Just received G. Weike (Wklaser) 6090

[Eric Fuller]

Well, I went and picked up my spanking new 80W 6090 laser today...bought it on Ebay and it comes from the same factory as WKlaser sells I believe (G.Weike Science and Tech Center). I'll be hooking it up over the next couple days so I'll be sure to take lots of pics and share the experience with you all since I know there's a lot of interest out there in the Chinese machines.

So far I got it uncrated and positioned in the shop. I ordered it with two tubes - took a quick look and they both seem intact. The machine was very well crated.

This sucker is HUGE! The crate was 45x72" and barely fit into the back of my full size Dodge pickup (tailgate would not close). Once I got the crate out of the back, I was able to use the plywood sheets from the top and sides of the crate to make a ramp and just roll it right down.

Anyway, I'll post more as I get it up and running.

[Frank Corker]

Good luck Eric and have fun!

[Eric Fuller]

OK, got it fully unpacked and inspected everything. Observations:

-I was expecting a much rougher machine. Previous complaints I had read indicated that wires were run through holes without grommets, soldering sucked, screws loose and falling out, etc. Not the case with this one. All wires are soldered, heatshrunk, screwed down then hot glued in place. All wiring runs through grommeted holes. All fasteners look fine.

-The XYZ axis system looks really very nicely made. Everything is stamped Taiwan. Have only messed with the Z axis so far but it's working great and very smooth.

-Previous machines seemed to need a separate chassis ground. While it indicates so in my setup manual, I cannot find the wires they referenced. Power supply is a different model from the pictures and it almost looks as if they have upgraded to a model which will ground through the plug. I ran a hefty ground from a random chassis bolt anyway just to make sure.

-I did not have to align anything yet. With the head in the home position I test fired it and POW nice little hole in the scrap acrylic. Don't know how well aligned it is and I will check to make sure the beam is centered.

Overall I'm very impressed so far. Came home to pickup the laptop and will try and test cut something today. So far all my time has been spent looking for something wrong and coming up blank. Only complaint - thing stinks to high heaven with that new chinese equipment stench - almost smells like formeldahyde (sp?).

[Skip Weiser]

Eric,

The smell is from the new drive belts, mine was the same way. It will go away after you use it a few times.

These are well made machines. And WK is continually improving them, unlike some of the other "avoid like the plague" Chinese brands.

I still want a USA made machine though, and I'll have one eventually. This is kind of my training laser until I can scrape up the money.:)

Best wishes,
Skip

[Mike Null]

Eric

Glad all is progressing well. Very nice of you to give us a step by step on your experiences.

[Eric Fuller]

No problem Mike. I read a ton of info on here before I bought, so I may as well return the favor.

Got the laser up and running. Software is prehistoric but I expected that. Am able to cut/engrave fine; only problem is my kerf is really wide - around .02 as opposed to the .007 or so on my smaller laser. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of beam alignment/focusing issue I need to work out (i.e. user setup error). I tried moving the table up and down in .5mm increments but the smallest I could get it was to the .02. Even then it went through .20 walnut, but I had to run it pretty slow and at 95% power.

Amazingly enough the chiller water pump, exhaust fan and air assist pump seem to be decent machines. I thought I would have to replace them with more powerful units, but they work great as is. The exhaust fan especially impressed me since my vent run is probably 25-30 feet. Moves a ton of air and is quieter than the dust collector motor I was planning on using. The casing was screwed sheet metal and it looked like there would be a lot of leaks, so I disassembled it and sealed it up with duct tape and weatherstripping to make sure everything got pushed out.

Took a bunch of pictures but left the camera in the shop. I'll post 'em up tomorrow.

[Eric Fuller]

Thanks for the info Skip. I figured it was some new plastic/rubber component that would eventually outgass.

I agree that WKlaser seems to continually improve the product. The manual was surprisingly decent for a chinese import...not anywhere near western standards, but not bad and lots of pictures. I notice design changes between the referenced pictures and my unit so there have definitely been changes since the manual appears to be fairly recent.

Even the tubes are fresh - manufactured in 2/08.

Not sure if I need an American machine (with the caveat that I don't need epilogue resolution capabilities). I really am impressed with the value of this unit. I plan on using it in a production cutting environment so we'll see how it holds up. If it's reasonably trouble free I really do think the smart call would be to buy 3 of these instead of one (probably smaller)American unit. Productivity would soar,and if one went down for a period of time I'd still have two more up and running.

[Skip Weiser]

Hi Eric,

I wonder what focal length lens came installed on yours. Mine came with a 100mm lens installed, but I also purchased two 50mm lenses. I would get a .007 wide cut with the 100mm and .005 with the 50mm.

Did you find the focus gauge in your accessories bags? Was there a size marked on the side of it?

Also, if you can't get the beam focused smaller than .02, you might want to remove the lens tube and make sure the focus lens isn't upside down. Just a thought.

Thanks for the updates.
Skip

[Marc Myer]

The machine is from Taiwan? That would explain the good build quality and finish. The Taiwanese exports, by and large, are far superior to those of Mainland China; after all, they've been making products for the US market (and partnering with US companies) for many years.

[Eric Fuller]

Skip - Lens is in the correct direction. I played around with it a lot more today and got a better kerf by fully aligning the beam. It was a bit off over the travel of the entire table. Still seems fairly wide when I cut through say .25 walnut. A bit thinner with acrylic. Are you getting a .07 overall kerf when you cut thicker materials?

The alignment system is a vast improvement over my little artsign laser - three adjustment points and two spring mounted hold downs with very nicely knurled brass adjusters and lockdowns.

Marc - the laser is Chinese but the stepper system looks like it came from Taiwan. That's where it's stamped Taiwan anyway. Controllers are the 305 chinese ones, as is the rest of the unit. No way the whole machine is - not for what I paid for it :D

[Eric Fuller]

Well, got it running like a top now. The beam was not completely centered at the nozzle after the lens, and my focus was off. Centered the beam and found out that the focus point is 68mm. Just left the shop where I was zipping through .25 BB ply, yellowheart, canarywood and cast acrylic like butter. Rastering works well also; much quicker than my benchtop unit.

I'll be working on the drawings tomorrow for my first product. As I mentioned before, I plan on using this as a production machine, so I'll keep this thread updated with long term reports.

Final conclusion: amazing machine for the money. Everything worked perfectly out of the box except the chiller. My setup time (about 12 hours all said and done) was me being picky and looking for faults, getting the machine physically uncrated, moved, and located, aligning the beam, and lots of test cutting/software familiarization.

As for the chiller, it does actually work as it should, but it only cools to ambient from what I can tell. My shop gets pretty hot in the summer, so I am going to buy another chiller with temp controls that will actually cool the fluid. Looks like a decent aquarium unit will run me about $400 on Ebay. If you're in the market for one of these machines and dont live in a cold climate, I'd pass on the factory option and buy one yourself.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you have any questions. I was also very involved in the importation so I can give you tips there.

[Eric Fuller]

Some Pictures:

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1154.JPG

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1155.JPG

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1156.JPG

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1157.JPG

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1158.JPG

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1159.JPG

http://www.cubicdissection.com/temp/laser/CIMG1161.JPG

[Robert Ray]

Just a note on cooling, and most people probably already know this, but it's best to set your temperature to warmer than ambient.

At my day job we set ours to 27C, or 80F so the beam stays stable, and by being warmer than ambient, we never have to worry about condensation.

At my night job, the lasers are air cooled. :D

[Sandra Force]

I run 2 lasers with water cooled systems. One is an ambient temperature and the other is a chiller. With the chiller I have to keep track of the current temp and set it to near that. No more than a few degrees lower than ambient temp. If the temp where you are working get too hot SHUT IT DOWN. I have to shut down any time the building gets over 90 degrees and it is not insulated. Better that then to mess up the tube with condensation and cost us money replacing it.:confused:

[Eric Fuller]

Hi Robert,

Well, I didn't think of that! Thanks very much for your input. Guess I'll run the ambient cooler and see how long the tube lasts. if it craps out quick I'll have to do something drastic like buy an air conditioner :eek:

[Pete Simmons]

Eric:

That may not have made in USA stamped on it (What does today?) but it sure is a nice looking machine!

Best of luck with it.

I am sure many of us here will be interested to see how it works out.

Looks to me like you are on your way to doing fine.

Tell us more about glass tubes.

Are they under high pressure?

Is loss of pressure their failure mode?

[Eric Fuller]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for your compliments.

Actually from what I read there are plenty of American made lasers, but they tend to be quite expensive. I'm not into financing tools, so I went with what I could afford to write a check for. I'm pretty darn happy with it - I came into the deal with eyes wide open and low expectations, and have been pleasently surprised. Main reason for this thread was to give something back since I spent so much time reading about Chinese units on here before I bought, and the info others posted was very helpful to me.

I don't know much about the glass tubes other then that they have a much lower life expectancy than RF and are very cheap to replace. I'm sure someone more knowledgable than I will chime in.

[Rodne Gold]

So the $1,000,000 question.
What has it cost you all in including spares etc.?
Looks well made to me too.

[Mike Null]

Looks very good to me as well. I'm with Rodney--how much have you tied up in it so far?

Thanks for posting all your info. Once you get it fine tuned how about posting some of your work.

[Dan Hintz]

Sandra/Eric,

Have you tried insulating the tube? A good layer of insulation, combined with a dehumidifier in the operating room would easily allow you to cool the water significantly lower than room temp without worry of condensation.

[Rodne Gold]

I found this regarding cooling and trying to "overclock" the tube

TWO MAJOR KNOWN CAUSES OF TUBE DAMAGEThe single most important cause of damage to this type of laser tube is the improper application, or lack of application, of cooling fluid (most often water).

