Buying our first laser Shenhui/Trimuph/Trotec

[Bec Fogarty]

Hi All, We are new to this forum hubby and I work with wood and I specifically work with leather. Until now I have been outsourcing my laser cutting. We now want to purchase our own.

We have been looking at The Shenhui and Triumph machines in the 600 x 900 size. We also visited our local trotec this week and tested a speedy 300. Heres were we are stuck in AUS Trotec are super expensive i mean 30,000 AUD for a second hand speedy 300 where a shenhui can be made and delievered for 3600 USD.

I have been reading all the threads in this forum and it appears alot of you have the shenhui machines. What have been the biggest problems you have encountered. What mods are worth it? Can you plug and play straight from the crate or do they always require some fixes before use?

when it comes to the trotec honestly we just dont have the money. We understand it is a superior machine with its ceramic tubes and air cooling system. The support here in AUS is good to they come out install the machine and train you how to use it. But is all that really make the price 10x more than a chinese laser?

What are we doing with it primarily the machine will be for cutting and engraving leather of thicknesses no larger than 2mm.
There may be small wood and acrylic jobs for making display units but that is very minor.
I need to be able to cut the leather in one pass due to the organic nature of the material.

Hubby is very mechanically minded and I am already drawing my designs in auto cad so when it comes to software we are sorted to an extent.

I understand it takes time to learn these machines but are we talking days, weeks or months?

Through reading the laser threads i have figured out that we must order the CW5000 water chiller and make sure the machin has a reci tube. The shenhui people say they use the better imported lenses I really have no idea about this one.

We are ready to buy just need some opinions to make sure we are making the right decision.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Adam and Bec

[Dan Hintz]

Nutshell? If this is more of a hobby, a Chinese machine is likely the best financial risk vs reward. If this is a proper business where you count on your machines for your livelihood, a Trotec is worth its weight in gold. You will spend more of your time fighting with mechanical/electrical/software issues on the Chinese system compared to the Trotec, but that's the risk versus reward tradeoff you make.

[Matt McCoy]

Do you have photos of the outsourced work? Do you think you will raster engrave or vector cut more?

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Bec;
I implore you to read thoroughly the "Chinese Laser Purchase" sticky at the top of the threads on this forum. From that you will get a very good sense of the difference between the Chinese machines and the "mainline" units. The most important thing is defining the majority of your workload and understanding the choices available to accomplish the tasks. You don't need a top of the line machine if you are not going to do very fine engraving and volume thruput is not a major issue.
The Chinese vs Mainline pros and cons have been discussed and beaten to death on this forum. A search will provide you with more than enough info to make a qualified decision.
Good Luck
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Scott Shepherd]

Sounds like you've already made the decision, you said you couldn't afford the Trotec.

[Khalid Nazim]

Hi Adam and Bec,

I have a Shenhui 900 x 600, 80W machine (RECI) and I cut/engrave wood and leather on it to make products that I sell on ETSY. The Shenhui machine has served me very well and its price allowed me to start this business. You should order at least an 80W machine, CW5000 or CW5200 Chiller, spare power supply and lenses. No need to get a Auto Focus system but you must get a motorized table.
The issue that I have with my machine is that the size it cuts across the table are not consistant and accurate. However, for the type of work that I do, its not a problem for me.
Cutting and Engraving leather on the laser is fantastic except for the smell that it generates. You will need to exhaust everything out of your shop/basement or whever you will keep your laser.
Knowing AutoCAD is good but knowing CorelDraw is even better for this business.

Good luck to both of you. I highly recommend getting a laser - whichever you can afford.
Regards
Khalid

[David Somers]

Khalid,

Just curious. You mentioned "that the size it cuts across the table are not consistant and accurate" ? I take that to mean if you are cutting a line that goes fully across your available engraving area, 900x600, that it would vary along that length? Is that a fault in the machine? Or have you just not had the need to sit down and adjust things to correct this?

Dave

[Robert Schmiede]

Hi, I have a Chinese laser,6090, a real work horse. When I got it I checked everything, loose wiring,read the chinglish untill I had it right, measured the distance on the x axis rail to the top of the honeycomb table on all 4 corners and middle,found it was out by 10 mm on one side and 6mm on the end of the y axis travel.easy fix to level table and added more supports to the underside of the honey comb table. I have not had any trouble with this machine,just a sharp learning curve.the machine is 80 watt with up and down table and c5000 chiller. I added 3 computer fans as seen here on sawmill creek to the front of the machine,threw away the exhaust pipe supplied and fitted PVC water drain pipe. I also discarded the auto focus. The machine has been happily working doing house signs on merbau wood and the odd cutting and lots of engraving on birch 5 ply , iron bark and trying every other wood in between, with some glass engraving thrown in.results are great,after you get the hang of it. Good luck.

[Bec Fogarty]

Here is a picture of the work I will be doing. Mainly cutting. There will be a small a mount of engraving for branding. I have noticed lots of people use. Corel I was going to try and get away with what I have hear before investing in another program.

i was thinking the 80w reci with cw5000 cooler and 600x900 table would be a great place to start. I will order extra lenses and a extra power supply Is a good idea.

