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pete hagan
06-03-2007, 12:12 PM
I just completed a project with the Rabbit HX6090SE where we ran about 300 11.5 X 9.5 (inch) lexan panels used for table centerpiece decorations. The image was the local university's new hospital building and logo in 3/16 acrylic. Each table had three panels on a triangular base with LED edge lighting and a center cylinder vase of orchids with LED lighting below. It looked phenomenal and I am happy to say the client was very pleased. As the event producer I typically farm a lot of these elements out however all my vendors who attempted this job would not have delivered at this level or at the price point.
Frank has delivered to a good level on this machine and I would rate the experience an 80 out of 100. I am use to production level equipment that is made to run 24X7. This machine is not that level but I also didn't pay for that level. The software is a bit dodgy but with patience even the lasercut50 software I had to use was workable. The current drivers do not support CorelX3 period. I only have X3 and Corel 10 so I had to use the enclosed software which is easy to use but relies on Illustrator 7 file formats (for my job) It will import AI 8.0 but complains to do so. It does NOT import text in Illustrator so that is a real pain. I hope CorelX3 support is forthcoming soon.
Overall the sales support is great and Frank certainly is here to make a reputation for himself and the company. THANKS FRANK!
Software support really isn't there and even though Frank will address these questions to the engineers in China there is a giant gap in support at that level. If you are running a shop that requires telephone / email technical support then you are better off buying American products and getting a maintenance contract. If you are like me with even a modest level of computer experience and can patiently debug the machine over time then you can't go wrong with the company based on the single machine I have purchased. I am happy and I'll keep posting experiences as we go along. I will also post a photo as soon as I can.

I would hope we can all share in this forum our combined experiences. These are not servo driven high tolerance machines but for the money are worthy of looking at as additional revenue streams.
Pete

Larry Bratton
06-03-2007, 12:46 PM
Pete:
Tell us what settings you used to do this work with polycarbonate material? Most postings in this forum and others advise against cutting or engraving Lexan or other polycarbonates in a laser. Looks like you might have hit on something that works.

pete hagan
06-03-2007, 9:53 PM
Well I am so used to saying lexan which was wrong. We used the least expensive ACRYLITE FF which worked quite well. A bit of crazing occured when we used full power and 7 for speed. We flamed each piece to glass the edges and remove any atomized acrylic from the detail areas. I used my shop torch with a very low blue flame. Worked wonders.

I'll grab a snapshot tomorrow and post the speeds/power settings

FWIW This is a 60watt CO2 laser.

Pete

Larry Bratton
06-03-2007, 10:07 PM
Oh, OK. I thought we had discovered something new. Thanks for the correction.

Mike Burroughs
06-04-2007, 12:41 AM
i must have missed those...why now lexon or polycarbs?

Mike

Rodne Gold
06-04-2007, 2:43 AM
Flame polishing will actually make stress cracking a LOT worse . stress cracking is a result of heat processed acrylic being exposed to some solvent or other (can be vapours from adjacent items or areas)

Jacqui Marlin
06-04-2007, 10:47 PM
I have decided that the Rabbit laser 3040 purchased with Frank Fang's help will be the best way for me to get into a small part-time business. Reading as much as possible on this forum and also CNC Zone I have appreciated all of the input from everyone and people have been most helpful!

I have set up a PayPal credit card which will pay in foreign currency and give me recourse if there is a problem or delay and it is worth that extra 3%. I am thinking of ordering extra parts at the same time - an extra tube, lens and mirrors?, belts?, power supply? Which of these ? parts might be redundant and which would be a good idea to have? Are there other spare parts I should consider? These are in lieu of a longer warranty.

Another question regards the computer since I will have to buy a Windows machine. I checked today and have many choices of refurbished machines for under $400. Is it important to have a pentium processor? Would Athlon or Celeron be okay? Processor speed? What would be optimum? Is Corel or other program run on the same machine or are files transferred to it for cutting/engraving? (I use a Mac for design work in Adobe) What am I not asking because I don't know to ask? LOL

Do these machines run hot? I live with average 82º temp all year but it sometimes gets hotter and in the house it is probably warmer. Will I need air conditioner to protect the equipment? And last question - is this smaller machine very noisy? (Heard the larger ones are)

Thanks to anyone answering my questions. Am trying to go into this with open eyes.

Jacqui, Goddess of Chaos, GSOLFOT

pete hagan
06-05-2007, 9:54 AM
Goddess, congrats on making a big decision.

Several things to be aware of. You are Mac and the system runs via PC. Imagine the commercials on TV to be on the lighter side of the learning curve. It is a big transition just there. If you are looking at used PCs you are doing yourself an injustice. I don't know where you live but you can get a current processor PC at places like Best Buy, Frys Office Depot often for 400 USD which will be faster and more stable than even a two year old machine bought used. WARNING New PCs come with VISTA the latest operating system from Microsoft. There have been reports that VISTA does not work well with the control cards from the laser companies. Ask a friend for the WindowsXP operating system. It is very stable and works with these cards. Also setup a small network with an inexpensive router to transfer files from Mac to PC. $50 should get cables, router etc to do this.

The smaller laser systems use a PCI card (card that goes into a slot in the PC computer) which many have complained about as being very unreliable. I know Flyguy has had issues and others as well. The larger units use a control card that is on the laser and you transfer a file to the laser then run the laser independent of the PC. I like this much better as it sets the machine up for production runs allowing the operator to simply hit the start button on the laser without a PC attached and run multiple pieces easily.

Smoke / smell. Be ready for it and make sure you have a very good exhaust method for your machine. The laser works by burning the material and this generates smoke and smell. Make sure you have air assist which blows air out a nozzle at the work piece and helps to keep your lens clean.

Paypal is not the safe secure system they claim. I use paypal for my eBay sales as an easy payment method for people buying stuff from me. I also use it to pay people on eBay. I have had a poor experience where I paid for an eBay purchase with paypal, never received the product, went through the two month process to get a refund and NEVER collected the entire amount back. The seller simply abandoned the paypal account leaving only $5 USD in it and that's all paypal ever refunded. Paypal will not work for you to get you money back if you are dissatisfied. Don't count on any protection through paypal.

The laser is cooled by water and if you can refrigerate the water even better. I bought the chiller which works very well and keeps the water at whatever temp I set it at. Certainly the noise you ask about is primarily the peripheral equipment, blower, air compressor and chiller but not the laser. The laser is about the noise level of the older dot matrix printers so not very noisy at all.

Parts Buy a spare tube. I did and luckily I got one out of two functional when the machine arrived. These tubes are very thin walled glass blown tubes that are not very well packed. I believe of all parts in the machine this is the most fragile of all. By the time you need new lenses the growing community will have found a US source for everything else in the machine.

I hope this helps.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/smilies/beerchug.gif

Pete

Marc Myer
06-05-2007, 1:36 PM
Jacqui,
I use a Mac and a PC also. My Mac-created files work very well when transferred to a PC, depending on the software, of course.
You can find a nice Dell or other brand laptop for about $500 with WinXP, or a desktop for even less. Make sure you take the time to properly install the driver, and all should be well. I'll be happy to help with your weather/heat issues.

Bob Keyes
06-05-2007, 2:42 PM
Dear Jacqui,

Congrats on your decision. I have been using a Chinese laser for 18 months and I really like it. It is accurate and reliable up to this point. The only problem I have is the support on my machine. There is none. But, I understand Frank is trying to remedy that with his machines.

Parts? As Pete said I would order the spare tube and a power supply. Most everything else is available stateside.

Let us know how you do. I think you will like it.

If I can be of any help just let me know.

Jacqui Marlin
06-05-2007, 9:13 PM
Thank you everyone for great input and advice. I will be calling Frank as soon as I get off the computer and I am really excited about this whole thing. I will definitely keep people posted since the previous experiences have been so helpful to me!

Victor Saez
06-20-2007, 6:17 PM
Hello!!
First, I apologize for my english.
I write you from Malaga, Spain. I hope your experience can help me in my first moments of Rabbit Laser user.
I know this machine is a "low cost" one, so I have not too much expectatives about. But, anyway, I need to ask kindly to this forums members some questions:
1) I can not -using the software included- start the work in the point I need. Tha laser goes to start in other place; I tried using the cross "up, down, right, left", I place the point when I want, but when start..goes to other place.

I have been reading the Users manual, but this manual is...4 sheets only!! So, the explanations a absolutely insufficient.

Can you help me?

Many many thanks in advance.
Victor
Malaga, Spain.

Pete Thomas
06-21-2007, 7:55 AM
I assume you are using Corel, if so try selecting upper left corner for placement in the layout tab in the print driver.

-pete

Bob Keyes
06-21-2007, 9:47 AM
Victor,

You should be able to move your image, with the point of origin, to any position on the screen. This allows starting your engraving or cut at any position.

Select the entire image and then move it to where you want to start.

David Hirschfield
06-21-2007, 10:01 AM
To have the machine start where the head is, make sure that you uncheck the "datum" option in the software options. What it is doing is returning to the 0,0 point which can be a bit irritating and hard on your back when you have to kep reaching for small parts in the back corner. This machine has far exceeded my expectations wit excellent cutting and engraving results. The "coachwork" is a bit rougher than more expensive machines, but the parts have proved to be reliable in the 5 months we've been using it.

Victor Saez
06-21-2007, 2:56 PM
Well...thankyou so much to Pete, Bob and David!

Pete:No, I don't use Corel..I import to the software a JPG image. But if you say that from Corel you can "print" (laser) directly to machine, it is not my case.. There is no option for that, the machine doesn't appears like a printer.

Bob: yes, I can move the image in the screen, but the surface I see in the monitor does not correspond to the surface on the machine. For example, if I select a 290 x 290 mm. engravable surface, it appears in the monitor. Well, I place the image in the top-left corner. When start, it start OUT of the surface.

David: Maybe due my bad english, I can not understand very well that: "To have the machine start where the head is, make sure that you uncheck the "datum" option in the software options." Coul you explain it again for me , please??? maybe here is the 'secret' to work well.
Una thing more: Have you the software called: NEWLYDRAW1.5??
How can I take the option to CUT, not engrave? There is a little box, just near "Start Engrave" saying: "Optimum cutting", but in ALWAYS attenuated. To CUT is very, very important to me.

Well.. I want to repeat Thanks to you three and..."to be continue", I am afraid...

Levi Chanowitz
06-21-2007, 7:13 PM
Pete,
I export as a plt directly from corel x3. I never enven bothered to check out the enclosed software. I just use laser engrave and cut (dsp4)

By the way I would love to see a picture of the work you described

Victor Saez
06-22-2007, 12:03 PM
Dear friends!
As my mother tolds me when I was young: "Victor, you are so stubborn!"
She was right.
I have been testing the software for 5 hours, and:

1) Now I know that option "CUT" is ok when the figure is a draw from the own software (Newlydraw1.5) or is a exportation from Illustrator (f. ex.) as .dxf format.

2) To engrave, I have to use .jpg format.

3) Material used are very important. Not all plastics are allowed to work. Results depends of a good choice. I would accept any suggestion.

4) In my opinion, "Current Regulator" (potentiometer) doesn't works. There is no limit, the key turns without stop. But, in a test I made with methacrylate, if I choose "Engrave", it do it; if I choose "Cut", it cuts perfectly. So, I think it's not very important.

Well..I am happy with my progress. I hope my continuous "investigation" gives me results I need. And, of course, with all opinions and informations obtained from your kind colaborations.

Best regards.
Victor.