The best has arrived! :-)

[Dan Hintz]

My new Trotec 80W Speedy 300 with all of the fixin's just arrived :D ...and I have no Earthly idea how I'm going to get it into the shop :-/ Everything that was loose is in the shop, but the main toy is still sitting in the driveway (under the carport). I have already outworn my welcome with every neighbor around getting all of the other toys into my workshop, so I don't dare knock on their doors.

Not sure what I'm going to do just yet... anyone local want to help me play? :p

Guess I need to edit my sig!

[David Somers]

Congrats Dan!

Since you are a righty and I am a lefty (coastally speaking of course) any offer I make to help you is pretty worthless! But I will be there in spirit and cheering for you and anxious to hear how you like it once you figure out how to enclose your carport and make that a second shop! I am sure the family won't mind!!! If you can't get the laser into the shop bring the shop out to the laser!!!!

<grin>

Dave

[Mike Null]

Dan

Congratulations! If you can leave it there for a few days I'll be there with a trailer and we can install it in my shop where there is plenty of room.

I had made arrangements to buy that machine but had to cancel as the sale of one of my other pieces of equipment fell through.

[Dan Hintz]

LOL, the title should have read "The beast has arrived!", but I'm okay with "best" ;)

[Mike Null]

Best does work--just ask Keith and Steve.

[Dan Hintz]

If you can't get the laser into the shop bring the shop out to the laser!!!!
This may be what Mike is suggesting below, David :D

If you can leave it there for a few days I'll be there with a trailer and we can install it in my shop where there is plenty of room.
This must be the latest in job control software... I call you up and tell you what I want, then it's magically done in an hour or two. Talk about high-tech!

[Mike Troncalli]

Helium balloons.. Float it in.. Hey.. you asked for suggestions... :D

[James Tibbetts]

Dan I will be glad to help but I won't be back local 'til after Christmas.

[Scott Shepherd]

Congratulasions (see what I did there? Clever, ain't I?) Dan!

You will no longer be able to compare the length of jobs running on the laser to paint drying times :D

[Dan Hintz]

Dan I will be glad to help but I won't be back local 'til after Christmas.

You need to get back out here and finish that pen, Jim!

[Bruce Volden]

Well Dan,

You suck (chartreuse with envy)!!

Bruce

[brian saban]

Congrats Dan!

[James Tibbetts]

We'll try to finish it up between the two holidays if you have time. Looking forward to it. Thanks again for your help!!

[James Tibbetts]

.....and if we have to move that big grey Robust to get the laser in there, I'm pretty sure it will fit on the back of my truck....:rolleyes:
....just trying to help.....
....What are friends for?....:D

[Guy Hilliard]

When I negotiated the purchase of my Speedy 400 I included delivery - into my house.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Not sure what I'm going to do just yet... anyone local want to help me play? :p

If you can solve the mystery of Edward Leedskalnin's methods, you can figure out how to easily move it yourself. :D

[Dan Hintz]

Once I get back from picking the munchkin up at school, I will attempt to move this beast myself (look scared now). Sliding it from the crate to the dolly shouldn't be a big deal, and once it's on wheels, getting it to the shop door will be relatively easy. Getting it in the door, however, will prove more... interesting.

[Art Anderson]

Trotec's Peedy 300 (the "S" got ripped off when the delivery guy unpacked it) had to come in tipped on its back, then placed on its base to land in my shop. In a snow storm. May you have better luck! But... you're going to love it! Congrats on getting the Beast!

[matthew knott]

Has it got the new Iradion laser tube in it, be interesting to get some feedback as to how much better it is?

[matthew knott]

Myth Busters has one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eGiQzf6nac

[John Bion]

Congrats Dan, Thats a dream machine.
You could always try the craziest things like... what I am doing.... and build a new shed around my new cnc router :o
Regards, John

[George M. Perzel]

Dan;
Great purchase-chain saw on the way.
Good Luck
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Chuck Stone]

Congratulasions (see what I did there? Clever, ain't I?) Dan!

