Triumph Laser - getting an error in EzCad2

[Paul Husing]

Hi all,

We've been reading Sawmill Creek for months and have learned a wealth of information, and for that, we thank you all.

Something that just happened today, Monday of all days, is an error in the EzCad program that will not allow us to operate. Getting this error - Fiber Laser: over temperature. No alarms, no signs of overheat. Ambient temp is 60F in the shop. All fans working. The machine is has been in operation since October 25th. It's a 30W, High Speed Galvo (sino-galvo). We cannot figure out what may be causing this error. We've messaged support but don't expect any reply for hours, or days.

Does anyone here have any experience or direction to point us in?

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Thanks!

Paul

[Paul Husing]

A few more things we tried:

1. Mark with Laser off - still get over temperature error

2. Set system restore point to last week - still get over temperature error

We would like to un-install EzCad but there's not an un installer. We backed up all of the job files - anyone know the best way to un-install EzCad?

[Gary Hair]

EZ-CAD isn't actually installed, it's just copied to a folder and you run by clicking on the executable file. To "uninstall" it you simply delete the program from your drive. Careful though, make sure you write down every bit of configuration you can find so when you download and "install" a new version you can configure it properly.

Before you do that try and google "Fiber Laser: over temperature" and you may find your answer.


A few more things we tried:

1. Mark with Laser off - still get over temperature error

2. Set system restore point to last week - still get over temperature error

We would like to un-install EzCad but there's not an un installer. We backed up all of the job files - anyone know the best way to un-install EzCad?

[Scott Shepherd]

It's a Chinese holiday right now. Might not hear anything for another week or so.

[Kev Williams]

I have a Triumph fiber, what Gary says is on the money, it's not an installed program, it just runs from a folder. I doubt the program is the problem, but if you think it is, just do this:

Create a new folder, call it Triumph Test or whatever...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/desgiwmaapsemm7/laser%20marker%20software.zip?dl=0
^^ this is link to the Triumph EzCad software, go there and download it...
Once downloaded, copy or move it to your new folder...

you shouldn't need to install drivers or anything, just unzip it, then navigate to the "EzCad2.5" folder, then find the EzCad.exe file, and run it...

It should start and work normally, EXCEPT you'll none of your presets, adjustments, saved parameters, etc. just a fresh out of the box EZcad...

You MAY have to run the dog driver, but I don't think so, should just work--

If you still get the error, you'll know it's not software based...

[Paul Husing]

EZ-CAD isn't actually installed, it's just copied to a folder and you run by clicking on the executable file. To "uninstall" it you simply delete the program from your drive. Careful though, make sure you write down every bit of configuration you can find so when you download and "install" a new version you can configure it properly.

Before you do that try and google "Fiber Laser: over temperature" and you may find your answer.

Gary - Thanks for the info, we'll give that a try. We've scoured Google & everything else we could think of to no avail. The jobs are piling up so we're ready to try pretty much anything.

[Paul Husing]

It's a Chinese holiday right now. Might not hear anything for another week or so.

Damn, that's not what we wanted to hear. If we can't get anywhere on our own, we may be SOL.

[Paul Husing]

I have a Triumph fiber, what Gary says is on the money, it's not an installed program, it just runs from a folder. I doubt the program is the problem, but if you think it is, just do this:

Create a new folder, call it Triumph Test or whatever...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/desgiwmaapsemm7/laser%20marker%20software.zip?dl=0
^^ this is link to the Triumph EzCad software, go there and download it...
Once downloaded, copy or move it to your new folder...

you shouldn't need to install drivers or anything, just unzip it, then navigate to the "EzCad2.5" folder, then find the EzCad.exe file, and run it...

It should start and work normally, EXCEPT you'll none of your presets, adjustments, saved parameters, etc. just a fresh out of the box EZcad...

You MAY have to run the dog driver, but I don't think so, should just work--

If you still get the error, you'll know it's not software based...

