Laser price woes

[Michael Henriksen]

I've been getting quotes for fiber laser cutters from several Chinese suppliers and prices seem to be all over the place, even for same spec machines. From one vendor I got 3 different prices from 3 of their sales reps. They varied quite a lot and it puts me off that vendor a bit. One of the best offers so far actually includes the cost of the engineer to come onsite and install the machine and do training.

[Jacob John]

That's been my experience so far as well, hence my other thread. Though I'm looking for an engraver/marker. Still, I can't even find consistency about the laser types and sources.

[John Lifer]

Go with the one with the best/longest Warranty..... Aught to get min 2 years, hit them up for 3......

[Scott Shepherd]

Doesn't matter what you get. If they decide they want to help you, they will. If not, they won't. My rule of thumb for buying from China is that I assume nothing they say it true when it comes to service or support. If I'm still okay with it, then I'd buy it.

They speak perfect English when they are selling and suddenly don't understand anything you are saying when you have a problem.

There are a handful of companies over there that the vast majority of people have bought from. My advise is stick with one of them. Venturing off into an unknown company that no one here has dealt with is rolling the dice. They are all getting their parts (laser source, scan heads, driver boards) from the same places. It's not like any one of them are introducing new products. It's all the same.

[Kev Williams]

I'm fortunate enough to have been born with mekanickel abilities and ain't too bad with electric stuff, so I'm not the least bit afraid to buy the cheapest machine I can find. Because like Steve just said, they all come from the same shelf. ;)

And speaking of the cheapest machine I can find, as one who has been keeping track of prices at least occasionally, I can safely say that the bottom of the market was about 4 months ago and it's now a seller's market... back then I could've bought a twin to my Triumph (to look at) off ebay for $4200 to my door. The cheapest TMD price I can find now is $5150, 20%-ish increase. The 20watter's are now going for what the 30watter's were a few months ago.

[Dave Sheldrake]

A cutter, especially a fiber cutter is a whole different ballgame Mike, cheap one's are cheap for a reason, the amount of stuff that can go wrong with them is mind bending

Personally, for a first fiber cutter I wouldn't import, everything that can go wrong with these things is expensive to fix....VERY expensive, they simply aren't machines that you can afford to cut corners on or work to tight budgets

[Gary Hair]

They speak perfect English when they are selling and suddenly don't understand anything you are saying when you have a problem.

Nothing could be any more true than this statement. Whether it's a warranty problem or an order discrepancy problem or just how to use the machine in general, you'll find the variability in their understanding of English to be quite frustrating. I had this problem quite distinctly with G. Weike and I will never consider another purchase from them again. Neil Chen at XT Laser, however, seems to know how important pre-sale and post-sale support is and I will likely buy from them when I need my next machine(s).

[Jacob John]

Nothing could be any more true than this statement. Whether it's a warranty problem or an order discrepancy problem or just how to use the machine in general, you'll find the variability in their understanding of English to be quite frustrating. I had this problem quite distinctly with G. Weike and I will never consider another purchase from them again. Neil Chen at XT Laser, however, seems to know how important pre-sale and post-sale support is and I will likely buy from them when I need my next machine(s).

Good to know Gary, thanks for that info.

[Scott Shepherd]

We ordered a piece of equipment from China once. It came and it wasn't what we ordered. Didn't have the things it was supposed to. Keep in mind, they have your money already. Contacted them and was told "Sorry, we make mistake, please sell this one and order another one and we will be sure to make sure it's all right".

And that was the extent of the fix. No discounts, no money back, no nothing. Just sent us something different than we ordered and told us to live with it. Not sure how you are supposed to deal with that level of service.

[Jacob John]

We ordered a piece of equipment from China once. It came and it wasn't what we ordered. Didn't have the things it was supposed to. Keep in mind, they have your money already. Contacted them and was told "Sorry, we make mistake, please sell this one and order another one and we will be sure to make sure it's all right".

And that was the extent of the fix. No discounts, no money back, no nothing. Just sent us something different than we ordered and told us to live with it. Not sure how you are supposed to deal with that level of service.

Can you post what company so we know who to stay away from? :)

Nevermind, you didn't post it was a laser. Oops

[Michael Henriksen]

I have worked for a Chinese company. It was quite an interesting experience although not a particularly pleasant one.