By the way, Dan .. you suck. :p

[Walt Langhans]

Congrats! Time to go look for some dude holding a will work for food sign...

[Dan Hintz]

Well, it's inside... but I know my neighbors are shaking their heads and chuckling under their breaths at me. All except the one I eventually had to ask for help... after my cart got stuck in the mud :( I'm proud of myself, though... with only minor help from SWMBO acting as a stop chock for the handcart wheels, I managed to lift and shift a few inches at a time until it was sitting on the handcart (cart was llying down). SWMBO left for an appt., so I was left to my own devices. Managed to get the cart from the driveway into the side yard, down the hill, and right at the fenceline for the backyard. And that's when the mud monster grabbed my tire and wouldn't let go (ground was soft and rutted from the monster tractor used to drop off my several tons of pellets for the wood stove).

I shamefacedly walked next door, despite promises to myself I would never ask my neighbors for help again, and asked for assistance. Took another 15-20 minutes to get it to the door, set up some sliders, and get it inside. Of course, I still need to get it set up on the stand/wheels, but I'm a LOT more comfortable doing that indoors in low- to mid-70's than outside in low-30s with snow still on the ground.

She's pretty, but man, as Sir Mix-A-Lot said, "red beans and rice didn't miss her!"

[Dan Hintz]

Has it got the new Iradion laser tube in it, be interesting to get some feedback as to how much better it is?

Ceramicore all the way, baby! :D I find it funny, though, that it reminds me of a new stereo or TV... a long strip of stickers across the front touting each technology as part of the package, including an iApp in Apple's online store. As I'm looking over at my Denon receiver under the TV, I see a similar strip I never bothered to remove... mutliple HDMI and USB ports, 1080p capability :p

After this week is over, I'm free for the next two weeks, so I plan to get things set up and start playing.

[Steve Busey]

She's pretty, but man, as Sir Mix-A-Lot said, "red beans and rice didn't miss her!"

No pictures, didn't happen. You know the rules... :cool:

[matthew knott]

I really like the stickers they use for the 'Tech' guess its pretty retro like an 80's walkman with Dolby and Autoreverse, maybe thats why i like them. I had a long chat with the CEO of the Ceramicore laser provider, they sound great, run at lower powers and hopefully ages between cheaper re-gasing. Nice bit of Kit indeed, pretty pricey Christmas present for yourself there :)

[Chuck Jarrett]

Dan, Congrats. I think after you use is awhile you will realize why you typed best rather than beast.

[Scott Shepherd]

a long strip of stickers across the front touting each technology as part of the package,

This is the sticker that should be on it. I can't tell you how many times people that have worked for us get the two confused. Nothing makes my heart skip a beat like walking into the room and seeing sheets of anodized aluminum sitting on my lexan lid.

277475

[Dan Hintz]

Pics will be forthcoming... want to get it set up as right now it's surrounded by piles of wood for the lathe, a cabinet with a laser printer on it (moved to the middle of the room while I build a studwall in its previous location), and many bags of pellets for the stove.

[David Somers]

Well,

i got as far as Spokane driving out to help you. Guess i will just turn around and head back to the left coast. I tried Dan!!!

i did have a great revenue producing idea for the new best beast! Engraved pellets for pellet stoves! Did you get the rotary with it? I can see the income now! And for special orders you could do inlay or infill on the pellets! What a touch of class that would be!

Consider the idea yours to use freely Dan! With my congrats on the new member of the shop family! <grin>

[Bruce Dorworth]

Dan, how about buying 4 of those piano dollies and putting one under each leg. Better yet is there a Uhaul rental near you? Maybe you can rent four dollies. Just a thought...

Bruce

[Dan Hintz]

Did you get the rotary with it?

I got every option that made sense (including the rotary), but unfortunately the rotary is on backorder. I asked them to ship the machine now instead of waiting for the rotary to arrive so I didn't have to move it during a snowstorm... as it was, I was crunching through a think layer of snow/ice on my way to the shop.

