XB-1060 laser engraver purchase - disapointing so far...

[Dave Stevens-Vegas]

A few years ago I had some training at Techshop, one each on the Epilog, Trotec and ULS provided a trainer for the couple of classes I had on the Universal. All say to blow the little fires out (after you hit the E stop). The Techshop method is not to use an extinguisher unless the fire is out of control. My big one just went up as the backing paper caught fire and spread to the acrylic. My guess would be that melamine residue in the honeycomb or some material caught down there ignited it. At peak we'll cut 40 hours a week or so (machine cycle time, not total time..) Even when you are with it, things catch on fire. The best thing to do is not panic.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Because you can't control the tool path on the low cost machines, and by this I mean manually intervene in the CAM and tell the machine to cut the inside before it cuts the outside

Cut direction, cut order and tool path can be controlled on most of the chinese boxes.The only one's that don't are the Moshi based systems (K40) but Ruida, Leetro and AWC can all be set in software

[Bert Kemp]

Yep lasercut 5.3 has it

Cut direction, cut order and tool path can be controlled on most of the chinese boxes.The only one's that don't are the Moshi based systems (K40) but Ruida, Leetro and AWC can all be set in software

[Kev Williams]

So does my Triumph's PHCad software-- it's called "optimal path"- if YES then the machine determines the path takes. If NO, it cuts 'verbatim'...

[Dave Stevens-Vegas]

Cut direction, cut order and tool path can be controlled on most of the chinese boxes.The only one's that don't are the Moshi based systems (K40) but Ruida, Leetro and AWC can all be set in software

I can create different settings and designate a path based on color/layer but I have to present it that way to the laser software (CAM). Is there a manual pathing solution that will take a raw file and allow for manual pathing where you don't have to mainputlate the original prior to loading it into the CAM? If you are familiar with how it's done in waterjet or plasma cutting CNC is you can tell it what segments and order to cut in the CAM without having to convert the original file. Flow Path is a good example if you are familiar with that as a comparison.

[Scott Cowell]

Well, I finalized my requirements, preferences and options and started shopping for quotes. I contacted manufacturers directly and via Alibaba. Asking for prices at their loading dock and at my back door. I am willing to hire a shipping broker to get the thing from the ship - through customs - onto the truck and delivered to me if needed. That part doesn't sound like much fun. I'm not yet sure whether UPS Express Saver or Fed-Ex IE connects easily with the trucks that already roam my neighborhood, but at least one vendor is asking for my physical address in order to give me a quote, so that implies they have some system in place. -- Oh, the adventure begins!

[Dave Stevens-Vegas]

The package is too heavy to come from any of the big three package trucks that are on the normal routes in your area. The limit is 150 lbs for those guys. It's likely to come freight. Unless you have a dock or a fork you'll need lift gate service. For residential deliveries that's usually the standard. It's not difficult logistically to get from the port of entry to your home. There are plenty of services for that.

I doubt it's going to come by air. If it does it's going to be fairly expensive. Some distributors on Alibaba/Aliexpress have warehousing and fulfillment over here, usually in So Cal or the Bay Area. I don't know if any of the non K40 laser guys have anything over here. If it's on the water it will be about a month before you see it.

There are a few blog posts about the process from some that bought machines direct from China. They are a couple of years old at this point but you get the idea.

Felix over at Low Power Lab, a small batch electronics kit shop bought one and had it shipped to suburban Detroit. http://lowpowerlab.com/blog/2014/05/...er-from-china/

Victor at Polygon Labs bought a GWieke 6-7 years ago. Looks like the site is dormant now but the post is still up http://www.polygonlabs.com/blog/?page_id=6

Here's a primer on some basic terms and using your supplier for shipping. It's meant for people shipping commercial accounts but you can get some good info from the post. http://blog.haveninc.com/leveraging_your_supplier/

I use supplier shipping from China because they can get me much better pricing for the quantities I buy. I get motors, bearings, precision shafts and a wide variety of electronic assemblies from several suppliers. My shipments are usually under 100#, quite a bit smaller than what you are getting. If you are using a known supplier you're likely better off doing it though them for a one off shipment.

[Scott Cowell]

Dave,

I assume it will be the "slow boat from China" syndrome and take a month or so to arrive. I also assume a large freight truck, but wonder if they have the system in place to get these things through customs and onto the truck to my house. Whether the vendor can arrange this or if I have to hire a shipping broker I am not enthused about doing this myself. I will find someone who has done this more than once before. Any experience with this is more than I have.

I will certainly check out the links you provided, especially the basic terms and shipping primer. This is my first "big" package from China. My usual China purchases are less than ten bucks and come in little white, plastic baggie style envelopes. It still amazes me that they can manufacture a product, store it, market it, pull it, sell it and ship it to Podunk, Washington, USA for $1.26. I can't send that same package to Seattle for that price. -- This will obviously be a bit different...

Well, time to check the e-mail for quotes.
Thanks to everyone here, for all the encouragement, opinions and advice.
Scott.