I noticed lots of comments about the auto focus failing and people using focus sticks instead. Is it best just to do that from the start?

I want to take this chance to say thank you. This forum has been my go to place for info. Honest opinions lots of options and things to consider

293680

[Bert Kemp]

Bec
this looks like your cutting 3 to 5 oz veg tan leather . A 900x600 mm 60 watt Chinese machine will do this no problem for you. It will even cut out all the stitching holes. Plus a 60 watt machine will cut 1/4 Baltic Birch, acrylic with out difficulty .

[Bec Fogarty]

Hi Bec;
I implore you to read thoroughly the "Chinese Laser Purchase" sticky at the top of the threads on this forum. From that you will get a very good sense of the difference between the Chinese machines and the "mainline" units. The most important thing is defining the majority of your workload and understanding the choices available to accomplish the tasks. You don't need a top of the line machine if you are not going to do very fine engraving and volume thruput is not a major issue.
The Chinese vs Mainline pros and cons have been discussed and beaten to death on this forum. A search will provide you with more than enough info to make a qualified decision.
Good Luck
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

Thanks George I have been trawlling that thread and it has been HUGELY helpful. Thanks.

[Bec Fogarty]

Hi Bert, Yes I am cutting 1.1mm veg tan here but I also want to eventually be able to cut some thicker options I have some 5-7mm thick belting here that I send out to get cut at the moment and it would be super helpful to be able to do it at home. Its not alway veg tan either sometime its hat splits or waxed buffalo all depends what looks awesome at my suppliers :)

[David Somers]

Waxing a buffalo sounds mighty tricky to me! Be careful! <grin>

Dave

[Bec Fogarty]

Waxing a buffalo sounds mighty tricky to me! Be careful! <grin>

Dave

You crack me up LOL :)

[Dan Hintz]

Waxing a buffalo sounds mighty tricky to me! Be careful! <grin>

Dave

Waxing them isn't the problem, it's getting that final shine you can see your face in.

[Ross Moshinsky]

For cutting, the Chinese laser is hard to beat. Big table and a lot of power for a fraction of the cost. Just remember, the number quoted by the mfg is not the final price. You still have to figure in transportation and customs. This will probably add on several thousands.

The one thing you HAVE to remember, these machines are not built to high tolerances. If you need "perfection", you're barking up the wrong tree. These machines will not cut a 3x3 square every time, anywhere on the table. There will be some variation. If you need high precision, you need a precision built machine.

[Robert Schmiede]

Hi bec,I am in Australia,I imported a laser machine,freight cost plus customs was $2165.00. The 6090 laser was $3400.00. My machine with a bit of fiddling is very precise,I work it about 5 hours a day,no problems,only my own inexperience. The company I bought from are there for me whenever I need them. I have Skype and the engineer who speaks good English is there with me in the shed to guide me in the operation of the machine.the sales girl,who I have met,and the owner of the company went out of there way to help me,nothing is a problem. I am a hands on person as you say your hubby is. I couldn't,t afford a western machine, this is my hobby to supplement my army pension, this machine does the job. The Chinese machines have come a long way in the past few years. All the best.

[Bert Kemp]

Hi Bert, Yes I am cutting 1.1mm veg tan here but I also want to eventually be able to cut some thicker options I have some 5-7mm thick belting here that I send out to get cut at the moment and it would be super helpful to be able to do it at home. Its not alway veg tan either sometime its hat splits or waxed buffalo all depends what looks awesome at my suppliers :)
Bec I've cut 7mm oiled side on my 40 watt it is much tougher leather but I think a 60 watt should have no trouble, hey you could get an 80 watt for a little more. Basically I'm saying for the huge difference in price you'll be ok with a 60 or 80 watt Chinese machine.
Unless like Dan said your totally dependent on your laser for your lively hood and can't afford to be down for a day or so. I don't know what the time frame is on pay off of a machine , but I'm thinking that if a machine can't bring in at least the cost of the machine in a year then its not worth it.

[Bert Kemp]

Hi bec,I am in Australia,I imported a laser machine,freight cost plus customs was $2165.00. The 6090 laser was $3400.00. My machine with a bit of fiddling is very precise,I work it about 5 hours a day,no problems,only my own inexperience. The company I bought from are there for me whenever I need them. I have Skype and the engineer who speaks good English is there with me in the shed to guide me in the operation of the machine.the sales girl,who I have met,and the owner of the company went out of there way to help me,nothing is a problem. I am a hands on person as you say your hubby is. I couldn't,t afford a western machine, this is my hobby to supplement my army pension, this machine does the job. The Chinese machines have come a long way in the past few years. All the best.
Robert would you mind listing your machine and who you got it from.

[George M. Perzel]

Bec;
If you are going with a Shenhui machine please contact me before you finalize as I think I can save you some frustration and grief!
Good L:uck
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts
gmperzel@rochester.rr.com