Looks like the vacuum table comes pre-installed (a change from the ULS version, which you take in/out, as needed), and I'm going to take a wild guess the large (but light) box sitting in the corner is the vector table. The dust protection setup is on there, and I believe they all come standard with the "expert" version of the job control software. I think the only option I didn't get was iCut, but that's an add-on I simply do not currently have a need for... the future may prove otherwise.

I'll probably get around to finally "upgrading" my air filtration system, fix some of the minor bugaboos that have annoyed me over the last couple of years. I'll post the new design when I'm done.

[Mike Lysov]

common, you have a laser.. just burn your way through with it.

[Robert Tepper]

Congratulations on your purchase.

Robert

[Jiten Patel]

Well done mate - welcome to the Trotec Club! Look forward to seeing what you conjure up with it!

I love the stickers too - haven't got the heart to take them off! Our 400 has 12 of them...overkill...never!

[TAMI WILSON]

When mine arrived I called all my coworkers (at my real job) and said free lunch at the wilsons................they didn't get fed till the laser was safely in the shop. :-)

tami

[Tony Lenkic]

Congrats, Dan.

I guess, all those great reviews on Trotec Speedy lasers contributed wanting one in your shop.
Welcome to Trotec laser family...........you are gonna love it.

[Steve Morris]

Hi Dan

My 300 arrived 2 weeks ago and I hadn't finished the workshop to put it in so the car went outside and its working in the garage.

Having a thoroughly great time chewing through any materials I can get hold of ;)

[Khalid Nazim]

Aw' C'mon Dan! Now you have EVERYTHING!

Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations....Cant wait to see what you do with it.

Regards
Khalid

[Gary Hair]

This is the sticker that should be on it. I can't tell you how many times people that have worked for us get the two confused. Nothing makes my heart skip a beat like walking into the room and seeing sheets of anodized aluminum sitting on my lexan lid.

277475

Same thing with my table saw. Just cause it's a "table" saw that doesn't mean you should set stuff on it... I can't tell you how much restraint I had to show when a customer put his cup of coffee on it and left a ring - I snatched it up immediately and used every ounce of restraint to not pour it on his head.

[David Somers]

Gary,

I gave up on that kind of thing and had my wife make a nice table cloth for the table saw, and I turned some lovely coasters for it! Combined with some fine Windsor chairs it makes a delightful dining table, and can also be used to slice the roast evenly. I had her leave a slot in the cloth for the saw blade. Quite functional, and a source of some conversation too, once the noise from its running has stopped! Don't bother trying this if you have a "Saw Stop" based table saw though. Every time you try to carve the roast the dern thing grinds to a halt! Go figure!

<grin> Dave

[Dan Hintz]

Aw' C'mon Dan! Now you have EVERYTHING!

Not quite yet... when I get the fiber laser installed, then I'll feel like I have all of the major tools. After that, it's tweaking individual machines over the following years.

[matthew knott]

I know you wont tell me, but what are planing with all these new toys ? Hope its not World domination by 2015 cause thats my plan !!

[Dan Hintz]

I know you wont tell me, but what are planing with all these new toys ? Hope its not World domination by 2015 cause thats my plan !!

I'll be making my demands as soon as I get my shark nursery tank set up... erm, I mean, look for a Christmas card in the mail from me :D

[Josh Borlovan]

Congratulations! I am following this thread with interest since I foresee a Speedy 300 in my near future. This forum is the main contributing factor for this interest in trotec.

[David Somers]

Dan! Check with your dealer! I think you get $10 off your next Speedy 500 with every referral! You are on a roll!! <grin>

Dave

[Dan Hintz]

Dan! Check with your dealer! I think you get $10 off your next Speedy 500 with every referral! You are on a roll!! <grin>

Dave

LOL... Maybe I can afford my next one in 2020? ;-)



While I haven't begun writing anything down, I do intend to write up a fairly extensive review. Hopefully, this one will be a bit different, from an engineer's perspective and from someone who has owned other Western machines and Chinese machines. I'm keeping points in the back of my mind as I come across them.

I'm off for the next two+ weeks, so today is the day I get it up on the stand and start playing (assuming my tired arms/back can manage it).

[Dan Hintz]

Well, it's on legs/wheels and in the shop... at great expense to my back. You will want to read this portion of my review...

[Scott Shepherd]

End of day 2 and no photos of finished products? Dan, you're slipping :)

Don't forget, if you need help, give me a call. Happy to help. I can probably sneak away one day after Christmas if you want a crash course. Just let me know.

[Greg W Watson]

Ungodly heavy, moving mine in cost me two cases of beer one for each of my friends :)

[David Somers]

Are we gonna have to start recruiting for the Sawmillcreek Men's Soprano Choir after everyone gets all their new holiday toys in? I think the comparable Chinese lasers weigh in at even more don't they? Yeeks!!!!!

<grin>

[Dan Hintz]

End of day 2 and no photos of finished products? Dan, you're slipping :)

Sorry, spent the day partially recovering (my back is killing me, and my upper arms are severely bruised... very black/blue), partially putting up more insulation in the basement in prep for a stud wall. I just started my two-week vacation, so in between insulation glue drying is (hopefully) laser time.

[Art Anderson]

You'll be happy with the weight when you run that puppy at full speed, and it doesn't shake a bit from directional change. The 300's built like a tank!

One word of advice when you get the rotary: Don't hot-patch it. Found out the $$ way.... turn the power off before plugging rotary in. Enjoy your new toy!

[Mike Null]

The FedEx driver used a pallet jack to bring mine down a rather severe hill and into my basement. He actually brought it into the basement on the mule by himself (we had removed the sliding doors). I forced a $20 tip on him. My rep, a neighbor and myself finished the set up and I was up and running within two hours.

[Dan Hintz]

The FedEx driver used a pallet jack to bring mine down a rather severe hill and into my basement. He actually brought it into the basement on the mule by himself (we had removed the sliding doors). I forced a $20 tip on him. My rep, a neighbor and myself finished the set up and I was up and running within two hours.

My guy's first language was not English (German, possibly? He didn't speak much, but the few partial words I did hear sounded German), so I wasn't going to push for anything complicated. Even so, the only paved area he could reasonably leave it was the driveway, so we stashed it under the carport. Getting it set up with only two people (SWMBO didn't do any heavy lifting, but she was still invaluable) and no lift was painful (in more ways than one), but I'm including all of this in the review.

Any driver who is friendly and doesn't just dump and run gets at least a 20 from me...

Need to remove the old ULS driver and get the Trotec one installed. Everything else should be the same (installed 20A service when I put in the outlets for the ULS... glad I did as the Trotec is definitely 20A-necessary). May have to purchase a short extension cord, though, as it's wall-->table-->laser, and the laser's plug is on the far side of the machine from the wall.

[Josh Borlovan]

My guy's first language was not English (German, possibly? He didn't speak much, but the few partial words I did hear sounded German), so I wasn't going to push for anything complicated. Even so, the only paved area he could reasonably leave it was the driveway, so we stashed it under the carport. Getting it set up with only two people (SWMBO didn't do any heavy lifting, but she was still invaluable) and no lift was painful (in more ways than one), but I'm including all of this in the review.

Any driver who is friendly and doesn't just dump and run gets at least a 20 from me...

Need to remove the old ULS driver and get the Trotec one installed. Everything else should be the same (installed 20A service when I put in the outlets for the ULS... glad I did as the Trotec is definitely 20A-necessary). May have to purchase a short extension cord, though, as it's wall-->table-->laser, and the laser's plug is on the far side of the machine from the wall.


Looking forward to pics and also your thoughts as you interface with the Job Control Software

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Dan,
Still waiting for pictures and to see what you have cut and or engraved.

