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View Full Version : Speaking of used ULS lasers--



Kev Williams
06-19-2014, 3:51 PM
My NH rep has this one below he'd love to sell me. --if he still has it, he sent these pics about a month ago.

I have no idea the year, or it's model. What I DO know: bed size is 12 x 24", it's 50 watts, the lens & gantry look identical to my 1997 ULS... Doesn't appear to have air or auto focus, but those don't matter much to me.

The best part: It's basically brand new, it's a factory refurb, all new everything and a year's warrantee (I think)...

Can anyone ID the model? Also, just wondering what you guys think would be a bad, good, or fair price, what it cost new? :) (I'm giving serious consideration to buying this)

http://www.engraver1.com/erase2/ULS1.jpg

http://www.engraver1.com/erase2/ULS2.jpg

http://www.engraver1.com/erase2/ULS3.jpg

Scott Shepherd
06-19-2014, 4:07 PM
Maybe a VLS? I know it's not the PLS and I don't think it's a Versalaser.

Brian R Cain
06-19-2014, 4:27 PM
It's a VLS3.60. Auto focus comes as standard, but it's done in a different way to the earlier machines. Z-axis is controllable through the driver so you just enter the material thickness and it automatically focuses to that height.

As for price, it's difficult for me to give you much of a guide since I'm in the UK and to get this machine here new, we have to take into account shipping cost and import duty. Then we need to add VAT onto the selling price, which sometimes can be reclaimed and sometimes not. You'd probably be best to give Universal a call to ask how much they have the MRRP down as for the machine with the exact spec. your dealer is offering. If you fancy it and it's a good price,I'd go for it.

You can always add air later if you need it.

Brian R Cain
06-19-2014, 4:47 PM
Maybe a VLS? I know it's not the PLS and I don't think it's a Versalaser.

It comes from a range known as the Versalaser Platform Series. You can always identify these from the colours they come in, the lack of a display and the Professional Series logo. Essentially it's a machine that a hybrid of the desktop machines and the PLS. They use the electronics that the desktop machines have and a similar cabinet and motion system to the PLS. They've removed things the PLS has that are luxuries on the machine to reduce cost, such as the display and the cursor keys since these are duplicated in the control software. They raster at slower speed than the PLS is capable of, but oddly, job times for many jobs are identical. You only notice a difference when you have long X-axis strokes.

Since this range was introduced, they account for at least 90% of ULS floor-standing machines sold in the UK. I can go into more detail if anyone's particularly interested.

Dan Hintz
06-19-2014, 4:53 PM
VLS3.60... I'd expect to pay around $15-16k for that.

Keith Colson
06-19-2014, 5:08 PM
I paid a lot less than that for a 2 year old 6.60 and it included extraction and air dryer but I suspect I got a screaming deal, It also included half a truck of acrylic.

FYI When I transported mine I pulled the laser box out and took that in my car - 5mins work. I taped the y gantry with masking tape so it could not slide around. I also removed the honeycomb table (dunno if you have one),

Cheers
Keith

Ross Moshinsky
06-19-2014, 5:19 PM
Roughly 2 years ago the "price list" said that laser was $18.9. I'd imagine the real price was closer to $17-18k.

Kev Williams
06-19-2014, 6:26 PM
Thanks for the input guys... :)

So then, $14k would be considered a fair price, but not 'screamin' deal' territory... ?

Scott Shepherd
06-19-2014, 7:00 PM
Thanks for the input guys... :)

So then, $14k would be considered a fair price, but not 'screamin' deal' territory... ?

I'd say $12,000-$14,000 would be decent, closer to $12K would be better :)

Brian R Cain
06-19-2014, 7:11 PM
Thanks for the input guys... :)

So then, $14k would be considered a fair price, but not 'screamin' deal' territory... ?

Ask him what the warranty entails. ULS will honour the cost of any parts but not labour. Dealers vary in how they deal with this. My view was always that anything I sold ought to be fit for purpose during the warranty period and if it failed, the customer shouldn't be liable for any cost to have it fixed unless it was a consequence of their abuse. How common this is, I don't know, but all I can say is it did us no harm in the long-term to treat our customers with respect and I sold more machines from personal recommendations than I ever did through advertising. Additionally, I don't believe it's possible for a dealer to thrive on laser sales alone, hence most have other strings to their bows. It's a pretty fair bet that if you look after your customers, when they are in the market for something else, they'll know that the cheapest deal they can get isn't necessarily the best one.

If you can, try to tie your dealer into a deal where he will support the machine during the warranty period at no additional charge and then I'd say you've got a bargain. The reality is, it isn't likely to cost him much if his sale ends in tears. These are simple machines to maintain and if he knows his stuff, your dealer can talk you through changing parts over the phone to be up and running again quicker than a call out would take.

I fear I'm making it sound as likely you might encounter a problem on the scale I read about here with Chinese machines when the reality is it's very unlikely. This is a machine I've encountered very few issues with and were I still in the business would sell it with the confidence that the most likely calls I'd be getting from my customers is for advice on how to do more with it.

Kev Williams
06-19-2014, 10:36 PM
My dealer is King Of The World. "Service after the sale" is the last thing I have EVER had to worry about. He's the reason paying a little extra is probably money saved in the long run :)