Kev, Thanks for the detailed info. I did determine that it's not software. All signs point to the source. I'll swap the 24VDC power supply tomorrow, but I don't think that's going to do it. Has good output at 24.1 but there's no demand on it - like the source isn't pulling power. After I reset the laser and Mark, it will make a slight crackle like I'm lasing but just shit the bed after a second. Planning on taking the power supply out tomorrow to load test it. If that passes the test, the source is the only other thing, that I know of?

Any idea(s) on testing the source? The fan is running and the cables are connected - just no delivery

[Kev Williams]

While rooting around the innernet I found a reference to 'overtemp protection' to do with the power supply...

While rooting around inside my Triumph not long ago, I was aghast at the crapload of the metal particles floating around that didn't make it into my exhaust hose DID make it into the cabinet, everything inside was covered with the stuff-- makes sense since the cooling fans just suck in whatever with no filters-- Now, considering that most of the particulates are METAL, and metal conducts electricity, it stands to reason that this crap can create current pathways or good old short circuits...

that all said, you might trying doing what I did: take an air hose and blow all the crap out of and off of everything in the cabinet!

And while you're in there, unplug and re-plug all connectors. A can of CRS electronics spray cleaner is your friend here, spray everything with the stuff- it's available at any car parts store and usually Walmart, red/white cans- There's a basic 'regular' type, and one call 'electro-motion' I think it is, it's completely non-conductive, it's meant to spray onto/into electrically live electronics-- I spray it into my engraving machine motors to blow out the carbon dust, WHILE THEY'RE RUNNING!

Anyway, with any luck your problem is just something a little cleaning up and wire checking might fix... :)

[Paul Husing]

While rooting around the innernet I found a reference to 'overtemp protection' to do with the power supply...

While rooting around inside my Triumph not long ago, I was aghast at the crapload of the metal particles floating around that didn't make it into my exhaust hose DID make it into the cabinet, everything inside was covered with the stuff-- makes sense since the cooling fans just suck in whatever with no filters-- Now, considering that most of the particulates are METAL, and metal conducts electricity, it stands to reason that this crap can create current pathways or good old short circuits...

that all said, you might trying doing what I did: take an air hose and blow all the crap out of and off of everything in the cabinet!

And while you're in there, unplug and re-plug all connectors. A can of CRS electronics spray cleaner is your friend here, spray everything with the stuff- it's available at any car parts store and usually Walmart, red/white cans- There's a basic 'regular' type, and one call 'electro-motion' I think it is, it's completely non-conductive, it's meant to spray onto/into electrically live electronics-- I spray it into my engraving machine motors to blow out the carbon dust, WHILE THEY'RE RUNNING!

Anyway, with any luck your problem is just something a little cleaning up and wire checking might fix... :)

Kev - just completed blowing everything out and checking all connections. Still the same result - no lasing and after 2-3 tries the error code. The power supply seems to be producing but I have another one being delivered tomorrow.

Really frustrating - we have jobs piling up.

Thanks for the support & I'll keep updating, hopefully with a fix soon.

[Kev Williams]

a stabbing in the dark question-- are the mirrors moving before the error code comes up ? Will it do a red-light preview before you attempt to fire? My thought is, if the mirrors aren't moving for whatever reason, the controller may know they're not moving (feedback?) and that might be a reason to throw the code?

Another thought: awhile back I found a fried fly or some other bug on TOP of the lens in my Triumph fiber- This was probably taken care of during your recent cleaning, unless you have a separate table/tower setup? If so, I wonder if some bug or something may be blocking the fiber beam? Not sure if the laser would even 'know' that but if something is causing laser light to reflect backwards thru the fiber optics--?

[Paul Husing]

a stabbing in the dark question-- are the mirrors moving before the error code comes up ? Will it do a red-light preview before you attempt to fire? My thought is, if the mirrors aren't moving for whatever reason, the controller may know they're not moving (feedback?) and that might be a reason to throw the code?

Another thought: awhile back I found a fried fly or some other bug on TOP of the lens in my Triumph fiber- This was probably taken care of during your recent cleaning, unless you have a separate table/tower setup? If so, I wonder if some bug or something may be blocking the fiber beam? Not sure if the laser would even 'know' that but if something is causing laser light to reflect backwards thru the fiber optics--?

Kev,

Thanks for the suggestion. The mirrors are moving, text trace works great - visible on the work piece. Just for good measure we just pulled the lens again and blew everything out again but still have the same results.

Power supply will be here very soon - really hoping that solves the problem.

Considering ordering a new source from a site a guy turned me onto yesterday - Cloudraylaser.com. My current source is JPT manufacturing Model YDFLP-30-LP1+-S on AliE for $2400. If I have to, I'm considering swapping out for a Raycus 20W or 30W Q-Switched. About $500 difference between the 20 and 30.

[Kev Williams]

Can't go wrong with Cloudray, I've bought probably a dozen C02 lenses, half dozen mirrors and two fiber lenses from them, no issues...

Another question, how old is your Triumph? (Past the warranty?) And, who do you deal with? From day one my entire 'communication network' is thru email with Yolanda. Even during the holidays, even though there's not much the company can do, she's always gotten back to me within a day or two...

[Paul Husing]

Can't go wrong with Cloudray, I've bought probably a dozen C02 lenses, half dozen mirrors and two fiber lenses from them, no issues...

Another question, how old is your Triumph? (Past the warranty?) And, who do you deal with? From day one my entire 'communication network' is thru email with Yolanda. Even during the holidays, even though there's not much the company can do, she's always gotten back to me within a day or two...

Good to hear about CloudRay.

At Triumph, dealing with David on the support side. We spent about an hour communicating on Monday via WhatsApp to no avail. Just did a bunch of troubleshooting that didn't solve anything. He's not able to get to a PC to remote test the source for awhile because of the holiday. The laser is only a few months old. Ordered late September, arrived mid October.

[Paul Husing]

Update:

Just changed the power supply and we're still having the same problem. Tested the old one out of the unit and it's producing correct voltage and amperage, so that wasn't the issue. At this point, it appears to be the fiber source.

I've Googled laser / fiber repair companies for someone to come out and test the source with no good results. Has anyone ever located a service company that does such a thing? I would think with all of the fiber technology that we have today, someone would have a business in major markets. I'm in Virginia Beach, Va with very large military bases and a decent population - it's a little perplexing.

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[Bill George]

I think most folks who order direct from China realize that support may be non-existent Industrial users usually pay a Lot more for machines so they can just call someone and have it repaired. Who knows when you get done with this you might want to be a repair station?

[Paul Husing]

I think most folks who order direct from China realize that support may be non-existent Industrial users usually pay a Lot more for machines so they can just call someone and have it repaired. Who knows when you get done with this you might want to be a repair station?

Haha, that's a possibility. There is a lot of profit in service businesses, especially when there's no competition (that anyone can find). I will say that I'm learning a lot, actually enough to build a fiber system with parts available online. Although, if I start one more business, my wife may change the locks on the house :eek:

[Neville Stewart]

Did you fix it yet? Is there any chance you changed how it’s powered, moved to another socket or ??? It should be powered off the 220 side of the 110/220 trans. Could that have changed?

[Paul Husing]

Did you fix it yet? Is there any chance you changed how it’s powered, moved to another socket or ??? It should be powered off the 220 side of the 110/220 trans. Could that have changed?

Neville,

Not fixed yet. Waiting to have the laser source tested.

It's a 110V system, I'm not sure what you mean by powered off the 220 side of the 110/220 trans. The laser source is powered by the 24VDC power supply, which is working as it should and the source is getting the 24V. Nothing changed with the setup at all. It was powered down over the weekend. We came in Monday morning to resume and it wouldn't work.

Paul

[Scott Shepherd]

In my experience, they tend to work and in an instant, they don't work and it's done. It's the source. I don't know who the source is, but Raycus has a 2 year warranty on them from the factory. It'll run you about $800 in shipping to get it there and back.

[Kev Williams]

other possibility could be the controller card, if f'rinstance the laser isn't pulsing due to the card sending wrong instructions to the source, I could see where that might throw an overheat code... ?

[Paul Husing]

In my experience, they tend to work and in an instant, they don't work and it's done. It's the source. I don't know who the source is, but Raycus has a 2 year warranty on them from the factory. It'll run you about $800 in shipping to get it there and back.

The source is JPT and I'm almost positive it's bad. There's a chance that the fiber cable could have been pinched and broke fibers but it's not very likely. Like you said, it was working and then it wasn't. The whole system is about 90 days old and the MFG date on the source is 8/2018. Should be under warranty but they are on holiday with less communication than usual. It's a Triumph machine with JPT source. The warranty is 1 Year. The marketing always says 100,000 hours of life but there's no way that can even be quantified (at lease with their set up).

402935

[Paul Husing]

other possibility could be the controller card, if f'rinstance the laser isn't pulsing due to the card sending wrong instructions to the source, I could see where that might throw an overheat code... ?

I considered that but wouldn't that affect the trace functionality?

[Neville Stewart]

If you got it from China, there is a step up 220 inside and that powers it. There is also a straight 110 off that but If you didnt change anything than my suggestion won’t help.

Neville,

Not fixed yet. Waiting to have the laser source tested.

It's a 110V system, I'm not sure what you mean by powered off the 220 side of the 110/220 trans. The laser source is powered by the 24VDC power supply, which is working as it should and the source is getting the 24V. Nothing changed with the setup at all. It was powered down over the weekend. We came in Monday morning to resume and it wouldn't work.

Paul

[Kev Williams]

I considered that but wouldn't that affect the trace functionality?
hell, who knows? My thought is, the card issuing instructions to red light and move mirrors is pretty simple, and different than firing the laser... IF EzCad detects a laser issue it might halt the mirrors...

--a lot of maybe's and might's, I know ;) ... My Fiber2 machine did a weird thing last week, I'd been away from the machine awhile, and when I got back I put in a new part, and when I hit the foot pedal I noticed a faint 'flash' on my laptop (which sits on a stand on the crank tower), and no engraving-- or so I thought, turns out the laser was actually firing but not moving! What happened was, I'd hit the button at the exact moment the computer went to sleep (the flash) and I'm guessing just a few bytes of data made it to the machine, just enough to fire the laser and do nothing else! With the computer asleep I had to key-off the machine to stop the laser from firing. I would think there would be some sort of fail-safe stop command, but I guess the programmers never thought of that particular scenario..?

All that said, I'm with the group that the source is the likely problem...

[Paul Husing]

hell, who knows? My thought is, the card issuing instructions to red light and move mirrors is pretty simple, and different than firing the laser... IF EzCad detects a laser issue it might halt the mirrors...

--a lot of maybe's and might's, I know ;) ... My Fiber2 machine did a weird thing last week, I'd been away from the machine awhile, and when I got back I put in a new part, and when I hit the foot pedal I noticed a faint 'flash' on my laptop (which sits on a stand on the crank tower), and no engraving-- or so I thought, turns out the laser was actually firing but not moving! What happened was, I'd hit the button at the exact moment the computer went to sleep (the flash) and I'm guessing just a few bytes of data made it to the machine, just enough to fire the laser and do nothing else! With the computer asleep I had to key-off the machine to stop the laser from firing. I would think there would be some sort of fail-safe stop command, but I guess the programmers never thought of that particular scenario..?

All that said, I'm with the group that the source is the likely problem...

Ahhh, fun with lasers :D

All I can say is that this is a hell of a learning experience. Never thought that it would only go a few months before it went down completely. I was in the process of ordering a CO2 laser when I found out that the fiber went down. My intentions were to get a CO2 in place and then add another fiber 2-3 months from now. This is certainly a game changer!

[Floyd Siegal]

Try Checking your pin connections 403035
And note this info from the manual..."Remarks: After provide 24V voltage, you need to wait 12s to operate① Fiber laser control system self-locking: If fiber laser received unusual testing signal(Just like: long time not connect control card, high temperature, high frequency signal, low24V power supply) the fiber laser will stop to receive the instruction. Please again powersupply the fiber laser if you need to recover the machine."
Also check all of your F3 settings to see if anything looks wonky. It's been my experience that the slightest weak wire or pin connection can cause that error.
Good luck,
Floyd at Sun-Fyr

[John Lifer]

I get an over temp alarm if I try and engrave and I missed turning on one of the two front buttons. Have you checked wiring from switches to the laser? Might be as simple as a loose wire inside the box. You can do all red light stuff, just can't laser.

[Paul Husing]

Update:

Finally had a trouble shooting session with Triumph support after a week of waiting. After going through a series of tests and remote connecting to the machine via TeamViewer they determined that the laser source is bad. They say I will have a replacement in 3 days and the bad one needs to be sent back. In the mean time, the old one needs to be removed from the machine, packaged well but economical (their request) and ready for pick up.

I have to say that this whole experience has been very frustrating and we had to outsource business for over a week now and lost several jobs because of turnaround time. When I purchased this machine I knew I would be sacrificing service to save money but I never thought that it would fail so soon.

Has anyone had issues with machines purchased / sourced in the states? How quickly were any issues resolved?

I'm considering purchasing a back up machine and really at an impasse on where to purchase.

And again, I really appreciate all of your feedback so far. I have learned a lot in the past week and my troubleshooting skills have been put to the test.

[Paul Husing]

Try Checking your pin connections 403035
And note this info from the manual..."Remarks: After provide 24V voltage, you need to wait 12s to operate① Fiber laser control system self-locking: If fiber laser received unusual testing signal(Just like: long time not connect control card, high temperature, high frequency signal, low24V power supply) the fiber laser will stop to receive the instruction. Please again powersupply the fiber laser if you need to recover the machine."
Also check all of your F3 settings to see if anything looks wonky. It's been my experience that the slightest weak wire or pin connection can cause that error.
Good luck,
Floyd at Sun-Fyr

Floyd,

Very good information - I'll keep that in my trouble shooting file. We did replace the serial cable as a trouble shooting measure with the same result. Changed the 24VDC power supply as well. When the manufacturer finally did a trouble shooting session they had me connect the USB cable direct to the laser source (bypassing the serial cable) and the laser still did not fire with any power. That still doesn't rule out the fiber cable being bad, but we have no way to check the fibers inside of the cable. There were no visible kinks or abnormalities but when fibers are broken, in my experience, the only way you can verify is by connecting to a testing source.

Thank you for the great information though.

[John Lifer]

Do what some others here have done, buy cheap Ebay Fiber. Use as backup or second machine. US builders are 2 to 3 times or more expensive. And have a lot of the same parts.

[Kev Williams]

Do what some others here have done, buy cheap Ebay Fiber.
I bought 2 of em, and best I can tell, I got the last 'cheap' one-- best-priced US-sourced 30w fiber I can find on ebay right now is $5500, I paid less the $4k for both of mine. I'm hoping the group of sellers who I got mine from is in the process of bringing more in-- and by 'US sourced' I mean they're basic shelf-built Chinese machines, but they're sitting in warehouses in THIS country, no tariff or duty crap, just good ol' free 3-day shipping.

They work well, and good thing, I have jobs on all 3 at the moment, and could put jobs on 3 more :)

[Paul Husing]

Yes - we are looking at one of the US based sellers, Chinese product, that still have pre-tarrif inventory. The plan was to purchase a CO2 but now we are reconsidering because of the Triumph failure. There are still some $3k-4k machines around. My current plan is to see if the replacement source works and then make a decision on moving forward.

[Paul Husing]

Oh gawd, not another laser salesman.

Paul- Trust me on this, your laser failure is an anomaly, NOT the norm. In fact, in the 6 years so I've been a party to this forum, yours is the first fiber laser AT ALL that I can think of to lose the actual laser source. Now, I had a scanhead go bonkers on me -or not, I'm still thinking it was a loose plug wire on the board, but Triumph insisted on replacing it under warranty-- and off the top of my head I can't think of anyone else who's had a scanhead fail. Like with your failed source, I consider it an unlucky fluke, and these same flukes can happen with ANY laser, including a "real" TRUMPH.

And accession numbers, Triumph yes, the other 2, don't need 'em as they were imported then re-sold by a US based company, accession numbers are THEIR problem, not mine...

Kev - I do believe that the failure was an anomaly, but its still a major setback and it's costing money every day that it doesn't operate. Over a week now. All of the sources that I've found in the US (Chinese made) are almost as much as the whole laser. The replacement that they are shipping has not moved at all - DHL tracking says Shipping Information Received. I called DHL and they cannot give me any information, just what the website tracking says.

There is a Q-switched Raycus on CloudRay 30W for $2400. My source was a MOPA which is quite a bit more expensive. I've read about the differences between MOPA and Q-switched and right now its time and money. The shipping on CloudRay says DHL for $183 - that leads me to believe it's shipping from overseas as well - any thoughts?

[Kev Williams]

Paul-- sorry...

Cloudray stuff does come from China, I've bought a lot of it! Didn't realize you had a MOPA, not that THAT makes any difference to your situation, you still can't work without a machine!

Being fairly new here, you likely don't know much about me, so the short version: been engraving for over 50 years, doing it full time since early 1976. At this point in time I have 10 New Hermes/Gravograph rotary machines, a New Hermes vinyl cutter, 3 C02 'metal' lasers, 1 C02 'glass' laser, and 3 fiber lasers. And it's all stuffed into our 1300 sq ft home's basement and garage. Nope, there's no room left ;)

probably THEE main reason for so many machines, is redundancy. That, and they just won't wear out. Many of my machines are 'fairly' proprietary, to certain customers or types of jobs. Makes for short setup times. But the main thing is, it's highly unlikely that a machine going down will stop the work flow. Having backups is wonderful...

--and of the 18 machines I have, only 8 were purchased new, all the others were used machines.

So-- if you have the work, do consider getting backup machines if at all possible... if one falters, you have a backup... if more work comes in, you're ready :)

[Bill George]

You will find DHL tracking to be not updated. I have had China shipments at my door and the tracking said otherwise.

[Paul Husing]

You will find DHL tracking to be not updated. I have had China shipments at my door and the tracking said otherwise.

Bill, I spoke with DHL today and the package was not released on 2/12 when it was scheduled for pick up.

I just made an ebay purchase that I will be picking up in Kentucky tomorrow. New 20W machine $4k. The "brand" appears to be Ving. The seller sells under several ID's at varying prices, ship costs...but did offer local pickup so that's the option I exercised. Hopefully it's good enough to get us caught up until a new source arrives.

Thanks to everyone for your support & advice and I'll keep ya posted on the new machine.

[Kev Williams]

Bill, I spoke with DHL today and the package was not released on 2/12 when it was scheduled for pick up.

I just made an ebay purchase that I will be picking up in Kentucky tomorrow. New 20W machine $4k. The "brand" appears to be Ving. The seller sells under several ID's at varying prices, ship costs...but did offer local pickup so that's the option I exercised. Hopefully it's good enough to get us caught up until a new source arrives.

Thanks to everyone for your support & advice and I'll keep ya posted on the new machine.
So, how's it workin' out?

[Paul Husing]

So, after some setup, troubleshooting, adjustments and refinements, the new ebay machine is producing. The Q-switched source is a lot different than the MOPA, way different results with identical settings. The Q-switched (maxphonics source) seems to have more power, so we need to back it off and do less loops. We end up with more of a deep engrave instead of a nice anneal. Also got another MOPA source installed on the original machine and it's back up and running. It was in fact a bad source - nothing else was changed, just the source.

At this point I am looking for a CO2, 80W max. I'd like to get the largest work area possible but I'm not finding any "in the USA" now, just direct ship from China so customs and import headaches would apply. Considering another from ebay with a 700x500 bed @ 80w in the $2500 ball park.

If any new info has been found on CO2, I would love to read it. I'll continue reading the threads here and make a purchase very soon.

Thanks again for all of your help!

[Paul Husing]

So, how's it workin' out?

So, after some setup, troubleshooting, adjustments and refinements, the new ebay machine is producing. The Q-switched source is a lot different than the MOPA, way different results with identical settings. The Q-switched (maxphonics source) seems to have more power, so we need to back it off and do less loops. We end up with more of a deep engrave instead of a nice anneal. Also got another MOPA source installed on the original machine and it's back up and running. It was in fact a bad source - nothing else was changed, just the source.

At this point I am looking for a CO2, 80W max. I'd like to get the largest work area possible but I'm not finding any "in the USA" now, just direct ship from China so customs and import headaches would apply. Considering another from ebay with a 700x500 bed @ 80w in the $2500 ball park.

If any new info has been found on CO2, I would love to read it. I'll continue reading the threads here and make a purchase very soon.

Thanks again for all of your help!

[Kev Williams]

There's a bunch of 500x700 x80/100watt machines sitting in Anaheim California for $2250, sold by about 6 sellers with different names (5 of the 6 have 'freeshipping' in their seller name)-- pics of the machines look okay, I'm thinking they're probably okay machines-- My view of such machines, like the fiber's I've bought, are less of a gamble for ME, because I'm makaniklee inklinde enough to figure out what makes them work, how to troubleshoot, and how to repair the things. Even the electronics, which I'm not all that bright about, don't bother me with Chinese machines because the whole units are cheap, even if warranty service ends up non-existant... my biggest worry with one of these machines would be simply that I KNOW it'll need a complete optics alignment and likely a good check of the squareness of the gantry setup. Aside from that, all these machines use the same off-the-shelf stuff as the next one...

[Jerome Stanek]

I have bought from Goldraydigital and they shipped my laser super fast. I would buy from them again as they did support the chiller that had a bad fan.

[Paul Husing]

I have bought from Goldraydigital and they shipped my laser super fast. I would buy from them again as they did support the chiller that had a bad fan.

Yes, I did look at some of the machines that Goldraydigital has on ebay. There's another by preenex that I'm going to try. With a bunch of add ons (chiller, supplemental exhaust fan, rotary by Mansfieldcustoms and a bunch of voltage/current/PSI monitors) I'll be under $3k and have it in 1 week. There are supposed to be some additional access doors that open to work with larger pieces. I bought a spare tube as well.

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[Chris DeGerolamo]

So, after some setup, troubleshooting, adjustments and refinements, the new ebay machine is producing. The Q-switched source is a lot different than the MOPA, way different results with identical settings. The Q-switched (maxphonics source) seems to have more power, so we need to back it off and do less loops. We end up with more of a deep engrave instead of a nice anneal. Also got another MOPA source installed on the original machine and it's back up and running. It was in fact a bad source - nothing else was changed, just the source.

At this point I am looking for a CO2, 80W max. I'd like to get the largest work area possible but I'm not finding any "in the USA" now, just direct ship from China so customs and import headaches would apply. Considering another from ebay with a 700x500 bed @ 80w in the $2500 ball park.

If any new info has been found on CO2, I would love to read it. I'll continue reading the threads here and make a purchase very soon.

Thanks again for all of your help!




Can you elaborate on the process to install the new source, aside from the obvious disconnect DB's etc.? I am in the same boat with our Raycus... Thanks in advance.