Speedy Flexx Fiber Ratings

[Tim Bateson]

I've been away from here for awhile now. Been busy.. Too busy some days.

My metal work has tripled this past your, so I need some advice from those with fiber experience:

Question on the Trotec Speedy 400 Flexx machines - I understand well the difference of a 10w -vs- 50w CO2, but what are the pros & cons of say a 10 watt -vs- 50 watt fiber.. other than cost. What are their strengths & weaknesses?

Lately, I've been turning away nearly as much business as I take in. That needs to stop.

[Scott Shepherd]

Power equals speed on the fiber machines. You can make metal just fine with 20W, if you want to remove metal, that process will get slower with 20W. If I were buying a Flexx system, I wouldn't get less than 30W on the fiber (and no less than 80w on the CO2). If you could afford the 50W Fiber, it would be an awesome tool to have.

[Keith Bielat]

I agree with Mr. Shepherd... I actually have a 400 Flexx and he is spot on. I have a 30w and for what I do it is plenty, the 50w was just too big of a price jump for my needs to make it worthwhile. Right now it is my largest laser bed and I also do a fair share of cutting so went with a 120W CO2 / 30W Fiber. It has been running great with no issues. There was a learning curve for the Job Control Software, but once you learn the features it does make things more efficient.

[Dan Hintz]

Steve pretty much hit the nail on the head... if you want to mark, a 20W is plenty adequate for most needs. If you want to engrave (deep mark) with any depth beyond "I think my fingernail got snagged on an edge", you want some real power to avoid spending all day.

I had Trotec do some samples for me a couple of years back in some stainless and aluminum... if memory serves, they used a 30W, and it took anywhere from 40 to 80+ passes (depending upon material) to get a 1/32" depth. Sweet detail, but you would really be trading some serious time. Go big or go home with fiber engraving...

[Tim Bateson]

Kieth, How do the Fibermark & Flexx compare?

[Keith Bielat]

Tim,

My Fibermark is the older model, not the newer Fusions they have now. I purchased it in 2008, 12" x 24" table, 20W machine. It worked pretty well, mostly did part marking and brass plates. On the rare occasion I have also cut out brass plates in custom shapes (very rare because it took 30ish passes to get through .020). The 20w handled most of what I needed just fine. As far as the actual machine it has worked pretty well, there have been some parts replaced, the control panel, a motor, just had to replace the belts again as well. I have only had my Trotec machines a year now, but if I was purchasing again I would look at their offerings first. If getting the flexx there are a few things to know and maybe you already do, so I apologize if I'm repeating things:

Most of what I do is perfectly fine using the 2.85" flexx lens, it is in the machine almost all of the time.
The software automatically compensates if you are running co2 with the flexx 2.85" lens (it drop slightly more on it's own) be aware if you ever try to max out the table depth.
Speak of table depth...technically you can take the table out and get another almost 2ish inches in depth, but I would not put heavy items on that as it is just a regular layer of sheet metal.
Haven't heard others mention it, but the CO2 and fiber beams NEARLY line up over each other (have done some testing on anodized aluminum and other parts), but it is not perfect. I can't notice from a foot away, but it is noticeable if you use an eyeloop.

Both machines handle my projects well, I don't engrave very deep because as Dan mentioned, it is not really efficient to do so. I have noticed that they do mark items slightly differently, if I tried to match exact power and frequency (which is nearly impossible because I can't tell how much actual power the tubes are putting out at any given moment, and the companies used different measurements for frequency as well). Both are easily acceptable, but if I have a large job and run the pieces on both machines, I can tell which machine ran which batch.

[Tim Bateson]

I'm a bit upset that I can't get a quote directly from Trotec. They called immediately when I inquired and promised a quote by end of day. I told them what I needed it for & it's either Epilog or them - looked at other vendors but they didn't fit my needs. That was last week & still no contact from them. I'm not yet committed enough to the Trotec brand to chase them down either. When/If they ever call, they will get an ear full and had BETTER offer a quote I can't refuse.

Maybe they just don't want my money?

[Gary Hair]

I'm a bit upset that I can't get a quote directly from Trotec. They called immediately when I inquired and promised a quote by end of day. I told them what I needed it for & it's either Epilog or them - looked at other vendors but they didn't fit my needs. That was last week & still no contact from them. I'm not yet committed enough to the Trotec brand to chase them down either. When/If they ever call, they will get an ear full and had BETTER offer a quote I can't refuse.

Maybe they just don't want my money?

That's par for the course... and exactly why I don't have a Trotec but I do have a fiber. Some here will defend them and tell you that it's worth whatever it takes to get one of their machines, I am not buying it - no pun intended. :)

[Scott Shepherd]

Not that I'm defending anyone, but they are just coming off a massive trade show. I have calls into 3 manufacturers for quotes for a piece of equipment from the show and I've yet to get a call back from any of the 3. I finally tracked one guy down via cell phone, he was driving, said he'd contact me in a couple hours. I even emailed him while on the phone, to give him my contact information. He emailed me the next day, said he'd email me in a couple of hours, then emailed me the next day, saying he was trying to get time to send me the quote, but he was traveling and had limited access to their system.

I still don't have a quote from him, and the other 2 manufacturers haven't called back either. I would expect everyone that was at that show is dealing with a massive log jam right now. I think it was about 600 vendors there. We walked for 6 hours the first day and didn't see the entire thing. Put another 4 in the next day and still feel like we missed a number of things we wanted to see.

[Mike Null]

Gary

That may be the case where you are but not where I am and not in most places. Further, Trotec tech support is on a par with ULS and Epilog if not superior. I've dealt with all so I have some first hand experience with them.

[Mike Null]

I just came across this.

http://a-e-mag.com/news/trotec-opening-regional-service-centers-get-closer-customers