Laser Ordered Now What?

[George M. Perzel]

Yep- making a new case will always fix the Z axis issue....................................????????? ???????????????
Will bet three grandchildren something else was the issue.
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[michael reimer]

George

What makes you say that? They are saying the cabinet was the cause if the issue. Is that not possible?

Mike

[Dave Sheldrake]

Yup it is possible Mike but very unusual, if the bottom bearing mounts on the Z screws are out of line the tables will jam as they move. (It would be like moving a fixed series of holes over a gradually widening set of supports) The "Ball screws" used in Chinese lasers are very rarely ball screws as such, they tend to be ACME threads that do have some play but not enough to deal with a miss-aligned cabinet. In the screw support has been punched incorrectly it's not one of those "fixable" things without swapping out entire sheets or sections.

Quality wise Chinese companies tend to throw very little away, anything that can be fixed, IS usually fixed and on occasion not to a very high standard. That said if Shen's are swapping out the cabinet hence the delay I wouldn't be too worried about it. The machine cabinet or chassis is likely the cheapest large component so replacing that will have limited bought in financial impact on them so I would have no concerns about them being happy to do it.

cheers

Dave

[George M. Perzel]

Mike;
CMON MAN!! Let me put it this way:
1. They have made many of these cabinets
2. Throw one away? Sooner give up their firstborn
3. There are no grinders or shims in China
4. Their only level is on loan to the guys building the bridge down the street
Mike-pardon my sarcasm and cynical nature. As Dave said, I wouldn't worry about it but will bet a barrel of kaolin that a rush job or something similar got your cabinet.
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[michael reimer]

Dave, thank you for the explanation. I got it.

George, you crack me up.

Mike

[Dave Sheldrake]

I wouldn't worry about it but will bet a barrel of kaolin that a rush job or something similar got your cabinet.

That kinda got my vote as well

cheers

Dave

[Rich Harman]

One of the irks of my laser life is that the Z on my machines are belt driven as opposed to chain. Since they are working on this on your machine at present, perhaps you may like to check what system they are using and try specify chains. Beds going out of level is somewhat annoying.

I have nothing against chains but I must say that I have not had any problems with my belt drive table which gets used many times a day. When leveling the table* I loosen the motor mount slightly to slacken the belt, then use pliers to turn the jackscrew by hand - forcing the pulley to skip teeth on the belt. I can't get the belt to slip without loosening it, I wish I could because it is a pain to loosen the motor mount and then retighten it. Not sure how I would go about leveling the table with chains - it would be awfully hard to turn the sprocket without removing the chain. With a belt I can be sure that the other three jackscrews are held in place while turning the fourth.

* I just did this recently, not because the table drifted out of level but because I didn't get it perfect the first time - I had been using a shim under the near right corner, which worked fine but I finally decided to do away with it.

[Dave Sheldrake]

to turn the sprocket without removing the chain.

Hi Rich,

You don't, you unlock the sprocket then rotate the threaded shaft until the table is level then re-tighten the sprocket. It keeps the chain tension correct (although many machines have spring tensioners). Jumping teeth or sprocket teeth will only move the screw by a division equal to the sprocket/belt pitch. Usually only has to be done once but worth the extra work. Some screws have a flat on the shaft for the cap screw to sit in that can make it awkward so that can be a pain.

cheers

Dave

[Rodne Gold]

The chinese will lose major face if they have to tell you your machine wasn't ready in time , so will invent an excuse.
Never had an issue with the blet drives or the tables on my almost 3 yr old Shenui's
Im sure the machine you get will work well.

[michael reimer]

Rodne,

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated. I am sure they will deliver a product that will work fine as well. Let me ask you a question. It seems like you speak to them pretty often. Is there a way to give them feedback on what you guys like and the shortfalls of the machines? If we do this the right way in the future everyone will get a better product and still have a price tag that is reasonable. Is this not possible? I was thinking some type of a formal user committee.

Mike

[Dan Hintz]

The chinese will lose major face if they have to tell you your machine wasn't ready in time , so will invent an excuse.

Yeah, funny that... "I'd lose face if an item is late, but it's perfectly acceptable to lie about it. You don't lose face by lying."

[michael reimer]

Dan

I sent you a PM. Let me know if u get it.

Mike

[George M. Perzel]

Michael;
Great idea and very logical. However, Rodne and I and many others have been making suggestions to them for at least three years. How many have been implemented is unknown as any acknowledgment implies they didn't do it correctly to begin with and carries with a extreme loss of face. To start with, the best you can do is insist they furnish you a checklist verifying all items are in the shipping box plus pics if you can and ask the salesman who you are dealing with to personally verify contents. Will PM you with another suggestion.
Good Luck
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Frank barry]

Hi just my 2cents worth
When I ordered my laser from them I was very clear as towhat I wanted and any suggestions I had they were more than happy to discusswith me and implement at a cost of course
They supplied me with pictures of the machine being packedand put on the truck for shipping (none of which I asked for) they had todispatch the machine before they had some extra lenses I had ordered (as I hadspace booked in a container and need the laser to get to the port in time ) andmailed me to tell me the lenses arrived 2 hours after the machine went I had noproblem with this as they could include them with the paper work but they werevery disappointed not to have them go with the machine
When my laser came they were in contact with me to be sureeverything was ok and I was happy with it and every few weeks I get a mail tocheck everything is ok and I am happy with my laser
To me that is customer service at its best
Good luck with your laser
Frank

[michael reimer]

Thank you all of the help and positive suggestions that I will use for sure. I started a stockpile of stuff to engrave / manufacture already. LOL