Lasers

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

Hey guys, it's me again. We are looking at purchasing another laser and was wondering if any of you know of any good deals out there but also really good machines. After what happened when we purchased our first one in 2006, I thought I'd reach out and get some advise before we proceed. We would like to have at least 100 watt with rotary . . . if we can afford it : )

Thanks,
Zelma

[Mike Null]

Zelma
I've had my second Trotec for about a year and a half. It's an 80 watt and more than adequate for my business. They are widely regarded as the best of today's field of laser engravers. The rotary device is dead on accurate even for repeat work.

[Kev Williams]

" After what happened when we purchased our first one in 2006..."

so, what happened?

I won't be much help in the suggestion department, I'm in my 43rd year in this biz full time, I've had and still have a multitude of machines that have given me great service over the years, the vast majority of them New Hermes/Gravograph machines, with some Universal (my first laser), GCC (Taiwan/Synrad) Triumph (China/RECI glass C02 and a fiber laser) and even ebay machines (2 fibers) thrown in. In all those years my 'major' repair bills have been $1700 for a rebuilt power supply and $380 to have a stepper driver rebuilt. All other money I've spent has been purely wear/tear maintenance stuff and a few computer issues.

Knock on my head, I've been pretty lucky when it comes to 'trouble-free service' regardless of brand :)

[Keith Outten]

I'm also a Trotec fan. My laser has to be fast in order to be profitable mostly because I engrave a lot of Corian. I can't disagree that they are a bit pricey but Trotec lasers save money over the long haul if you keep them busy.

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

" After what happened when we purchased our first one in 2006..."

so, what happened?

I won't be much help in the suggestion department, I'm in my 43rd year in this biz full time, I've had and still have a multitude of machines that have given me great service over the years, the vast majority of them New Hermes/Gravograph machines, with some Universal (my first laser), GCC (Taiwan/Synrad) Triumph (China/RECI glass C02 and a fiber laser) and even ebay machines (2 fibers) thrown in. In all those years my 'major' repair bills have been $1700 for a rebuilt power supply and $380 to have a stepper driver rebuilt. All other money I've spent has been purely wear/tear maintenance stuff and a few computer issues.

Knock on my head, I've been pretty lucky when it comes to 'trouble-free service' regardless of brand :)
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It was long time ago, a very long story and not much fun but long story short, after weeks of issues with our laser this particular company finally replaced our laser with an upgrade. Since then they have been a great company.

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[Jerome Stanek]

If you are happy with the one you have why not get another of the same kind.

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

Listening to others that might have had a better experience than we had.

[Bill George]

Listening to others that might have had a better experience than we had.

So which one do you have now and you wanted a 100 watt with a rotary, whats your budget? Why a 100 watt they are not so great on Engraving but do well on Cutting because of the dot size.

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

After seeing what others have to say and pricing them, we would more than likely go with an 80 watt, if we can even afford that. Our budget is pretty limited, but we have two options, lay it down and walk away or purchase. Now to decide what size bed we really need.

[Jerome Stanek]

What are you looking for a Chinese laser or a western one. I bought my Chinese laser for about $4500 shipped from inside the US. It is a 1060 bed and 130watt came with a CW 5000 chiller and a 3 jaw rotary shipping was Friday to Wednesday over the weekend. I bought it from godraydigital off ebay very nice people to deal with answered all my questions and solved a small problem with the chiller fan