Ya'll not gonna believe this

[Brian Book]

Hello Everyone .... Well I finally got to pick up my Laser today !!!!!!!!!!! :)))))))))) .... I have to admit it sure was a rocky road and there is so much I could say ... but for the most part I think most of my problems pertained to the Broker Blanca chose .... I have to build a cradle to load it on the Cart I built for it yet .... one thing I did notice unpacking ... my Rotary is not wired with a plug for easy hookup .... is this normal ?

Well at least now I can be a part of the community :) .... so expect more posts from me as I begin the journey :)

Brian

[David Somers]

Hi Brian! Glad you got the beast but bummed you had some problems. Be sure to let Blanca know about your problems with the Broker. In my case I chose my broker; a company local to me in Seattle. We worked together well and had no problems that were under the broker's control (west coast dock workers slowdown.) Let her know whatever happened.

Regarding the rotary. Mine has a round 3 pin connector that is easy to connect by first removing an existing round connector. Remember you rotary is replacing one axis in your machine. So you are disconnecting that control and substituting the rotary for it. When done you swap the wires back to restore the normal axis control.

Here is a photo of my connector. It could easily be a different style on their current machines.

[Lyle Cheredaryk]

Congrats on the new baby Brian. Glad to hear you got your machine.

[Daniel Norman]

Hey Brian, glad it has arrived. I am going to email Blanca at ask about the Broker as I think she is using the same one she is using for me. The feedback from this forum is a big part of why I chose Ray Fine. It is not good for anyone's buisness to work with partners who disappoint customers. have fun and keep us updated.
Dan

[David Somers]

Daniel,

For what it is worth, when I worked with my Broker here in Seattle I was proactive and contacted them with lots of information about the delivery. I made sure they had a map of how to get to my home and where the truck should come for an easy drop off. I gave them photos of the delivery area and the alley they had to use to get to it. And I made sure they understood the surface they were going to be on so they had a good method to unload the truck and get the items onto the driveway. From there I could deal with everything with some rented equipment. Everything went smoothly and the delivery man came prepared and grateful for all the information.

Dave

[Erik Goetheer]

Brian, that's good news, I'm happy for you. I picked my own shipping agent (bought my machine FOB), and had no hassle at all. About the machine, be sure to check all nuts and bolts, many of them were very loose on my machine, especially the locking nuts on the mirror mounts, the bolts on the window hinges and also the bolts on the motor mounts of the Z-table.

Also check the spare lenses, I found two of them were used ones, very dirty (was an easy clean though) and one of them had a scratch.

I informed Blanca about this all and she is handling it nicely.

Now that you have the machine, you will surely be busy at first installing everything, checking all kinds of alignments and bed-levelling, do laserpower tests, material tests etc. It's a great way to familiarize yourself with the machine.

[John Lifer]

Brian, as far as I can tell, every machine has rotary connection three wire on an external panel. Now, on the rotary itself, the connector has been spliced into the cable from the motor. I'll bet they forgot to add the connector, but they should have tested it! Look at everything else and holler at Blanca. Glad you finally got it. Btw, I wasn't too pleased with my broker either, a BIG player on the west coast, but I think it is to be expected. They are so used to dealing with Corp and not individuals and single shipments.....

[Brian Book]

Hi all .... thanx for the well wishes :) .... as far as the Rotary .... as far as I can tell they never unwrapped the Rotary from the manufacturer the wires are still wrapped up with bare wire ends and no coupler ?

I'm hoping to have it on the Cart by Thursday night .... have to wait for help to arrive to help lift it .... bigger and heavier than I thought !

Brian

[Erik Goetheer]

Brian, this is how the cable on my rotary from Ray fine looks:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/ckong65/Laser%20Engraver/Arrival%20of%20RF-9060/20170308_123711_zpsugywjxdh.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/user/ckong65/media/Laser%20Engraver/Arrival%20of%20RF-9060/20170308_123711_zpsugywjxdh.jpg.html)

I guess yours should look the same.

[Bill George]

With only 3 wires it must be a 3 phase stepper motor. Do a online search for that and you will find a suggested wiring diagram. But unless you can solder that may not be the answer to installing the plug. I would contact Ray Fine.

[Kev Williams]

Guess the Creek is keeping Ray Fine so busy selling machines they don't have time to run a final assembly check, and that's not good...

Just me, but simply throwing a bare-wired rotary onto the pallet and calling it a day is simply unacceptable. They should send you all the missing plugs and whatnot with some decent instructions at the very least...

[Brian Book]

Well I have it lifted on the Cart and to say I'm pretty disappointed is an understatement ... both side doors don't open properly there is a dial on the front of the machine I have no idea what it's for ..... no documentation at all for anything for the machine including the Chiller .... it looks like one of the couplers for y axis is way out of alignment ... have no idea what controller is in the machine .... although this is not a top of the line machine .... but I would think that for the amount of money I paid for it I would feel I didn't get an ebay equivalent laser ..... I will be writing to Blanca .... but at this point not sure what she can do for me ..... like I said I'm not feeling to happy now for all the wait and expense to end up with this kind of disappointment ..... sorry to Rant and I really do apologize .... I can post pictures as soon as I take some if anyone is interested.

Brian

[John Lifer]

I will say that they don't send much except a CD with some files and instructions and a few videos. Take some photos and email Blanca. No excuse for the missing connection on the rotary. And on all my doors except the one over the tube are not hinged. Any hinged should open and close decently. And a dial? Not the ammeter? But a dial? WTH would that be for? Y axis coupler doesn't sound good, that will throw things out of alignment quick. Controller is simple, should be marked as to model inside. Yes, it should be better than eBay machine.

[Erik Goetheer]

Sorry to hear that Brian. Please post a picture of the front of your machine, with the controller dispaly and the dialer. And maybe also one, or two sharp ones from the electronics compartment so that we can help you to identify the parts, especially the controller.

But I also suppose that you got a detailed final proposal with all the parts listed? There should be your controller mentioned also.

About the chiller, I didn't get a manual also, but it's pretty well explained on the DVD, not much to it. Can you post a picture of the Y-axis coupler because I don't get exactly what you mean (English is not my mother language)?

Now I think of it, I've seen laser machines with dialers with which you can control laser power during a job. Those were very cheap lasers though.

[John Lifer]

Erik, if you look at. The cable for the rotary, you have a connector on the end, and it is a different wire for a few centimeters back to a change to the larger line he does not have that last section with the connector And i have a better copy of the chiller manual i can email you.

[Brian Book]

Hello Everyone .... well I emailed Blanca and no response so far ... I hope it's because she is busy or something like that ... normally she responds right away.

I took a few pics of what I have found so far 1st and 2nd is a pic of the door covering the controller area

Next pic is of the Controller I believe and I found no Identifying number

Pic 4 I think I found out what the knob is for .... there are 2 fans at the front of the Machine and I think it Controls them

Pic 5 is of the Second Mirror .... never seen anything like this .... wonder how long this will stay clean ?

Pic 6 is about the bent shaft with the Y axis I believe ... this truly is not good

Pics 7 & 8 are of the Rotary and how I received it.

Not sure what to do going forward .... I will wait to see what Blanca says ... surely she can see the Quality is just not there .355702355703355704355705355706355707355708355709

[Jeff Body]

If you look at the top edge of the controller where the Red and green wire connector plugs in you should find the controller cable.

I had to got my phone in there and snap a picture to be able to see it in mine.

[Kev Williams]

The controller looks a lot like mine, I'd have to check to see if there's a name on it-- The mirror is pretty much Chinese standard issue, mine's also out in the open like that. It doesn't dirty up all that fast. That Y connection looks scary, unless that's a bonafide genuine actual articulating sleeve of some kind... The no plug on the wires is just plain lazy, and so is the fact there's no place to plug it into anyway (which I'm assuming)

The doors not fitting great, a block of 2x4 and a hammer might fix the door edges easy enough.

The whole thing just screams 'too busy to keep up'. Which I can relate to, but if I'm behind at work, I work harder... ;) <toot>

found a pic of my controller- don't look like there's much to it, but it's still workin' so I'm not complainin!
355715

[Scott Anders]

Can you adjust the motor down to align the shaft? Slotted holes? The flexible coupling is doing its job but it shouldn't be as flexxed, that's an adjustment issue

[Kev Williams]

never seen a direct-drive Y setup either, all of my machines have gear reduction to drive the Y axis...

just an observation... :)

[John Lifer]

Well, I kind of feel bad. I hate recommending folks that I have no control over, but I do like to share good experiences.
This looks bad in my opinion. (and having a fiber on a plane today doesn't give me the warm fuzzies either!)
1.Yes, block of wood to tap the door close to square.
2.Stupid on the rotary, just stupid. I can't believe NO One noticed that! and on my rotary at least it is a covered cable, not three loose wires, gee at least put a wrap around it, but no, someones didn't even look at it.
3.Mirror is like mine, they are open, but I've cleaned mine a couple of times with nothing apparent on them. Should be ok.
4. knob, I'll bet it controls the 'front fan' I don't have that, is there a separate fan in your cabinet? my power supply has fan, and the laser PS has a fan. They run all the time while powered up.
5. DANG, they didn't even get the meter square with the cabinet, or is it your picture!!!!!
6. WTF, Contact microswitches? Really? They should work probably better than the non contact switches, but it's like going back in time. And they can fail due to crap getting in them. Is it a Canadian thing? CS?
7.DANG IT! Does that shaft rub on something? Bent? Looks like it does have a flex in the connector, but that is WAY more than I'd be comfortable with. And ANOTHER dang microswitch!
8. Ok, my controller looks like picture below..... BIG label on the front. And another thing I notice. Do you?
355716
All my connections save a few are silicone sealed. May not matter much, but it shows a reasonable care was taken.

No, they threw this machine together quick....... Just before or just after New Year's holiday?

[Kev Williams]

Ok, so someone help me out with 'controllers'...
You guy's controllers are MUCH busy-er than mine, mine is pretty sparce as to places to connect wires--
But I also have 2 separate X and Y drivers...
355717

Are your XY drivers part of that controller, or mounted elsewhere like mine?

Sorry to hijack, just curious as to the electronics differences in these things!

[Gary Hair]

I'll pile on to what others have said and add in - what's with the rust? Is it just the pics or is there quite a bit of rust on some of the parts? I was considering a fiber from them but not now, that's just shoddy work!

[John Noell]

If you are talking about the knob next to the ammeter, that is for controlling the power. My Shenhui had one, my Longtai does not. It is very handy for lowering the power to do a test engraving wihout actually changing any settings. (Just remember to turn it all the way back up before you run a real job.) It's also handy when quickly checking alignment. Lower the power and you don't burnm thru the tape. :)

[John Lifer]

Gary, I don't see any rust, mine is free of it, all I see is anodized gold aluminum.... Brian can pipe in if there is any. And Kev, the y,x and z controllers are separate from main controller. My x,y are same, z is different model. Interesting that they would put in separate switch for power. Controller has separate button to set max and minutes you want.

[Brian Book]

Thank You all for your input .... There is no Rust at all on my Machine that I can find ... I was hoping to know what controller I had for RDWorks

John Noell would they have put that knob knowing I want to engrave my Pens ?

John Lifer ... there are only a few connections that are Sealed and yes the milliamp meter is on crooked :( .... the bent shaft has me really worried and I looked a little closer tonight and not sure a fix ?

Like I said I'm hoping Blanca gets back to me with solutions.

Brian

[Jerome Stanek]

The motor should be mounted with elongated holes to adjust it

[Kev Williams]

Personally, I'd like to see some not-so-close-up shots-- closeups are good to see the bad, but not so good to check for a possible remedy- especially with that Y stepper-- And I'd love to see the X guide rail, etc...

[David Somers]

Brian, I am not home right now but will look at my machine when I get back and compare with your photos.
I did check a listing of Chinese holidays and noted that the other day was a women's day holiday which might explain the delay in Blanca responding to you. Basically women got the day off. The calendar I was looking at said that some companies extend it into the weekend.

Just speculating.

Dave

[John Lifer]

I had email from her on Wed giving me tracking number for my fiber, I thought I had emailed her yesterday asking for Ascension Number, but it didn't go thru! Dang tablet and Yahoo! I've emailed her today at 1pm and haven't heard back. I usually don't hear from her till about 5-6pm central which should be early morning for those in China.

[Brian Book]

Hello Everyone ... Well Blanca got back to me and explained some things but answers on the Bent axis left me puzzled ... she said that it doesn't hurt the machine to be like that and that she would send me a spare coupler ..... but after really looking at it .... the bracket that holds the Motor is not square to the bed of the machine .... now I have to decide if I am going to remove the bracket and square it or try shimming the Bracket so it sits square ... I'll post a picture tomorrow :)

The Knob beside the Milliamp Meter is for Quote ".adjust the currentmeans adjust the laser power. And clock wise rotary to increase thecurrent/power
also you could set upthe laser power in the program.
the controller NO. isRDC6442S and ventor password=rd8888 if needed."

Not sure I understand that one ... sorry to sound ignorant but this is all greek to me ... can someone explain to me in simpler terms it would be appreciated.


As far as the Rotary .... she says this particular laser does not have the Quick disconnect ... the blocks on the controller need to be changed and plug the Rotary in the Controller .... not really a big deal ... I just don't understand why it couldn't be wired for a disconnect ?

I really do appreciate everyone's help here ... I certainly feel a lot more at ease going forward because of the Help:)

Brian

[John Lifer]

She just emailed me also.
Well, look at machine closely and make sure you don't see anything else broken. She can put it in with coupler and send at one time.
It looks bad, but it might be picture and they've done enough of these it will probably work fine. But I still think it should be closer to linear.....
But who am I?

Ok, so knob is power knob.
Guess you don't speak Chinglish!
You can adjust the power, 'current' is the right term. clockwise is higher output, counterclockwise is lower.
You can also adjust power in RDworks like the rest of us do. In program you set min/max, (minimum really doesn't help me much, I put in same for both)
So if for instance I want to cut at 50% power I put in 50 in program. And this would be what machine would run at for that part of the program.
If I want to change mid stream, I would stop and then change on controller the max % and then restart. It would then cut at whatever % I plugged in at the controller.

With your knob, I would expect it to be a limiter. I would confirm this by setting up a test cut that ran slow so you would have time to play with the knob.
Say 20% power
Then send and start cut. look at mA meter. make note of the output. Then turn knob clockwise a bit, does the mA meter go higher? then turn CCwise, does mA output go down? I expect that down will work and up might not if you have low power output. (expected results in my case is the knob is override of controller)
So if you are at 80%, if you go Clockwise, nothing changes, but CCW it goes down.

Rambling, yeah, you'll have to figure out, but it sounds like easy way to keep mA from being too high and to adjust on the fly somewhat.
YOU DO have same controller as the rest of us. And if you need password it is rd8888. (stock and standard)
make sure you have gotten the RDworks english manual from the RDworkslab.com
you need it!
Save your settings before doing too much. manual makes it relatively easy to understand.

[John Lifer]

Crap, missed the point about rotary.
YES, they are being CHEAPER than they should!
would cost them a few minutes and about $2 for switch and plugs.

Well ask Blanca for a spare PLUG for the rotary.
a nickel cost to them, but you can't find one over here!
That way you can wire the rotary into the spare plug and plug and unplug to work the rotary.

MAKE SURE YOU ONLY PLUG AND UNPLUG WHILE POWER IS OFF!!!!
If you want, at later date, I can trace my wires and give you diagram to add an external plug and switch.I really don't like messing with controller that much and I leave my rotary plugged up and next to machine, I just change switch and program to make it work.

[David Somers]

Hi Brian!

Glad Blanca got back to you. If it helps, one thing I do with her often is paraphrase what she has told me when it isnt clear and reply back with that, asking if that is what she meant. I had also explained that was what I was doing to be sure we were on the same page and she was just fine with that. Avoided a lot of confusion that way.

Look up your EFR tube on the EFR site. It will show you what the maximum mA that should be applied, as well as a recommended mA max to make the tube have a long and happy life. That is the number you want to live by. You should be able to enter that into the laser itself so if you are using it manually you dont accidentally exceed the number. Plus as John said you can control it within RDWorks.

For the rotary....is there just the one connection? (I am asking since I have seen some machines where there are two connections, one for the rotary and one for the normal axis control. You could switch from one to the other.)

On my machine the wires from the controller for that axis come up into the bed chamber and there is a 3 pin round connector there. The axis controls plug into it with a matching end. Or you pull that out and insert the round connector from the rotary. If mine had come directly wired from the controller to the axis controls it would have been a simple matter to put a 3 pin plug of some sort in there with a matching plug on my rotary. Annoying. But simple enough.

[Jerome Stanek]

Hello Everyone ... Well Blanca got back to me and explained some things but answers on the Bent axis left me puzzled ... she said that it doesn't hurt the machine to be like that and that she would send me a spare coupler ..... but after really looking at it .... the bracket that holds the Motor is not square to the bed of the machine .... now I have to decide if I am going to remove the bracket and square it or try shimming the Bracket so it sits square ... I'll post a picture tomorrow :)

The Knob beside the Milliamp Meter is for Quote ".adjust the currentmeans adjust the laser power. And clock wise rotary to increase thecurrent/power
also you could set upthe laser power in the program.
the controller NO. isRDC6442S and ventor password=rd8888 if needed."

Not sure I understand that one ... sorry to sound ignorant but this is all greek to me ... can someone explain to me in simpler terms it would be appreciated.


As far as the Rotary .... she says this particular laser does not have the Quick disconnect ... the blocks on the controller need to be changed and plug the Rotary in the Controller .... not really a big deal ... I just don't understand why it couldn't be wired for a disconnect ?

I really do appreciate everyone's help here ... I certainly feel a lot more at ease going forward because of the Help:)

Brian


The vendor password is for the software you may want to go to file and go into vendor settings and save your settings so if you make changes you can reload them.

[Bill George]

I would first make sure the machine ran before making any changes. The motor needs to be remounted so its aligned, that coupling was never designed to be bent like that.

[Kev Williams]

What Bill said, fix that Y stepper mount. Couplers like that are designed to compensate for small angle misalignments , not to run at a 5° angle indefinitely. Might be fine, but I'd be for stacking washers under the low side of that stepper until it's straight.

That motor bracket welded up on that bad and angle, and everything else, I would almost think they had a skeleton crew building machines to keep up with demand during the Chinese holiday and the big trade show that followed shortly thereafter.

And there's NO EXCUSE for them to expect the end user to finish up ANY electrical wiring...

[Kev Williams]

I'm finding other 'angle' issues in that pic, the limit switch plate for example, although the top of the plate does appear parallel to the Y shaft, unlike the motor-

But I'm also curious about the rod or shaft the arrow is pointing at, not sure what it's for- ??
355842

[John Lifer]

Kev, I was wondering about that too! Can't determine from picture, David, from what Brian wrote, you plug and unplug the connection for the yaxis in order to use rotary. But I traced my wires and I are forgotten it uses a stepper driver. Wires run from controller to stepper driver, from stepper driver to the center poles of a three pole three position switch. One side goes on to the y axis motor, the other goes to the connection for the rotary on side of machine. Would be easy to wire, I still question by they didn't do it. It will be difficult to change just wires, I'll assume same stepper driver used, plug is 5 wire so no easy change.

[Brian Book]

Hi everyone .... well I took some more pictures and for sure the Bracket that holds the stepper motor is way off .... not sure if I take it out and try and straighten it out or shim it ?

There is 2 rods near the end of the of the stepper motor and I believe they are stiffeners for the rail ?

John I believe the connectors for the Rotary are referred as Microphone Din Plugs can get them anywhere.


I also upgraded the Exhaust Fan after talking with Jason and he said it was his only complaint ... well really good exhaust ... not so good for the flimsy ducting they sent

[Kev Williams]

Geez, if you use that machine as is, the fatigue will get to that one coupler pretty quick I'd think...

So I assume the long rod must run uphill to the left Y rail? MOST DEFINITELY STRAIGHTEN THAT OUT! --two things you need to do:
1- remove the bracket, clamp the short end it a vice and attempt to square the bracket:
355867

Then, you need to shim the motor until the motor shafts are aligned to the Y drive shafts. Maybe some thin bar stock with holes drilled to fit for the initial lift plus some thin flat washers for final tweaking. With the bracket square and the right shims you'll be better than new. (ahem) ;)

[Bill George]

That looks like C R @ P, I would send those pictures to Blanca and let her figure out what to do. Its almost like it came from a different company, not Ray Fine?

