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James Jaragosky
10-09-2008, 10:24 AM
One year ago I purchased a rabbit laser as a hobby machine, with the thought of setting it up at craft shows to bring in some extra cash personalizing gift items.
Here are my thoughts on the machine.
· At 88lbs it can be moved fairly easily but it is too large for 1 person to do it safely.
· My original 40w glass tube is still working well after 1 year.
· The spare 40w glass tube that I purchased with the machine was defective upon delivery, the manufactures representative here in Texas never replaced the tube it as he stated he would. (I never chased him for it, as I believe that if you say you’re going to do something it’s your responsibility to do it.)
· I would not order a spare tube with the machine if I were to do the order again, as I understand that Glass laser tubes have a limited shelf life.
· I would order spare lenses.
· There is limited technical support for the machine in English.
· I was able to set up the laser and have it working within 1 hour of uncrating it.
· The mirror alignment brackets and adjusting screws make aligning the mirrors very difficult. I had to add springs to the adjusting screws for back pressure to finely get an accurate beam alignment.
· Importing a laser from china though customs’ was very easy and the tax on this end was less than $90USD. As long as the machine value is less than $2000USD you will not need to hire an expediter. (Please note that the key here is the value not cost of the machine).
· The software is very limited but it is also very easy to use. All work should be done in Corel before importing to the laser driver.
· You cannot print from Corel to the laser directly
· You should have a dedicated machine just for the laser. The newly draw software is a ram hog and will use all available ram leaving nothing extra for other programs to work with. And should you try to open another program you risk locking up the laser print driver.
· My machine makes a horrid racket if the temperature is even slightly chilly. I have resorted to putting a portable heater inside the machine for a few minutes before powering it up.
· The model I purchased did not come with an air assist. Without air assist you will be severely limited as to if you will be able to vector cut anything. I use my machine for rastering images only and it does a fine job at this. I have given up on cutting with the machine, I have and can cut some things, but for the most part it is more trouble than it is worth. MY best advice is do not purchase a machine without air assist.
· I added 1 gallon of RV antifreeze to 4 gallons of water and have not had any algae or other problems. I change the water every 6 months.
· My table is larger than I can print with the software. This took me awhile to figure out because sometimes the software would work on objects larger than 12 x 14.5 inches and sometimes it would not. My table is 12.5 x 18 but It will only print 12 x 14.5 due to the software limitations.

As an entry laser I am very satisfied with my rabbit and only regret that I failed to get a machine with air assist. After 1 year of light use 2-3 hrs a day, I have had very few problems and most of the problems I have had were my own making due to inexperience.
I hope this helps anyone looking at purchasing an off brand laser make a better informed decision.
If I failed to cover something that you are wondering about while making your decision on a off brand, please feel free to drop me a email and I'll be glad to try to help.
Respectfully
Jim J.
jrj5x5@gmail.com

Scott Shepherd
10-09-2008, 1:05 PM
Thanks James! Very well documented. I wish more people would do more reviews 1, 2, or more years into their experience rather than the mandatory "This thing is great" we all end up typing 6 hours after the machine is sat on the floor :)

Always great for a follow up. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

pete hagan
10-09-2008, 4:29 PM
Thanks James!

I too purchased a Rabbit laser in May of 2007. The SE6090 with a 60 watt tube and bed size just under 24" x 36". I have run it pretty hard at times and besides the initial learning curve I am very satisfied with it. Now this is a pretty large box and I still want a larger table however I have really done well with the unit just with my existing client base. I have actually run many jobs for new clients without any advertising, just word of mouth, and made respectable revenue with the tool.

That said I would also caution anyone wanting a laser at a reasonable rate they really must do their homework. It is NOT a plug and play machine in the sense that we have become so accustom to with our desktop PCs. I have just ordered the software driver to “print” to the machine but I’ll wait to write this up. I would love to just use Corel or Illustrator instead of LaserCrap…Cut 5.1!

Thanks for everyone’s support on the forum.

Pete

Mike Null
10-10-2008, 7:07 AM
James and Pete

Thanks for posting this info. Good job!

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger--even after several years the most of my laser problems are self inflicted.

frank fang
05-01-2009, 4:06 PM
James,
i did arrange for a 40W tube shipping to PA along with other customers machine about a month about two months you got your machine. tube still there. i forgot follow up on this, you should have reminded me:) i owe you a 40W tube, sorry.
Frank

James Jaragosky
05-01-2009, 4:37 PM
James,
i did arrange for a 40W tube shipping to PA along with other customers machine about a month about two months you got your machine. tube still there. i forgot follow up on this, you should have reminded me:) i owe you a 40W tube, sorry.
Frank
I hope you found my review accurate and fair.
The machine is still working well after 18 months.
I will pm you my email so we can arrange the shipping on that spare tube.

Jim J.

James Jaragosky
09-12-2009, 8:24 PM
I hope you found my review accurate and fair.
The machine is still working well after 18 months.
I will pm you my email so we can arrange the shipping on that spare tube.

Jim J.
Just to be fair, Frank did send me that replacement tube. However my original tube is still working fine, so I have not even opened the crate.
Thanks Frank
Jim J.