The following discussion is mostly of interest to users of 'OEM Laser Tubes'.

Each laser tube requires a given amount of flowing fluid to get rid of the heat generated in its discharge region. The circulating fluid may go through either an air/fluid (radiator with a fan) or fluid/fluid (chiller) heat exchanger. It is important to provide enough flow and enough 'exchange' so as the fluid temperature will not rise much above 80 degrees F or about 27 C.
Some operators rely on their 'memory' to turn the water ON (turn ON the recirculator) before they turn ON the laser.
Sometimes they forget to turn ON the water first, then
about 90 seconds after they turn the laser ON, they realize the power is falling off rather fast. Suddenly they remember the fluid and quickly turn it ON.
A barely audible cracking sound (often one can not hear it) and there is no more power.
When we get the laser tube back, we immediately know what has happened (cold water hitting hot glass), but the customer insists 'we didn't do anything, it just stopped working'.
Always use a Flow Switch to disable laser operation in case of No Flow

and:
If you are using city water, filter it.
If you are using a closed circuit flow system, check the water and change it every six weeks or so, or drop a few drops of Algaecide in the recirculator. Better yet, use diluted Dow Frost.
We also recommend, in addition to the flow switch, an inexpensive visual flow monitor (spinning ball type) available from most catalogues Cole-Parmer, McMaster-Carr, etc.).
The second important cause of tube failure is due to improper operation; the desire to run the tube at a higher wattage that is recommended. It is unwisely thought that if a PLX60 (a 60 Watt tube ) can run at 75 Watts, then one can get 15 Watts for free. Why not operate at maximum available (as opposed to maximum recommended) power?
Without getting into the details of CO2 laser tube design and gas dissociation, it suffices to say that the extra 15 or 20 Watts power is intentionally put there to carry the laser through the life time that you require of it. If it was meant to run at 75 Watts, it may have had a larger gas reservoir, different length, different mirrors etc. Operating the tube in this mode is what is referred to as 'abuse or misuse' and will void the power guarantee.

[Eric Fuller]

Wow, good stuff Rodney, thanks for the info. My laser has handy accessory plugs in the back, so I just plugged the air and chiller in there. They power on with the unit, so whenever the laser is on, so is air and water. The chiller has a low flow / low water alarm built in. Wiring a flow kill switch to the tube power supply itself doesnt sound like a bad idea though.

Regarding water, I bought a small distiller for $100 or so. Did it mostly for convienence so I don't have to keep hauling gallon jugs from the supermarket. If it's convienent I'll probably change it more often. Built a stand for the chiller so I could drain it easy for the same reason.

How much did it cost? Ummm...not sure if I wanna answer that since it may piss some people off who paid a ton for their laser. To put it gently, all said it was significantly less than a new Hyundai Accent.

[Scott Shepherd]

not sure if I wanna answer that since it may piss some people off who paid a ton for their laser.

What you paid wouldn't piss me off. I paid a lot and got a lot for what I paid and it's made me a lot of money. Hasn't been down 5 minutes in 7 months. The money it's made me versus the cost is no comparison.

[Eric Fuller]

Fair enough. If this thing runs reliably without downtime for a year, I win big since it will pay for itself over and over. If not, I took a gamble. Either way I'll keep ya'll updated :)

[Rodne Gold]

Well a new Accent is like 10 grand , significantly less is 7.5k in my book. Sounds about right as I was quoted about 5k FOB without spares for a similar type machine. Tube life on a 80 w was between 3-6 months heavy duty cycle (800 hrs) and was costing 295 or so. My biggest concern was that the tube would significantly vary power over its lifetime

[Micheal Donnellan]

I have a WKlaser LG900, looks the exact same machine as yours.
I have the wide kerf thing as well for 55mm lenes I just use the acrylic guide thing. Chiller also dont chill much but it works at least.

You got a roller rotary? The chucks better quality
I want to kill the guy who put mine together, is a total crock. BHelt enshiners missing and you cant get a staight cut alwats runs at a angle like a thread due to the scissors jack part being loose with no adjustment. Jack aint talking either.

[Eric Fuller]

Whoops; wrong post on the wrong thread on the wrong forum!

[Scott Shepherd]

Since you bumped this thread accidentally, how about updating the progress to keep a good running tab of your experiences.

[Eric Fuller]

Hi Scott,

Well, I've been out of town the last two weeks, so not much new to report. Before I left I was working on some designs and trying to get the cuts cleaner (i.e. no checks on the bottom from honeycomb reflections and less condensed crud on top) with 1/8 and 1/4 BB ply.

First thing I'm going to do when I get back is replace the ineffective water chiller with a 10 gallon container and see if that's enough to resist heatsoak. If it isn't I'll fab up some kind of heat exchanger with a radiator and fan. Also plan to plumb the air assist to the shop air since I think more air would help me cut wood cleaner.

[James Jaragosky]

So Eric, How about an update on the machine.

[Dan Hintz]

He hasn't posted since March... is he still checking the board?