentially be weary. I could be completely wrong, but they are new, and who knows if the will be here in a year.

[John Bion]

Thanks Jit, they were quick to respond and helpful, but I am not qualified to tell the quality of the machine nor expertise being offered, it is hard to make decisions with a low knowledge base and tight budgets. We had a look at your website last night, attractively presented and great looking products. Thanks for your comment.
regards, John

[Michael Hunter]

John
Since you are in Yorkshire, why not visit HPC Laser (near Halifax).
Good range of machines - from toys to really very serious, loads of spares and lots of knowledge.
I would definitely buy from them if I was in the market for a Chinese machine.

[john banks]

IIRC, I exchanged a few Ebay messages with them as they were selling on there, if it is the same company. Their price was higher than I wanted to pay and they cited some unconvincing benefits of their machine which came across as scaremongering regarding the lids of directly imported machines letting laser radiation through their acrylic window panel.

[John Bion]

Thank you Michael,
I will try HPC again, it is difficult to get an apointment with them, but they are well recomended on several threads.
We had a look at your website yesterday, looks great! Been looking at various others accross UK.
regards John

[Dan Hintz]

they cited some unconvincing benefits of their machine which came across as scaremongering regarding the lids of directly imported machines letting laser radiation through their acrylic window panel.

I can guarantee this is false if it's a CO2 laser... don't even need to see the lid. If a manufacturer (or reseller) told me that in all honesty, I would look elsewhere... they're either too dumb / ignorant to understand the product they're selling or they're happy lieing to your face.

[John Bion]

Dear John, thank you for this, this raises my eyebrows somewhat! I see you have a Shenhui, did you import yours direct? Would you have any advice to share on that and the machine you have. How long did the process take? Thanks very much.
Regards, John

[John Bion]

Thanks for this Dan. Your posts have helped me a great deal, My wife and I laughed when you mentioned in a post that you had spent long weeks reading threads, that is just what I had been doing:D

[john banks]

Yes import direct following Rodney Gold's write ups on here. Took a few weeks of to and fro with the salesperson to nail down the spec and price, then a freight forwarder handled the rest until the neighbouring farmer brought his fork lift to get the machine into our workshop in January. As you will see from some of my old posts (you will not get the wisdom of Dan in my posts, at least not for lasers ;) ), but you will get the experience of importing a Chinese machine into the UK in the last year and comparison with HPC etc) I did some repairs/improvements to a few minor issues, but with good alignment the machine is superb.

[Jiten Patel]

Hey John,

Glad you like what we do - lot of work - but totally worth it. What are looking at doing with your new machine when you eventually get it?

RS were quick to respond on the first go - but when I asked about cost of spares, they went cold - I did get a response saying they did not sell spares unless we bought a machine. Even after explaining that I was interested in buying a machine and wanted to know the cost of spares, got nothing.

What may be best to gauge the different quality of builds is book in an appointment with various manufacturers ranging from the cheaper HPC's to the Western Trotec's and Epilogs. CTR laser do a sort of bridge between a Western and Chinese machine, super helpful and informative. I am not affliated with any of the aforementioned.

Take sample files to each and use the same materials for tests - log the final details (speed, time taken, quality of cut/engraving) - label each piece and then take a step back and eliminate.

[matthew knott]

HPC import redsail lasers from China, here good things about them, if you dont have the knowledge or fancy teaching yourself its an options, but you will pay for it!!
Maybe they make the lids from air in china, be a good weight saving and easy to keep clean ;)

[John Bion]

John, Thank you for this, I have sent you a PM. Sounds as though we are both located on farms?
Regards, John

[john banks]

We are in a converted farm steading, just one field with it that we let to a sheep farmer as we are not horsey like the last owners, lots of useful outbuildings, although they did take some upgrading to make into a nice workshop/office. The 1280 *just* got through the doorway (2.4m wide, about 2.2m tall in the middle of the stone arch).

[John Bion]

John,
Thank you for your help with the info, I am definately leaning to this route, awaiting a quote at the moment.

I had a look at the video link re 18.5mm wood being cut with the bigger airflow which prompts me to ask you whether a 100w will easily cut 10mm oak. I was looking at a larger machine but would prefer a smaller wattage if possible. I have cut 10mm on a larger machine but how would a 100 cope?

I had thought not to order a compressor and get what you had recomended (Hailea ACO 500 420 Ltr Piston Air Pump), would you say this still makes sense?

I am needing to cut numerous things with thin kerfs (eg: jig saws) do you do this? If so, what lens size would you recomend?
your time and help is appreciated.
regards, John

[john banks]

Yes I'd happily cut 10mm oak, although most of our oak is 6mm. Oak thins can crack, we have about 20% waste from cracking.

The ACO 500 isn't enough for best results on wood.

Lens depends on thickness of the material but longer ones do leave a wider kerf. If you have too short a lens and the kerf is angled though, things won't fit well either.