[David Somers]

Scott,

If you are using a broker to help with the shipping and customs clearances they will do all the work for you. They can arrange the movement of the item from the port to your house, and will include lift gate service if you request it. Movement of the crate within the Port of Seattle to the truck is handled by the Port staff. Your broker will arrange all that for you along with sheperding the crate through Customs and Agriculture, paying the fees, filing the appropriate clearances, etc.

If you have a driveway or sidewalk to where it will be delivered you might also ask for a palette jack or other type of lift to get it to where you want it. They are unlikely to arrange to bring it actually into your home or shop unless you are willing to pay for that. More likely you are looking for a bunch of burley people to do that for you. For example. My trucker brought the CNC and laser to the house with a lift gate and a jack and we were able to unload it and move it down the drive to the entrance to the garage. From there it was up to me. The CNC was the hard one and I ended up using a wheeled engine hoist to lift it off the palette and move it and lift it up to the table where it would sit. At 700lbs it was a heavy sucker to move and lift up that high onto the table. The laser I simply made a ramp for to get it off the palette and then was able to roll it on its wheels into the shop. So in my case I was able to do all this by myself.

Hope that helps!

Dave

[Ryan Matthews]

Scott,

I'm happy I stumbled upon your post because I was probably about two weeks behind you in ordering the San Francisco port ebay 100W laser......reading through your ordeal definitely put us on pause and gave us the chance to email the seller directly prior to making the purchase to confirm actual SF warehouse inventory (as you know - it doensn't exist) - - - anyhow - my wife and I have been looking to upgrade substantially from the K40 cheap china laser that we purchased last fall. My wife is an amazing graphic designer and was interested in staying home to raise our son (13-months now) - - - while also figuring out a way to appease the creative need and also bring in some extra money.

We bought the K40 as a 'proof of concept' to make sure that engraving and cutting small personalized ornaments - signs, wedding favors/save the dates....etc. was worth the investment in a better laser. 600+ sales on etsy later and we are sure that she can satisfy her creative needs while staying home with our son.

I'm curious about what you ended up ordering for your use as the hobby and lifestyle that you described is directly in line with this small little etsy/hobby business that we've created.

We live down just north of San Francisco and the more that i've read it seems that ordering direct from a chinese firm (vs. ebay) is the best way to go - rayling seems popular.....and picking the machine up at port could work for us. I think that's what you decided to do from your research......right? If you don't mind me asking - what did you end up purchasing?

For us - we want to get the largest bed that we can fit in the space and likely use an 80W tube to blend the needs of cutting 1/8"up to 1/4" ply and then also apply custom engravings to the finished piece. 80W seems to be the sweet spot.

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated - - -

Our K40 took a turn (burned up) - - - when we tried to cut some acryllic with a paper backing and got distracted. No true damage - but a K40 is just not worth fixing.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or wisdom you feel like sharing.

Best,
Ryan

[Clark Pace]

Glad you are ok. Number 1 rule. Never leave a laser alone even for a bit. A laser company left for a fes minutes his garage burnt down. Local or direct it what i sould suggest also

[David Somers]

Morning Ryan,

You might want to do a separate thread for your question so it isnt buried in the long discussion this thread brought up. Before you do that though, you may want to do some searches in the Forum. I bet you find a slug of threads quickly that address your needs.

I am a chatty person however so I will answer you directly.

I bought my laser after about a year of pestering everyone here and learning about their operation, good points and bad. I also searched on the forum a bunch as well as hunting in sources elsewhere.
My goal was to have a machine that could work on both my turned wood items (engraving, inlay, cutouts, etc) and also do smaller things to add to a range of things to sell at fairs and shows and perhaps eventually in Etsy. I would have loved a Trotec, or one of the other western machines but could simply not justify the cost for what I wanted to do. This is a serious hobby, not a business that is feeding me. I also would have preferred to purchase a Rabbit Laser USA machine from Ray Scott. Super folks with a great reputation, plus they are in the US. They import their machines and then do a lot of work on them as well as support you from the day of their delivery (they come to and give you training time on the machine while there setting it up) as well as through the life of the machine. But although they are far less expensive than a Trotec they were still well above what I considered reasonable for my use. Note my term here. I think their prices are quite good. It was just not a price I felt I could justify for my uses.

So I ended up buying direct from China. I read tons here about that and then started digging through companies over there. Google Translate is my friend. I eventually ended up with the company shown in my signature below and have been very happy with them and with the sales person I worked with there. And I ended up with a CNC as well after considering what I was going to do with the machine. Both have been good machines. There are other very good companies out there as well. I did lots of due diligence on the company until I was as confident in them as I could be. I had plenty of time and did not rush the process so everything we did together was clear and understood. It was a good process overall. As far as the importing I used a local importing company which was a huge help since I had never done this before. All went smoothly.

I bought a 900x600 machine due to the big increase in size going to a 1200 x 900 unit. I could fit it but it was a stretch. I did an 80watt EFR tube. spare lenses and a dedicated lens tube for each lens size I was working with. Also spare mirrors and chain and belt and whatnot. CW5000 chiller, air assist, blower, etc. I did not buy a spare CO2 tube. They age on the shelf and as easy as it is to replace by mail that didnt seem to be worth it. Down time was not a big issue for me either.

I never leave the machine when cutting.

Holler if there is other info you want! Happy to help.

Dave