Buying a Shenhui

[Brent Ramsay-Boyd]

Hi All

Although I have read extensively on this forum, this is my first post and I am hoping that the community can help me with a little bit of information.

After reading through the very useful post here, I have decided to buy a Laser Cutter from Shenhui Laser. The Specs and extra's that I have decided on are as follows.

SH-1390 RECI 80W LASER MACHINE with the CW5000 chiller (I belive this is best choice if you want to cut and engrave)
1 x cylinder rotary
1 x irregular rotary
1 x additional 80W Reci tube
3 x imported lens (40mm)
3 x mirrors
1 x 80W power supply
1 x RD-320motherboard
1 x lcd panel
1 x stepper motor for XY
1 x stepper motor for Z
1 x stepper driver
1 x belt set
1 x honeycomb table
1 x alu knife table

Are their any more spares that should consider getting, or any special instructions I should give to the seller? I have seen mention of getting additional head assemblies. Also is it necessary to purchase additional lenses with different focal lengths. I would rather spend a little extra and cover my bases now, then have to reorder small parts at a later stage. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, could some one please supply me with the banking details that they used when they transfer money to Shenhui, as I have recieved banking details from a referance they gave me, but I belive their bank account number may have changed since then, and I just want to confirm the details I have been given.

Kind Regards

Brent

[Frank barry]

Hi I just received my laser from them do you really need that many spare parts now? also I would suggest the reci tube Frank

[Rodne Gold]

Probably overdone on the spares dept - but they not expensive - DHL or freight on some of them can be a lot more than the part if you dont ship em with the laser.
Good insurance or peace of mind depending on how much downtime waiting for spares might cost you.
You can pay with paypal.

[john banks]

I would forget the rotaries, motherboard, LCD, belts, spare tube and power supply. This is because they aren't very useful or you should be able to get better/more up to date replacements locally or quickly for a decent price when you need. Spare tube may well be useless from storage by the time you need.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Brent;
What are you primarily going to use the machine for? If you are in the business of producing multiple copies of small to medium size objects-then you may want to consider a dual tube system-using your second tube. Doubles production and provides backup capability if one tube goes. I have such a system using two 80 watt RECI tubes in the same 1390 frame and tubes have been fine for two years (KOW). To me, rotaries are a waste unless you have significant glass engraving opportunites-not ones or twosies as not worth the setup time. Also get extra lenses, 40 and 50mm, especially if you go the two tube route. Also get extra water flow monitor switch. PM me for more info and pics.
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Frank barry]

Rodney that is a very good point re shipping costs airfreight is getting very expensive now I guess its a balance do you buy parts you may never use or pay for shipping at a later date Frank

[Brent Ramsay-Boyd]

Thank you all for you feedback.

I know that the number of spares may be a bit overkill, but I have good reasons for this.

I am from South Africa, and unfortunately the availability of spares and technicians at an affordable price here is almost non-existent unless you are based in Johannesburg. I have a 40W hobby laser from Full spectrum laser in USA, which has been out of action for the last 6 months due to a fault which no one seems to be able to diagnose and my only option seems to be to spend $500 to import a power supply from the supplier with no guarantee that it will solve my problem.

The local supplier are all based about 400 miles away, so to call out a technician for a bigger machine would set me back between $400 and $600 before they have even taken a look at the machine. So to me it would be easier and cheaper to replace a part rather than try and fault find if there is a problem.

I have also noticed that customer service locally leaves much to be desired, this is somewhere I hope to differentiate myself from the competition, so I would like to be prepared in order to minimise any downtime.

As for the rotaries, their cost is not steep as too put me off, and it is a nice option to have, even if it is just something to play around with.

George, I will be offering a general laser cutting service ranging from small craft items to larger scale signage (my brother does large format printing). What is the general consensus on the type of work available? Is there enough call for larger items that require the full cutting size, or would I be shooting myself in the foot by catering for a small number of large items at the expense of better production time on smaller sized items?

