Laser machine, where did you buy and how much did it cost to your doorstep?

[Pieter Swart]

HI Guys,

I am looking for a machine... Its been a nightmare so far.
For the record, I am frugal guy... ( so please I understand the adage, you get what you pay for... so don't)

What I am asking for is this.

What machine did YOU buy:
How much did it cost:
How much did you pay for shipping:
How much for import taxes and customs etc.:

And who did you deal with?

I found the perfect machine... even saw how they built it... agreed upon the price, signed and sent back the contract... Paid them... and then, had to hear promises of " no, no, we will ship it tomorrow every day for a week... I finally canceled the deal and got my money back through alibaba...

AVOID CHUANGYA!!!:mad::mad::mad:

And Yes I have heard "I told you so" about a 1000 times in 3 days

Thanks Guys! I really appreciate every ounce of info you can provide!!

[Bill George]

How good are you are troubleshooting and repairing electrical / electronics otherwise rule out direct Import.

Lots of US venders selling Chinese machines, Boss, LightObject and Rabbit USA is just a few. I have a Ray Fine fiber that I Imported directly, others have also. Do some searching on here you will find a lot of brands mentioned. Prices change daily.

[John Hendrick]

I just bought my first fiber laser. 30 watt. In fact, I am still learning how to use it. I bought it from Pete Charalampopoulos in Minnesota (209)712-0741. It is a Chinese made laser, but Pete appears to have made numerous upgrades to it. It came with the laptop and EXCAD software. It also came with jigs machine made for the shapes I needed. Total cost $8,100.00. I drove to MN to pick it up over the weekend. I choose to pick it up because I wanted to meet Pete in person. His price would have included the shipping.

I really appreciate Scott (on this forum: Richmond, Va) for spending a couple hours with me Monday night at his shop to help me get going with this machine. Scott was super nice.

[John Lifer]

Do a search or look for my posts. I've two Ray Fines, one CO2 other a 20W Fiber. But THEY ARE CHINESE! Heed Bill's advice. It is better for some to deal with US based company, or US built. Things happen.

[Bert Kemp]

I had a great experience with Rabbit Laser in Ohio. Ray Scott imports rabbit lasers upgrades them to USA standards . He will deliver to your door help you set it up and give you training before he leave. I knew nothing about chinese lasers but was up and running in a few hours.Well worth th few xtra bucks.

[Joe Pelonio]

My Epilog is still going strong after 13 years. Over that time I replaced the tube 3 times, the first on warranty, two x-axis motors, the x-axis ribbon cable, one lens and two mirrors. It cost $16,000 in 2004, and paid for itself after the first year.

[Andrew Stow]

Epilog Legend 32, 30 watt. Bought it a few years ago for about 1600 bucks at government auction.

Just a hobby for me. Still running strong. I just replaced both mirrors and the focus lens.

Frankly, I'm amazed the tube is still running. I took it apart when I first got it and the synrad tube assembly had a manufacture date of like November 2001 or something. It must not have been used all that much at whatever base hobby shop had it.

[John Blazy]

Not a hint of buyers regret in my case. I cannot stress enough how stressless my purchase was, and more than willing to pay a little, and I mean very little, more than chinese direct.

Rabbit QS 1290, 80 watt, 3 ft x 4 ft bed, delivered, laser installed, mirrors installed, mirrors aligned, software installed, AND tutorial on how to run it - all by the owner of Rabbit personally (Ray Scott). I can't fully remember the total - I believe it was just under 12 grand.

Ray gets full container loads of lasers, so he ACTUALLY has them in stock. They check everything and adjust the beds into square, etc. All tech support right here in USA.

He and Carol have always answered my questions. Laser still runs great after over a year of nearly EVERYDAY use.

No shipping costs, no import / tax blah blah blah - all built into a very reasonable price.

I hear Boss laser is real good this way too.

[Bill George]

Its interesting as Norton's just blocked me from accessing Rabbit Laser USA as it showed 4 Trojan horse viruses in the Downloads section.

[Bert Kemp]

Bill what specifically were you trying to do?? I just went to Rabbit and had no problems downloading project or manuals.



Its interesting as Norton's just blocked me from accessing Rabbit Laser USA as it showed 4 Trojan horse viruses in the Downloads section.

[Neville Stewart]

I just bought my first fiber laser. 30 watt. In fact, I am still learning how to use it. I bought it from Pete Charalampopoulos in Minnesota (209)712-0741. It is a Chinese made laser, but Pete appears to have made numerous upgrades to it. It came with the laptop and EXCAD software. It also came with jigs machine made for the shapes I needed. Total cost $8,100.00. I drove to MN to pick it up over the weekend. I choose to pick it up because I wanted to meet Pete in person. His price would have included the shipping.

I really appreciate Scott (on this forum: Richmond, Va) for spending a couple hours with me Monday night at his shop to help me get going with this machine. Scott was super nice.

He was incredibly helpful to me also, gave me his personal cell and on the weekend. He refused to take any money also, what a nice guy.

[Bill George]

Bill what specifically were you trying to do?? I just went to Rabbit and had no problems downloading project or manuals.

Do you recall last summer when I got a virus from a download (Ransom Ware) and Lost Everything on my main computer? I did have a back up that was 3 month old. That is when I took off all those free virus programs and put on Norton's. It found 4 viruses like I posted on in downloads area. Sure you can download all you want, but when Norton says there is a virus in the download.... I am a believer. Do what you want.

[Bert Kemp]

Bill I didn't say I didn't believe you I ask what specifically you were doing on the site. Can't find or fix a problem if we don't know where it is.

Do you recall last summer when I got a virus from a download (Ransom Ware) and Lost Everything on my main computer? I did have a back up that was 3 month old. That is when I took off all those free virus programs and put on Norton's. It found 4 viruses like I posted on in downloads area. Sure you can download all you want, but when Norton says there is a virus in the download.... I am a believer. Do what you want.

[George M. Perzel]

Bought a Shenhui twin 80 watt 1580 eight years ago for total of $9300 of which $2600 was for shipping/clearance by freight forwarder. One original tube still going and 2nd tube replaced two years ago.
Have put over $200K worth of business thru it with only replacement lens twice.
Best regards
GM Perzel
Laserarts

[Christopher Cambridge]

I just got my machine last week and installed. I went with G. Weike LC1390 w/ 150w Reci W6.

Base price of the machine was 3800 with accessories and lenses it came to about 4300. They let me pay in two installments of half. The second when they sent me pics of it finished in the warehouse and before it shipped. Both payments were by bank wire xfer.

I used nina@wklaser.com and she was amazing. She responded quickly to all my emails and questions and stayed responsive during the customs phase of the process when I needed and FDA document. I can't say enough good things about her. Consider there is a day/night delay with China and she often was answering emails late into her night.

It was about $180 in shipping from china to the Port of Oakland and was included in the $4300 price.

Another $180 fee for freight forwarding I think. Truck delivery from port to my home (close by) was another $180. Customs fees I don't have the details of but all together to get it to my home I paid about $850.

The total was about $5100 all in. 150w laser, rotary, full set of 7 different lenses, blower, air pump , and she upgraded me to the CW5200 chiller at no additional charge.

BTW it worked just fine on arrival. The only real issue was the bed holding bracket had slipped on one corner and needed to be raised to make it level which was easy to do.

I went with G. Weike because from what I have heard they make many of the other brand's lasers machines in the same factory before they get marked up and re-branded. They've been doing this for 15 years and have the process down well. There was not a hint of any shadyness at any point and I got exactly what I asked for for less money than what I was expecting to pay through ebay. G. Weiki sells a lot of industrial laser and CnC equipment and now that I'm on their email list I keep getting invites to the trade shows they attend. My impression is this 5k machine is small potatoes for their business.

Oh and I used Ability Customs Brokers in San Leandro, CA and had a great experience with them as well.

I have a friend in Germany who is waiting to receive the exact same machine in a month or two. This was my experience. I hope yours goes well.

--Christopher

[Mark Taylor2]

Rabbit Laser is clean here... using Trend Micro and also Voodoo Shield. Most of us in IT haven't trusted Norton for quite awhile. I'm guessing it's a false positive hit.

[Jerome Stanek]

I bought mine from Automation Technologies and picked it up. They demoed it for me and gave me some training on it.

[Bill George]

Rabbit Laser is clean here... using Trend Micro and also Voodoo Shield. Most of us in IT haven't trusted Norton for quite awhile. I'm guessing it's a false positive hit.

Well by the time Malwarebytes saw my Ransom Ware and tried to stop it, was way to late. Damage done and they wanted $500 in Bit Coin no less.
I have been in the PC Rodeo so to speak since 1980 or so and that was the First virus I ever had on any of my computers! I am very careful so I will just trust Norton's. The "free" ones and I paid for Malwarebytes did not work. Until someone has lost 3 months work, they will never know.

[Glen Monaghan]

I have been in the PC Rodeo so to speak since 1980 [...] Until someone has lost 3 months work, they will never know.

So have you finally started doing daily automated backups (off host?), or are you simply trusting Norton to save you from another major loss? There are a lot more ways to lose mass storage than simply by virus activity, and Norton won't do a thing for those (head crashes, click of death, power corruption, etc.)! Plus, no AV is perfect so you are still vulnerable to that vector as well...

[Tim Bateson]

I just got a quote from Pete for a DLM FB50160 Fiber Laser 50W MAX Photonics. I'm impressed with the price. Anyone have any experience with this laser?

[Bill George]

So have you finally started doing daily automated backups (off host?), or are you simply trusting Norton to save you from another major loss? There are a lot more ways to lose mass storage than simply by virus activity, and Norton won't do a thing for those (head crashes, click of death, power corruption, etc.)! Plus, no AV is perfect so you are still vulnerable to that vector as well...

Got it covered, thanks.

[Gary Lyben]

What machine did you get? I'm considering them, it would be a day trip to Chicago for me.


I bought mine from Automation Technologies and picked it up. They demoed it for me and gave me some training on it.

[Jerome Stanek]

What machine did you get? I'm considering them, it would be a day trip to Chicago for me.


I bought a 60 watt LG 500

[Neville Stewart]

I just got a quote from Pete for a DLM FB50160 Fiber Laser 50W MAX Photonics. I'm impressed with the price. Anyone have any experience with this laser?

Get a Raycus source for certain, IPG if you could swing it.

[Michael Spencer]

Christopher, thanks for this very informative post. I'm considering my first laser purchase, have been researching the usual suspects, and have not yet looked at this supplier. Their website is pretty much useless unless you speak Chinese. It's obvious that you're happy with your laser and customer service. But may I ask, what decision making process did you follow in deciding on this particular company's product? Everyone balks at the prospect of importing a Chinese laser, but you obviously felt confident enough to pull the trigger.

[Christopher Cambridge]

Christopher, thanks for this very informative post. I'm considering my first laser purchase, have been researching the usual suspects, and have not yet looked at this supplier. Their website is pretty much useless unless you speak Chinese. It's obvious that you're happy with your laser and customer service. But may I ask, what decision making process did you follow in deciding on this particular company's product? Everyone balks at the prospect of importing a Chinese laser, but you obviously felt confident enough to pull the trigger.

The research process was rather awful and took me a couple of months. The signal to noise ratio online about chinese lasers is severe and it's tough to sort out what is and is not credible advice.

One of the main reasons I felt comfortable with a Chinese laser is that I have about 1.5 years of experience with a hobby CNC machine and 3d printer. The CNC machine I built from a box of parts and the printer I've had torn down for upgrades several times. I'm really comfortable with stepper motors, gt2 belts, and electronic controllers. This gave me the confidence that if something was wrong I'd be able to tackle it without needing a lot of support.

I ended up with G.Weike after I came to understand that they actually make many of the other brand's laser machines in their factory. They also gave me the best price and beat the ebay sellers by a couple hundred $$$. They have been in business for 15 years and sell a whole lot of other CNC equipment worth far more than what I bought. This made me feel like there was little incentive for anyone to try to cheat or scam me on the purchase as from their perspective I wasn't even a large order. These are folks who do this kind of thing every day and they have a process that works well.

Upon receiving the machine I was happy to find a bunch of indications of a robust quality control process in the factory. There are QC stickers on all the mirrors with hand initialed sign offs. They provided 3 pieces of cut and engraved acrylic that had been run on this machine in the factory as part of their quality check. The reci tube looks genuine with the appropriate QR code, serial numbers, and a chart of the power test they had run. On the top of the machine near the power meter was a label indicating I should never run above 35ma of power or it would shorten tube life. This power level seems to correspond to about 85-90% power (I stay at 80% or less) and matches my expectations. They seem to have determined this value through a test because that the 35 was hand written. When I ordered a set of extra lenses (from 1.5" all the way to 5") they hand labeled each of them and packed them well in foam.