[Doug Fisher]

This whole situation is a definite black mark against Ray Fine and Blanca. I was giving her some benefit of the doubt while we waited to hear from her but her reply, particularly about the rotary's bare wires being normal is misleading at best given what we have seen from other Ray Fine rotary owners. Bummer because I have recommended her to some newbies who wanted a trustworthy contact for buying direct from China.

[Brian Book]

Hi Doug .... just to clear things a bit .... Blanca never said that the Bare wires are normal ... she said that the person assembling the machine was negligent in not doing the Rotary hookup and he be penalized for not doing it ... what she did say was about the y axis being ok the way it is and I'll quote her about that "--There isno problem with the coupler.The coupler is with elasticity andthat distortion won't effect the machine working.
We will send a new coupler toyou if you worry " ..... I'm not sure what they can do for me being on the other side of the world ... I'm pretty sure they won't be sending me a new machine .... the good part she hasn't ignored me and is trying to work with me ..... I haven't sent her the new pictures yet .... and I'm not sure if I should quote what some of you are saying ?

I don't want to alienate her from anymore support ... any suggestions going forward?

Brian

[John Lifer]

Be​ honest with her, and she'll work with you. Another buyer had issues with unlevel table and she worked with him to finally resolve the situation. I don't think that they will let you down in trying to fix. Does the shaft on the right of the motor have a bearing where it goes thru did rail? I can't tell. If so, it looks like that bearing should move down slightly and you could adjust motor down. I'll see if I can mark up fix.

[John Lifer]

Ok, I'd send her your last photo, ask her to send you a couple of couplings to insure replacement if breaks, and to send replacement motor bracket.
you might have to draw out sketch for her. I'd make the lower leg about 25mm long, with slots at least 12mm long to let you adjust location. The vertical leg needs to be a good 12mm taller and for sure 90 degrees. And where the motor side of the bracket is drilled and tapped, I'd get her to drill and vertically slot the holes instead of drilled and tapped. Make slots + and -6mm of current hole.
BUT!!!!
And I'm not sure that replacing that bracket or moving motor will entirely fix things. If the bearings on the far side of your rail are fixed, with no motion in any plane, it might not be a good fix. Don't forget the left side can be altered too when you move motor. It might just be that they have it where it is best and coupling will have to take the angle flex.
BTW, Mcmaster carr sells these couplings and at 5/16 shaft size they can take 3 to 5 degrees of angle. I'll bet they'll last just fine in laser Probably longer than most other things. This doesn't make it right, it should be close to perfectly aligned. they HAVE made more than one of these!

[Brian Book]

Hi John my last photo is of a crumpled up hose . what photo were you thinking? ... I am going to email Blanca agin about my concerns for the bearing as it also may be under some stress and I feel it would be better to get it as straight as possible.

Brian

[John Lifer]

I meant of the motor setups not the poor hose:-)

[Kev Williams]

For the machine to work properly, the gantry assembly must be level and square. If the gantry assembly IS level and square, a solid rod WILL fit perfectly within the gear cogs on each side of the gantry, and rotate the cogs and their bearings freely with zero resistance. Assuming that's true:

Now, we need to saw out a section of that rod to make room for the stepper motor and connector sleeves. After the section is removed, connect the sleeves and motor to the rods. The rod-sleeve-motor-sleeve-rod assembly should be as straight as an arrow, save for the weight of the motor pulling down the middle. Support the motor weight from below or above until the drive rod assembly is dead straight and resistance-free...

NOW is when you connect the motor bracket! And have a bracket with some elongated holes to allow for some adjustment without needing a bunch of shims. Fit and fasten the bracket to the motor and machine, and you're done.

And IF you miss just a little bit, THAT'S what those sleeves are designed for, to compensate for SMALL angle discrepancies :)

that there's how I'd put that rail assembly together. There is no earthly reason that I can think of for the motor to be half-cocked...

[John Lifer]

I agree Kev, I will assume they are level, but the holes on the ends thru the rails aren't! And that again is an assumption. Rails might not be level. We do know it ran ok, he's got video of it. I don't know how much Brian can do. I've plenty of equipment and could get it straight, but most folks don't have the stuff or skills necessary. I can't fix from here, I'll let Brian and Blanca hash it out and I'll shut up.

[Brian Book]

Well I sent an email to Blanca and will see what she says .... Again I appreciate any and all feedback and input ! :)

Brian

[Kev Williams]

Kinda reminds me of when I bought my brand new '84 Buick Regal T-Type. This was a $16k car in late '83, and the day I took delivery, there on the floor in the back was a handful of screws. The dealer didn't even notice them. They were the last of the screws to hold various interior pieces. I guess Joe G. Embuilder had better things to do than finish putting the screws in my car. Side panel in the back, one of the pillar screws, seat hinge cover screws, a console screw... I just put them where they belonged myself, and hoped the whole car wasn't built like that!

Not just a China thing.. ;)

[Brian Book]

Hi all ... an update .... turns out the Motor Mount is the wrong one .... here's what Blanca said " for motor mount wechecked there is a little high than it should be. for different batch there issome different for this motor mount.
we can send another motor mount."

Fingers crossed I won't have to do too much to get it lined up.

Brian

[Lyle Cheredaryk]

Glad to hear you are getting it sorted out.
Lyle

[Bill George]

All I can say is my Ray Fine fiber had no issues, and works.... well Fine.

[Brian Book]

Yes it's all getting sorted out quite well ... Blanca is also sending me a few spare parts such as Mirrors and Belts and Lens, Coupler and Motor mount ... should I tell her I'll pay for a Stepper Motor and what else should I need as a Spare Part ? .... It will be free shipping :)

Brian

[David Somers]

I havent worn anything out yet, but I do have spare belts and mirrors and the chain for the table drive that I got. I also got spare lenses on the assumption I would do something stupid or careless and toast a lens as I got going. (but reading tons of SMC posts before ordering seems to have drilled good habits into me and I have had no problems so far.....many thanks fellow SMC'ers!! <grin>) And I got a dedicated lens tube/cone for each size lens I have so I can swap them out easily as needed rather than having to disassemble/reassemble things to change out a lens. Other than that I am not sure what else I might have reasonably ordered as a spare, other than as you suggested, having a spare stepper? Thoughts everyone?

[John Lifer]

I'd make sure she sends belt for both ends. you 'might' damage them replacing the bracket. Make sure she sends at least one microswitch, they are cheap but rather have one in my spare box than chase one down. And they are easily bent. I have no idea on motor, I didn't buy one for spare myself. Look closely at machine, if you see anything else hinky that she can replace tell her!

[Steven Taitinger]

Thanks for sharing your journey Brian! For everyone that posts on here saying thanks there are probably 20 more just quietly learning and appreciating the detailed responses. I chose your same freight forwarder for my 7050 80w and hopefully will pick it up from Vancouver myself by the end of April.

[Brian Book]

To change the Bracket I think I will just need to undo both Couplers and slide them to the side and the Mount would just be left to unscrew?

They did send a spare microswitch and I ordered 4 more on eBay for like $3.00 ... she is sending a set of Belts 3 pieces.

David I think I may like to have a 1.5 lens and would get the holder as well is that not standard for the smaller lens... I would like to try and add graphics to my Pens .... sound good ?

Thanx a bunch for all the help and feedback .... I feel much better about the whole process :)

Brian

[David Somers]

Hi Brian....for the 2" and longer focal length lenses the cone is the same. For the 1.5" lens (38mm) the focal length is so short that you have no space between a standard cone and your material. So the cone for that lens is much shorter/squatter. Be sure to let Blanca know that for that tube assembly you want to be sure it has the shorter cone needed for a 38mm lens. Also, I dont believe they have spacers (the little acrylic focusing space they provide) for anything but the 50mm lens that comes stock with the machine. So you will need to do a focal length test on it. If you search for the term "ramp test" on here you will see how it is done. Then you can cut your own acrylic focusing spacer for that size lens. You will need to do the same thing for any other lens length you buy. And....to be honest, with as much variation as you find on these lenses I would be tempted to do a ramp test on the 50mm they give you to be sure the spacer is spot on. And....if you ever have to make use of your spare lenses, or buy replacements later on, redo the ramp test on that new lens as well. Remember the depth of field on all these lenses is wicked short so small variations make a difference.

[Erik Goetheer]

What David says. :) My laser machine hat the 51 mm lens installed and I got a 8 mm focus tool with it. This tool was useless because several ramp tests learned that the focus was 9.5 mm (and after turning the lens with concave side up it now is 6.5 mm).