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Larry Schulte
01-14-2006, 1:14 AM
I was wondering if anyone uses the IE 500/900/1200 laser engravers. I just seen the website and there lasers are quite a bit cheaper than the other lasers on the market and I wanted to see what the difference was if anyone knew. Does it do pretty much the same thing as an Epilog or Pinnacle do. How does it compare to them other brands. Thanks a bunch for the help!
Larry

Lee DeRaud
01-14-2006, 10:33 AM
The prices look good...if I lived in Hong Kong, I'd be all over it.

Then again I have no way to determine shipping/customs/etc charges (and hassle) for stuff being shipped direct to me from Hong Kong. For the same reason, I suspect tech support is effectively nonexistent.

Probably worth another look if/when they get a US-based distributor, but the prices will certainly be a lot higher then.

Joe Pelonio
01-15-2006, 1:01 PM
I stumbled on their site once. CNC routers for $2500, Lasers $900, Vinyl Plotters under $300. When you compare to the normal prices of $8-10,000+ for CNC, $10-20,000+ for lasers and $2-3,000+ for plotters, you really have to wonder if it's the old "too good to be true". They do have to be shipped from Hong Kong, and you have to wonder about the quality
and support. Still I'd love to hear from someone that has bought from this place.

http://www.iehk.net

Hale Reider
01-21-2006, 9:22 AM
I looked into that a while back. Here is a response I recieved to some questions from David Chan; "do not have dealer at USA yet, part can ship by express, just need few days.It is stepper control. There is some machine installed in US at this time. The engraver is built in China, laser tube also. The focus length is 1.5 inches. Spare lens is $55/pcs. There are only one type of focus lens."

They only list laser as watercooled, so that is something to be concerned about. I would want to see the factory and make sure stuff is being mass produced on CNC machine tools and not hand made. That would establish whether the parts would be available in the future and replacement parts would work. I was in Taiwan last year and I would have no problem with anything built there. China is still a little dicey.

If you search the internet, there may be as many as 15 or 20 laser companies in China It looks like all of them have copied someone elses machines. I found copies of the GCC machines there, at lease they look from the outside like the GCC machines.

Hale Reider

C P
01-24-2006, 4:00 PM
...with Ink Express. Hi, I'm new here.

I think this is a shaky deal, though the price is unbelievable. You could buy 2 for the price of one of the typical brands and get twice the power and at least twice the work area. Read correspondence below.


(13:34:13) Chris: I have some questions about your IE1200 laser engraver, is there a good English speaker there?
(13:35:19) Ink Express: yes, pls ask
(13:35:37) Chris: What is the wattage output of the laser?
(13:36:39) Ink Express: 60/80W
(13:37:12) Chris: Is it a choice between 60 or 80? Which one comes with the laser at the 3999 price?
(13:38:01) Ink Express: 60W 3999
(13:38:04) Ink Express: 80W +450
(13:38:08) Chris: Wow.
(13:38:17) Chris: And is there an autofocus function?
(13:38:31) Ink Express: no
(13:39:03) Chris: Do you have any customers in the USA who I can call or visit to see how they like their laser?
(13:40:03) Ink Express: no have yet
(13:42:16) Chris: Are the parts of the laser hand made, or machine made?
(13:44:14) Ink Express: sure machine made:)
(13:47:18) Chris: What about warranty?
(13:47:22) Chris: What if something breaks?
(13:47:28) Chris: Am I on my own?
(13:48:44) Ink Express: we can supply the parts, but you need to repair it yourself
(13:48:54) Chris: I see.
(13:49:15) Chris: Who writes the drivers for the machine/PC communication?
(13:50:04) Ink Express: the company made the control card
(13:50:23) Chris: The company meaning, IE ?
(13:50:44) Ink Express: is other company.
(13:51:14) Chris: I see.
(13:51:35) Chris: Well, thank you for your time, I may be back in touch with you soon.
(13:51:58) Ink Express: see you.:)

Michael Wells
01-26-2006, 2:33 PM
I don't think I would be buying their equipment until they have an agent inside the USA, somebody responsible for safety, etc.

I do have to say though, I use their sublimation inks which are a fraction of the cost of the average American Ink and they work well. Problem is for me that I really hate supporting the Chinese Government by buying the products, but I have to stay competitive.

I've got this fear that the Chinese are going to economically ruin the USA if something isn't done soon! Heck, look at virtually every product that is being sold at an affordable price now. It comes from China. It used to be Taiwan, and before that it was Japan. I don't mean to turn this into a political discussion, but it's something to think about!
Michael

Joe Pelonio
01-26-2006, 2:51 PM
I'd bet that many of the parts in our lasers and other equipment come from overseas, but at least we know that most were designed, assembled, and supported by people here. I had a woman come into the shop about a year ago offering to do large vinyl jobs, cutting, weeding and taping, and her price was less than what I pay for just the vinyl from my wholesaler, and that included the shipping. She told me that I would e-mail files to her and she would send them on to China where the work would be done, then shipped to me. With the amount of jobs I do that would dramatically increase my profits, but I didn't even consider it for the reason Michael mentioned. Just the outsourcing of tech support to India drives me up the wall. If my competitors start sending work to China or other places that pay less than 1/10 of what we have to for labor, there's no way I could compete, but I'll go out of business before I'd do it.

Lee DeRaud
01-26-2006, 3:16 PM
I don't think I would be buying their equipment until they have an agent inside the USA, somebody responsible for safety, etc.Based on the IM conversation listed above, whoever orders one of these beasts would be the first US customer. I'd certainly hate for a multi-$K machine I'd ordered to get hung up in customs as evidence in a patent-infringement case. Not to mention that, with the (more-or-less nonexistent) distribution set-up they've got, I'd be named in the suit as the "importer".

Charlie Lowrey
02-21-2006, 2:43 PM
I was wondering if anyone uses the IE 500/900/1200 laser engravers. I just seen the website and there lasers are quite a bit cheaper than the other lasers on the market and I wanted to see what the difference was if anyone knew. Does it do pretty much the same thing as an Epilog or Pinnacle do. How does it compare to them other brands. Thanks a bunch for the help!
Larry
Yes, we have 2 IE300 IE1200 they have software:( problems and customer:( support all help is written in Chinese. software is more on the old dos format not very window friendly.
We are trying to update the software problems
when this problem is solved the will be a good buy but we recomend to go to "Redsail" sales@hflaser,com address it to Tonglei say that we sent you
they have done:) much better job.
*************************************************
Thank You
Mary, Charlie & Crew
Portland Engraving
aka; M. Lowrey Engraving "Since 1984"
13610 S. E. Rhone St.
Portland, Oregon USA 97236-2946
PHONE; 503-761-5233
FAX; 503-7614755
Toll Free; 800-761-5233
New WEB Site; www.mlowreyengraving.com (http://www.mlowreyengraving.com)
EMAIL; info@mlowreyengraving.com (info@mlowreyengraving.com)
Personal Email; mclowrey@msn.com (mclowrey@msn.com)

David Barron
02-21-2006, 2:47 PM
I'd watch out for those glass tubes also.

Dave

Stephen Parkinson
06-25-2006, 1:26 PM
I purchased an IE300 and it was sent from Hong Kong very fast. It was delivered 7 days after I sent the wire transfer money to their bank. However, there were a number of problems with it. The 120/240 transformer was in pieces when it arrived, and after putting it back together it didn't work. It cost $50. to replace it with one I got from a local surplus electronics store (Skycraft Surplus in Winter Park Florida - Check out their website - they have a lot of great stuff).
There were other problems too. They sent me a European style power cable, and the exhaust fan was also DOA. I had to replace it with a kitchen type exhaust fan which I built a case for to fit on the flanges of the laser engraver housing.
When I emailed Ink Express, with the details, I got a reply that said the transformer must have been damaged in shipping and that I should buy one locally. No offer to replace it or refund money to buy a new one.
Small details, but they add up to a lot of frustration. The laser itself works pretty well for the most part, but the software is pretty poor. I'm trying to find out if other software will run this machine, but so far I haven't had any luck.
I am considering buying a model 3040A from Redsail who have a sales rep in Canada. The 3040A has a larger work area, and runs on a software called Easycut. From what I can find, Easycut seems to be a good usable program. Anyway, the only way I will buy from Redsail is if I can go to their office in Canada and get a good demo before taking delivery and making payment. I am trying to make arrangements for that, and if they can work with me I will give them a try in the near future.
As for my model IE300 from Ink Express, I'll continue to work with it and hopefully be able to get consistant results with practice. I am trying to learn as much as possible about motion controls for lasers and plotters, and might try to replace it's electronics with components that will let me use Coreldraw or other familiar graphics software. Hopefully that won't be too expensive or too hard to do. For the $1,000. I paid for it, it might not be too bad a deal to consider it a preassembled hardware kit and install my own motion control. As far as Ink Express goes, they didn't steal my money and they did ship super fast, but support is not given after the sale. With several other Chinese companies offering the same unit for sale for as little as $800., if I were to do it all over, I would go for the cheapest price.
When all is said and done, I don't regret buying it. For $1,000. I don't think you could even buy the components in this country to put together a similar unit. By the way, their 40 watt laser tube puts out a lot of power. The tube and the power supply itself might be worth the price for someone who wanted to tear it down and rebuild it to their own specs. If you decide to take the plunge, good luck!

Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Bruce Volden
06-25-2006, 2:20 PM
One thing about these "newer and cheaper" machines, I beleive they will put some pressure on the major manufacturers to decrease prices. I for one think they're a little on the high side. I think this in general is the way of all things in the import market! Look at power and hand tools and the flood of imports, sometimes good for the consumer, sometimes quality issues persist.

Also on the software side of things, I have used a site called rentacoder to have my old LMI machines capable of running under XP (WIN 98 prior, yeah I KNOW). I paid a gentleman in England to develop some type of software to do this~~IT WORKS!!!! Well worth the $1500. So if any of you are dissatisfied with IE's DOS platform, I am sure someone in the world can EASILY fix this for you, probably for a lot less than $1500.

Bruce

Bob Keyes
06-25-2006, 2:25 PM
I ordered an IE500. I contracted a freight forwarder in Charleston, SC, to handle the shipping/importing for me. Their total charges, including inland freight to my door was $797.00. No problems here.

When it arrived the cooling fans for the electronics were not hooked up. Not much problem here. Water pump, exhaust, air assist all worked fine. One problem though, the machine I received was not an IE500. It is a DC-G570 made by another company in China. All software was initially in Chinese as was the manual. Also, I did not receive the vector table or the rotary attachment I ordered.

David Chan was responsive to my requests. Software emailed in English, and manual, such as it is, was also emailed. The vector table and rotary were also shipped as he said.

The software is OK. I do not find it too archaic, but they now have software that runs straight from Corel and Adobe. I would like to upgrade.

The machine worked exactly as advertised. That is until the laser power supply fried. David said to ship it back and they would replace it, but I chose to buy one locally (in the USA) because I have some industrial work and I can't wait for the shipping etc. I am awaiting it's arrival anytime now.

I have a 50 watt laser with, as far as I can tell, all the bells and whistles, table lowers to 24", slope engraving, vector cutting, air assist, hole engraving, good exhaust system, and all else you would expect, except a red dot pointer, for about $5,000.00. There is not much service, although David tries. But, considering the price, you can buy 3 of these for the price of one in the USA.

It has been a little frustrating at times, but I am satisfied at the moment. If I can answer any questions please let me know.

Gary Helms
06-25-2006, 3:32 PM
Bob can I ask where you found the replacement power supply here in the U.S. ?

Bob Keyes
06-25-2006, 3:42 PM
Bob can I ask where you found the replacement power supply here in the U.S. ?

Yes Gary, it came from here: http://www.plans-kits.com/lasers.html#CO2%20Lasers%20&%20Power%20Supply .

These guy have been very helpful. They have power supplies and laser tubes that will fit my laser. Nice info to have.

Roy Brewer
06-26-2006, 9:12 PM
Stephen,

We understand that these glass tubes arn't too bad for vector cutting, but have a very difficult time with rastering(lettering). Can you confirm?

If that is not the case, could you or other users show us a picture of text 10 points or so?