The only problem I had was that the bed needed to be leveled when I got it. I have it to within about +/- .25mm level with the frame but really need to tram it to level with the laser head using a feeler gauge.

[Bill George]

Christopher you are the ideal person for a direct import of a Chinese laser. The big issue here is we get a lot of people who are not as talented as you importing and purchasing machines. Then after the fact they come here and that's when the fun starts.

[Christopher Cambridge]

I know right? Here I was all jazzed up to tear into a new machine and troubleshoot and fix stuff. Having the damn thing work right away was a bit anticlimactic.

[ludovic chenaux]

I bought my Epilog Mini 24 40w + filter table at a tradeshow in France last Februar and imported it in Switzerland for a total cost of just under 17000€ (~19000$)

EDIT : with 3 years warranty for all

[Greg Rodie]

I got a quote from Sinjoe that is competitive compared to other overseas manufactures...and for what I upgraded to, along with the quality (servo motors standard, when not even available from some) they can't be beat imo. Also for not much more than port shipping, they are shipping to my town. (commercial address) No broker needed (right?)

Thanks David for mentioning them in a thread!

[Neville Stewart]

I got a quote from Sinjoe that is competitive compared to other overseas manufactures...and for what I upgraded to, along with the quality (servo motors for one thing...) they can't be beat imo. Also for not much more than port shipping, they are shipping to my town. (commercial address) No broker needed (right?)

Thanks David for mentioning them in a thread!
How will you pay customs & excise? I don't believe you can import a controlled object without a broker.

[Matthew Herrera]

Great write up Chris! I’m glad to hear this as I am planning to pull the trigger soon my self on an G.Weike LC-6090. You and I are of the same cloth! I’ve built my own CNC mill and my own 3d printer and learned allot about stepper motors, drivebelts ect. I also feel that this kinda of knowledge helps me feel less hesitant about buying Chinese direct. I work in the QA / QC industry myself so am glad to hear you are seeing lots of QA evidence with the stickers. I’m looking at either the 100w or 80watt model which is right about 3k. I plan on paying close to 4K when all is said and done due to shipping and customs ect. I’m excited to say the least, a laser cutter will open up so much possibility for me. I’ve been dreaming about one for well over a year but it looks like I’m finally ready to take the step. I considered building my own using openbuuilds parts but alas it’s not that much cheaper than a Chinese import and it will save me allot of headache and tweaking with my own unproven build vs a proven brand.

[Greg Rodie]

How will you pay customs & excise? I don't believe you can import a controlled object without a broker.

This was only a quote. I was hoping that with it coming to my door, and not to port only, that all the legal will be taken care of. Can anyone confirm this?

[Gary Hair]

How will you pay customs & excise? I don't believe you can import a controlled object without a broker.. You can do it all yourself but it's a major pain to do and if you make a mistake on any of the paperwork your item can be delayed or returned (or destroyed). It's well worth the small fee that a broker charges to do it for you.

[Greg Rodie]

. You can do it all yourself but it's a major pain to do and if you make a mistake on any of the paperwork your item can be delayed or returned (or destroyed). It's well worth the small fee that a broker charges to do it for you.

No I would never want to do the paperwork. So you are sure I do need a broker even though it is shipping to my door? I was hoping I didn't have to get the broker, but I will.

[Neville Stewart]

DHL does internal brokerage I believe.

[John Noell]

...Norton's just blocked me from accessing Rabbit Laser USA as it showed 4 Trojan horse viruses...
At least historically, Norton is very good at stopping viruses. It is NOT so good when it comes to false positives.

[John Lifer]

Ray Fine worked with a broker THEY selected. Thought they had it well in hand, but I still had to fill out FDA paperwork, and a couple of other forms for the broker. And there was pretty good dispute about shipping.
I'd paid RF for the shipping to my door with lift gate service. Broker who also contracted shipping failed to quote the lift gate service. But had noted it WAS lift Gate service.
At any rate, even with broker by the shipper, you will have to do some work. But was easy. (do search I wrote it up here a year ago)

[Greg Rodie]

Thanks John, I'll check out your thread. It will be a couple of months until I have the funds, so I have time.