[Dan Hintz]

Part I of the review was started last night... I'm a writin' fool :p

[Keith Outten]

Speaking of Reviews I am working on a Tool and Products Review List that is located in the announcements at the top of every forum.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/announcement.php?a=22
.

[Dan Hintz]

I have received a number of questions about the promised review over the last month... it's "in progress", and up to 8-9 pages of pure text (I haven't added in the pictures yet, though most have been taken). I expect it to be in the 20 page range when all is said and done. Note this is only Part I, dealing with the delivery/unpacking process, the accessories, and my overall impressions with the machine at a first glance as compared to other machines I've worked with. Unless it arrives in time (back-ordered), the rotary review will have to wait until the first update. Part II will include my thoughts on the system in use, from how it handles various substrates, how the job control compares, etc.

[David Somers]

Dan,

While the review will be greatly appreciated and read carefully by many of us, what we realllllly want to know is....are you having a good time with it so far??? <grin>

Dave

[Walt Langhans]

You seem to be a guy who's pretty good about getting stuff done Dan and I understand that's a lot of pages, but... We still haven't seen any pictures yet so I'm starting to think that you actually got yourself a Chinese machines and it's taking longer to paint it to look like a Trotec than you thought and you're just buying time :P

[Bruce Volden]

You seem to be a guy who's pretty good about getting stuff done Dan and I understand that's a lot of pages, but... We still haven't seen any pictures yet so I'm starting to think that you actually got yourself a Chinese machines and it's taking longer to paint it to look like a Trotec than you thought and you're just buying time :P

Yeah, I think Walt is right!! Probably a used one at that!

Bruce

[Mark Sipes]

Gentlemen...... be patient. he is still working on opening the crate the laser came in. It is packed so well . These things take time.....the crane is scheduled to arrive soon I hope!




Note to Dan....the natives are getting restless!

[Dan Hintz]

<chuckle> Man, you guys are rough!

[Jerome Stanek]

If he would spend more time trying to get the crate open and not so much on the web we would have pictures.

[Dan Hintz]

If he would spend more time trying to get the crate open and not so much on the web we would have pictures.

Actually, just made an extension cord so I wouldn't have to keep the machine in an awkward position just to plug it in... 20A extension cords aren't easy to find :-/

[Ross Moshinsky]

Actually, just made an extension cord so I wouldn't have to keep the machine in an awkward position just to plug it in... 20A extension cords aren't easy to find :-/

http://www.amazon.com/2883-Heavy-Duty-Contractor-Extension-Lighted/dp/B000KKLMO8/ref=sr_1_5?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1390683750&sr=1-5&keywords=20a+extension+cord

[Jerome Stanek]

I have 3 or 4 of them even have one that is 10/3

[Dan Hintz]

http://www.amazon.com/2883-Heavy-Duty-Contractor-Extension-Lighted/dp/B000KKLMO8/ref=sr_1_5?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1390683750&sr=1-5&keywords=20a+extension+cord

That's a 15-Amp cord, not 20... note the plug type.

[Mark Sipes]

Like this one ??

http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Jacket-2991-Generator-T-Blade/dp/B000HEC2DW/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1390692242&sr=1-1&keywords=20a+extension+cord

[Chuck Stone]

Wow .. I guess people are anxious..
even finding your extension cords..

[Dan Hintz]

Ouch, $87? I think this one would be a bit more in line with what I wanted:
http://www.amazon.com/Foot-5-20P-5-20R-Extension-Power/dp/B00DMHG15Q

I was looking for something immediately (read, Home Depot or Lowes), so I ended up with a 15-foot DIY cable.

Of course, looking on Amazon I found some scary stuff, like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-1F515520-1-Foot-15-Amp-Adapter/dp/B00439KIF6
Allows you to hook a 20A-corded item to a 15A-capable plug. Just an overall bad idea...

[Dan Hintz]

Okay, my first rough draft (and I DO mean rough!) of the review has been posted here:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?213254-Trotec-Speedy-300-Review-A-Twisted-Engineer-s-Perspective

EDIT: Changed the link to the new thread with the sanitized report.