Dan Wilhelm
09-16-2014, 8:18 PM
TL; DR Version: If you are using the LG500 stand that came with your laser, get your laser off it immediately.
Just a cautionary tale for those of you who may own a GWeike LG500 from Automation Technologies. I don't know if the stand comes from GWeike themselves, or if it is something that Automation provides, but if it's the former, then more people might be affected. This tale is about the rolling cart that has two "H" shaped upright pieces with a single horizontal support. All of it is made out of box steel, and it is held together by four screws on either side of the horizontal support.
The stand fells pretty solid when it bolted together, but once the laser is on it, it seems a bit wobbly. I don't really move the laser much, so I thought it would be fine...and it really was. But I am currently remodeling my shop, and in the process, I bought tables to put both my lasers on. I got the tables installed today, and had a friend helping me. We shuffled the LG500 off its stand and onto the table no problem. When my friend moved the stand out of the way, it fell apart.
The weld between the box steel horizontal support and the rectangular mounting flange completely separated. The interior of the box steel and portions of the flange obscured by the box were both completely rusted. You could see where the spot welds between the two pieces were, and they very clearly did not penetrate either piece of metal. I honestly think that if I had moved the laser one more time on that stand, it would have crashed to the floor.
Just a cautionary tale for those of you who may own a GWeike LG500 from Automation Technologies. I don't know if the stand comes from GWeike themselves, or if it is something that Automation provides, but if it's the former, then more people might be affected. This tale is about the rolling cart that has two "H" shaped upright pieces with a single horizontal support. All of it is made out of box steel, and it is held together by four screws on either side of the horizontal support.
The stand fells pretty solid when it bolted together, but once the laser is on it, it seems a bit wobbly. I don't really move the laser much, so I thought it would be fine...and it really was. But I am currently remodeling my shop, and in the process, I bought tables to put both my lasers on. I got the tables installed today, and had a friend helping me. We shuffled the LG500 off its stand and onto the table no problem. When my friend moved the stand out of the way, it fell apart.
The weld between the box steel horizontal support and the rectangular mounting flange completely separated. The interior of the box steel and portions of the flange obscured by the box were both completely rusted. You could see where the spot welds between the two pieces were, and they very clearly did not penetrate either piece of metal. I honestly think that if I had moved the laser one more time on that stand, it would have crashed to the floor.