[Kev Williams]

I have to give Triumph props for their willingness to help. When The Dumpster started it's X-axis vibrating and eventual manic skitzoid movements, I explained I thought I needed a new stepper, Yolanda and 'the gang' told me 'no, it's not the stepper', and had me check a variety of other things first, like belt tension and tracking, bearing tension, loose screws. I insisted they send me a motor, and I'd pay for it if that wasn't it. They were right, and now I have a spare stepper! :) -They had a customer in Mexico with the same problem and they hadn't found the cause as of yet. I eventually found the problem to be the ground wire to the X stepper was broken at the soldered joint within the drag chain. The heat shrink was keeping it together enough to work until the chain started pulling it up. They profusely thanked me for discovering the problem- I also contacted them to have several longer-than-stock lens tubes made-- no problem, they made me 3 different lengths for $90 plus air. And when the fiber started engraving screwy, they were quick to offer up a new scanhead, which they sent me in November, and let me keep both for troubleshooting purposes for 3 months. They've been real good to work with. But it helps that I know how to fix my own stuff for the most part, how good of service I'd get in a 'totally clueless' situation, I can't say, but they've always given me the impression they'd rather help than avoid it. :)

[Michael Henriksen]

Some of the G. Weike sales people speak really bad English even before the sale and can be somewhat pushy and rude.

[Gary Hair]

We ordered a piece of equipment from China once. It came and it wasn't what we ordered. Didn't have the things it was supposed to. Keep in mind, they have your money already. Contacted them and was told "Sorry, we make mistake, please sell this one and order another one and we will be sure to make sure it's all right".

And that was the extent of the fix. No discounts, no money back, no nothing. Just sent us something different than we ordered and told us to live with it. Not sure how you are supposed to deal with that level of service.

Although my dealing with G. Weike wasn't quite as bad as you described, it was similar enough to swear me off of them and make sure I let everyone know about it.

[Michael Henriksen]

I'm fortunate enough to have been born with mekanickel abilities and ain't too bad with electric stuff, so I'm not the least bit afraid to buy the cheapest machine I can find. Because like Steve just said, they all come from the same shelf. ;)


Kev, I agree with you on that. It often comes down to the skill and ability of the user. The machines are pretty near identical and the difference is in how sloppy or not they are put together. Of course there can be a few counterfeit parts to look out for as well. A lot of the people who have bad experiences with Ebay laser are partly to blame themselves. They buy something cheap but really need the kind of service you get from buying an expensive western made laser. I've owened on of the cheap 350 machines, aka "blue/white" and with minimal tinkering it was working fine. However if I did not have some prior experience and a determination to get stuck in, it probably would be a paperweight now.

My recent LG900 has worked well right off the bat but even then there was a sloppy piece of assembly - the X-axis limit switch was positioned so the belt tightener would strafe the pulley block before the limit switch was activated, resulting in a bang every time the machine homed. Easy fix. I know full well that when I buy a Chinese machine to this pirce point this is to be expected. It doesn't put me off buying Chinese machines though.

Considering how many machines some of the Chinese companies sell there are surprisingly few reviews out there. I recenly got a quote from Leiming Laser (aka Senfeng Laser). Their comms is decent, the price includes 3 days onsite setup and training and the have manuals online that are not too bad by Chinese standards. However I have not been able to find any feedback about them. I wonder if it is a case of people mainly posting bad experiences?

[Rodne Gold]

I have bought 8 co2 lasers and a fiber from China (yarde feng from shenhui and then when he moved , from liaocheng longtai) and they have all exceeded my expectations in both service and support..all still running.

Was going to go for a 1-2kw fiber cutter , 2mx3m but decided that it wasnt really my market and material handling would be an issue ..depending on source pricing was $60-80k
My 20w fiber cost me $5k door to door via airfreight..does what it says on the tin and more


I also import 2 x 40 ft containers a year from China , trophies , medals , plaques , crystal , acrylic sheet , engraving laminates and so on..once again..top quality products , service etc all beyond reproach .. been doing so for the last 7-8 years and never a glitch..in fact my chinese suppliers have despatched goods without payment being received..thats how much they trust me..

[Dave Sheldrake]

The problem with fibers is they are complex when stuff goes wrong and by far the biggest expense is post if you need a spare such as a ballscrew that gets bent or such like, a right hand side BScrew for mine weighs 45lb and is 8 feet long`it's also not at all unusual for the bigger machines to arrive bowed (that's a nightmare to fix)

If you go fiber, go big, 1.0kw to 2.5kw minimum and 4kw if possible, prices for the smaller ones are coming down and the market will end up going the same way (it did with the big CO2's years ago)

Metal cutting is expensive in gas and spares (as well as sheet materials) I don't do anywhere near as much as I used to yet I often still have £20k tied up in sheet stock here along with similar amounts in machine spares.

[Michael Henriksen]

Dave, do you fibers have ball screws on all axis? Many of the Chinese ones use rack and pinion on the Y, even some of the 1325 size ones I'm considering.

I agree that bigger is better if we are talking job shop. However my main motivation for buying a laser has changed now I'm moving to Denmark. I might take on the odd cutting job depending on what it is, but my main use will be development and manufacturing of my own products. They are unique and have a high enough markup to justify a fiber laser purchase. Making prototypes would be a nightmare if I had to pay someone else to do the cutting for me both in terms of cost and time. If I ever get into a position where I would need something made in high volume I would then farm it out rather than cut it myself.

I would not have to keep much sheet material in stock. A major stockholder is only 30mins drive away and since I would mostly use thin sheets, handling is not much of an issue. Gas supplier is also a short drive away.

I fully agree that fiber lasers will be more prolific in the not too distant future. That's why I focus on own design products as my primary source of income.

Anyway, to get back on topic I still think quotes are a bit all over the place but then the same seem to be the case for western made machines if you consider how much they are able to offer as trade fair discount. Perhaps I just need to improve my haggling skills. In terms of warranty, most offer 3 years on the machine, 2 years on the source.

[Dave Sheldrake]

terms of warranty, most offer 3 years on the machine, 2 years on the source.

To be honest, both are equally worthless, I've yet to find a manufacturer over there that won't try to wiggle out of the warranty when it comes to expensive components :( The resonator is 80% of the machine price on a Fiber and they simply make up excuses as to why they won't replace them :(

Yea, all of mine are ball screw, it's a LOT more reliable and accurate on smaller machines, Rack is good, until they wear, then they are a pain, ball screw is easily adjustable :)

Price depends on date, Chinese sales staff are commission based, the nearer to the end of the sales month the more prices vary, if they are down on numbers they will lower prices to get the sales they need. Don't be under the illusion that you ever get to speak to middle management via email, they are all just titles to make it seem like they are managers. Only way to get to middle management is by visiting personally.

The sales staff have their factory price, from that they decide what markup they want, last time I was there a $2,200 laser was $1,650 sales girl price and any warranty claims usually in part come from the commission hence why getting any kind of decent warranty is difficult.
They have to make $XXX a month, once they hit that they have more leeway to work with you on prices :)

[Michael Henriksen]

Do you know if the warranty situation is better on nLight or IPG compared to Raycus? I assume the assemblers have a factory warranty to fall back on?

I'm considering if the new 1390 fiber machines coming out would be a good option for me. They have ballscrews. It's a bit of an odd size in relation to metal sheet sizes though.

I'm well aware of the hierarchy in Chinese companies having worked for one. The managers were only brought in for special occasions where high-ups from the customer would be present.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Do you know if the warranty situation is better on nLight or IPG compared to Raycus? I assume the assemblers have a factory warranty to fall back on?

The irony is the assembler will often make a warranty claim and get a new tube, then charge you for the replacement :(


I'm considering if the new 1390 fiber machines coming out would be a good option for me. They have ballscrews. It's a bit of an odd size in relation to metal sheet sizes though.

Could be useful, I was considering one for small part work with a 1kw source but at the minute time is killing me...I simply don't get any working 18 hour days :( one of the assemblies I make has a set of small spring clips on it, I have to make 10,000 of the dam things a month, a small fiber would be ideal for those rather than tying up other machines but it's making time to sort it all out is the pain :(

Top drawer nesting software is a must when you work non standard sheet sizes, other than the Japanese machine dedicated stuff like MitsuNest the best I found is Vectrics Aspire, save saves a lot of money over time, you don't have edge detection on the cheaper fibers but with a 10mm boundary that's not really a problem anyways

Being honest, consider ALL Chinese warranties to be worthless and you won't be far off