Once again, thank you for all you feedback. And any advise is greatly appreciated.

Ragards
Brent

[Rodne Gold]

I am South African and my reason for getting the spares was the same as yours although I havent used any barring a tube and lenses - also never used both my rotaries - but they so cheap it doesnt matter - maybe one day I will...
Signage is cut throat if you in major centres and if you want to do work for signage companies , don't , it's the pits ---
Big beds are really most useful for doing production volumes
Size doesnt matter with these lasers in relation to speed , a smaller 600 x 900 or 700 x 500 isnt going to be any amount appreciably faster than a 1300 x 900 and its not that much cheaper
Use a shipper/clearing agent to get it here , get a fOB price and let your shipper handle the rest, dont think of DIY
It will cost you round R10 grand or $1000 , probably including the VAT. No duties
You will probably need an import permit

[Brent Ramsay-Boyd]

Hi Rodney

I do have a shipping agent. Would you suggest a single head or a double head machine?

Regards

[Rich Harman]

I would add a couple of 63.5mm lenses.

[Rodne Gold]

Up to you re single and double
George already had customers and knew exactly what he was going to do with his lasers and what production he needed.
I would actually suggest you go another route , 1 x 1390 80w and 1 x 600x900 60w if they close in price to a twin tube unit. 1 set of spares will fit both units...
I agree with rich too , for the $35 odd a lens , get 2 of 50mm and 63...
There are a couple of us in CT that know these lasers and that can help you re issues..
I found the knife edge table useless for me , removed them and either laser directly on the table and elevate the item with perspex blocks or use the honeycomb , would ask them to delete the knife edge and supply 2 honeycombs in its stead
Who you dealing with there?

[Brent Ramsay-Boyd]

Thanks Rich. I will be sure to get extra lenses.

Rodney, I do not have the finances to purchase two machines at the moment, I will be pretty much maxed out at about $6500. I could potentially afford to do so in about 3-4 months, but the longer I take to get the machine, the longer it takes to build a reputation and get profitable, so I would like to order soon. I do not have any many overheads, so I suppose if got busy enough to require a second machine I would have the finances to do so. I will have to get prices on the double head machine and then compare to see if it is even viable at the moment.

I do think the majority of may be smaller items, so I will have to weigh up the pro's and con's.

Thanks for the advise on the tables, is there any reason why you found the knife table useless?

I am dealing with John.

Regards
Brent

[Rodne Gold]

Well for one, the blades in my knife table did not fit in slots and the knife table was not leveled properly when we stuck the honeycomb on it and there was no real registration point for the honeycomb. Small cut stuff falls inbetween the blades and is harder to fish out, the honeycomb offers more support for small parts and smaller sheets and is steel so its magnetic and you can hold thin stuff down easier on it.
I don't think you gonna get a twin tube table and shipping etc for 6500....I would imagine its way more than $1000 over a normal table...
If you want to call me you can 021 930 7723 at home (I'm watching F1 from 11 to 1 , but anytime after is fine) or 021 592 41234 at work till 1pm

[Frank barry]

Hi I have the knife table and if small parts drop down I open the front door and take the parts out plus you may need the knife table to support the honeycomb table having said that Rodney had far more experience on lasers than I have Frank

[George M. Perzel]

Brent;
The honeycomb table is OK because it's made of steel honeycomb so you can use magnets to hold thin stock down. That said, I don't like it for cutting as the flareback leaves smoke residue on the back of the material-I use a lot of thin wood.The knife table is very heavy and no more perfectly level than the honeycomb. I cut my knife table frame and knives up and made two 16x20 tables which I use for just about everything. I don't recommend using one table on top of the other as two many height variable which tend to screw things up. My 1280 dual tube cost about $6500 plus $2500 shipping to East coast USA and that also included all the spares you have plus six lenses but no rotaries.
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts