I am looking at buying a Boss right now. how do you like your boss? Feel free to email me trevor@eightmen.com
I am looking at buying a Boss right now. how do you like your boss? Feel free to email me trevor@eightmen.com
I bought an eBay 100w co2 several years ago and it has had zero problems.
The secret to buying on eBay is to look in their store.
If 99% of the listings are laser/business grade equipment, you will be better off.
Such as (I have no affiliation):
https://www.ebay.com/str/uslaser?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 (opened: 2014)
or
https://www.ebay.com/str/laserfactory2016 (opened: 2016)
or
https://www.ebay.com/usr/goldraydigi...p2047675.l2559 (opened: 2010)
Their stores are nothing but lasers or business class products. They have been in business since 2014, 2016 and 2010 respective.
As oppose to an eBay store that just has one laser for sale and 100 other trinkets for sale.
(would give a link to an example but most also sale NSFW products in addition to lasers.)
See how long they have been listing on eBay. Someone that just opened a store 4 months ago and has all 5-star feed back is someone you may want to be careful about. Some open and close stores regularly to purge old bad reviews.
Also, go to several online forums and ask about specific vendors before you buy to see if anyone has bought from them and what their experiences were.
Do a search on google about customer complaints on that specific vendor.
One consideration that drove me to eBay purchase was a Trotec would be $30K for which I could buy six eBay machines for the same price. That means I could have one working laser with spare parts for years to come from the five other machines and just scrap the big metal boxes they came in. Or run 2 machines and have two spare parts backup for each that are running. And I would still have cash left over for future replacement laser tubes.
When I got my CO2 laser (and fiber for that matter) I took all the covers off and traced out and documented all the wiring and components in the machine and it is just not that complex when it comes right down to it. A main controller, power supplies, filter, motors, motor drivers, laser power source and tube.
So, if you are a tinkerer and can afford the time to learn about the machine, eBay machines or direct from China can be great bargains. But if you just want to let someone else deal with issues and troubleshooting, then stick with US based firms.
I have seen Keith's Trotec speedy 300 running and it is a great little machine and he has high praises for the tech support they provide.
Last edited by Rob Damon; 09-18-2020 at 3:06 PM.
I bought from Goldraydigital and found they are very helpful and very fast shipping. Would I buy from them again you bet I would.
I have a boss machine, and in reality, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't buy that machine. I've heard a lot of good things lately about Thunder Laser. Hybrid servo machines that have decent speed to them. Not Epilog or Trotec speed, but faster than traditional Chinese machines. Have heard they have great support as well. The other I've heard good things about is Aeon laser. Might check both of those out before you make your decision.
Epilog Fusion Pro 48 - 120 Watt
OMG Laser 60W JPT MOPA Fiber
Mimaki UJF-6042MkII e UV Printer
My Triumph 80w RECI machine, the software will let me run it as high as 800mm/S, which is 60% faster than the typical 500. The problem I've found with going that fast, is the engraving quality starts to suffer... but it's not because the steppers and gantry setup can't handle the speed, it's because DC fired glass lasers can't handle the speed. Their reaction time relative to RF lasers is akin to an incandescent bulb's reaction time relative to LED bulbs...'reaction time' is probably an inaccurate description scientifically, but the result is the same ... Many materials, such as engraving plastics, might be more forgiving than the black anodized aluminum I was running...
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ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle