NOOB looking to buy a chinese CO2 laser

[Gavin Hamblin]

Looking to import a 80-100w Chinese laser to Vancouver, BC. Would be primarily for sign making. Hoping to learn as much from those who have done it already before committing to a company and certain sized machine.
Currently I am in discussions with G. Weike about either their 1390N or 6090 machines but I would love to know what other good options are.
Looking for the following in terms of functionality:

• 900mm x 600mm deck, minimum
  
• motorized z-axis
  
• air assist
  
• refrigerated chiller
  
• high quality components (RECI tube, HIWIN rails, RUIDA controller)
  
• rotary attachment
  
• honeycomb and knife blade worktable

A question about autofocus/CCD camera: which one is preferable? I read that reliability is an issue with auto-focus...and is a CCD camera worth it?
Please let me know if there is anything else I should be looking for in a machine.
Also would love to learn about anyone's import experiences including: customs, forwarding, brokers etc.
Thanks in advance!
Gavin

[John Lifer]

Autofocus 'pen' is a joke. Don't pay any extra. Camera? maybe, no experience here
Make sure anyone quotes specific S&A chiller, CW-5000 or 5200. I've a 5000 and in my basement it cools my 80w fine.

Canada has some different issues than US, (less tariffs right now for one) others here are in Canada and may pipe up.
Check with Ray Fine for a comparison. I used them with no issue 2plus years ago twice.
Good luck!

[Gavin Hamblin]

Autofocus 'pen' is a joke. Don't pay any extra. Camera? maybe, no experience here
Make sure anyone quotes specific S&A chiller, CW-5000 or 5200. I've a 5000 and in my basement it cools my 80w fine.

Canada has some different issues than US, (less tariffs right now for one) others here are in Canada and may pipe up.
Check with Ray Fine for a comparison. I used them with no issue 2plus years ago twice.
Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! I will definitely check out Ray Fine for comparison.

[Gavin Hamblin]

Did you go with a gas or metal tube from Ray Fine? Curious about metal but I haven't seen it come up as often as gas...

[art olin]

Did you go with a gas or metal tube from Ray Fine? Curious about metal but I haven't seen it come up as often as gas...

"

a gas or metal tube" - either low wave frequency co2 is in tube - glass tube or it is in metal seal structure or metal housing -
any metal housing seal structure will be used only for galvo setup, so requirements of "

900mm x 600mm deck, minimum requirements and

high quality components (RECI tube, HIWIN rails, RUIDA controller)" will automatically rule out metal seal structure,
"

I haven't seen it come up as often as gas... " laser with galvo scanners/mirrors setup always use metal seal structures of low wave frequency co2.


Kind Regards.

[Dave Sheldrake]

"

a gas or metal tube" - either low wave frequency co2 is in tube - glass tube or it is in metal seal structure or metal housing -
any metal housing seal structure will be used only for galvo setup, so requirements of "

900mm x 600mm deck, minimum requirements and

high quality components (RECI tube, HIWIN rails, RUIDA controller)" will automatically rule out metal seal structure,
"

I haven't seen it come up as often as gas... " laser with galvo scanners/mirrors setup always use metal seal structures of low wave frequency co2.


Kind Regards.

Huh?

All CO2 lasers are Gas (that's what CO2 is)

3 types commonly available

Glass tubes run off of a DC current that fix into mounts on the machine
Glass tubes run off of a DC current fitted inside a metal box
Metal tubes that run from an RF supply

The first two are the exact same thing just one of them is in a nice shiny box, the third one is a more refined source but also more expensive.

Autofocus is a waste of time, especially with those pen type sensors (that usually break and jam up the Z axis)

CCD is also pointless on most Chinese machines (it adds a lot to the price and really isn't very accurate) unless you get a Western machine with a quality CCD kit like Trotec

Weike is ok to deal with, plan ahead though and consider that future servicing and after sales support is probably going to be pretty dire.

[Gavin Hamblin]

Perfect, thanks for your help. Was going to do opt for CCD - Any questions I can ask that will help determine if they are accurate?

Planning on getting some spare mirrors and lenses, going to hold off on a spare bulb, however, as I've heard the gas can leak out over time...

[Michael Henriksen]

Buy a machine with a Ruida controller, get Lightburn and buy a camera for that.

[Michael Henriksen]

My Weike LG900N with Reci W2 tube has been doing production work for close to 3 years now and never missed a beat.

[Julian Ashcroft]

Look at Aeon too. I have a small Aeon Mira 5 with a 30w RF tube, quality is a step above the other Chinese lasers I’ve got. I have a larger Aeon Nova 10 on the way. www.aeonlaser.net

[Jerome Stanek]

I don't know if they ship to Canada but I bought mine from a seller on Ebay they had 80 to 130 watts lasers listed in their store. The seller was Goldraydigital and I am very happy with them. I ordered my laser on a Friday and had it up and running on the next Wednesday They were good to respond after the sale also as one of the fans in the chiller was not working and after they saw a video they shipped out a new one only took 3 days

[Rich Harman]

A good broker makes a huge difference. Took me a bunch of calling around before I found a broker that would handle it, and they weren't very good.

For the next machine I called around some more and stumbled upon someone that was really good. They sent a truck to the factory to pick it up, routed it through Vancouver instead of LA and delivered it to my door for less than the cost of the first one, quicker too. All I had to do was forward the documents to them and hand the driver a check when it got delivered.

I'm not current on who makes the best quality machines but a friend bought a GWeike a couple years ago and I thought it was well put together - better built than either of the Shenhuis that I bought.

My original 80W Reci is going on nine years old now and does not appear to have lost any power. I measured it a year or so ago and it was still putting out over 80W.

I would recommend the CW5200 over the CW5000, definitely stay away from the CW3000 - or any thing that is not a true chiller.

Forget about the autofocus, yes they can work but I can focus faster and more accurately using a stick. Don't know about the cameras they offer with the machine these days but if you want to use a camera I would strongly suggest you look into LightBurn and maybe use the camera that they recommend. LightBurn is a software program for lasers written by a friend who left his job at Apple to work full time on it. It is really good now and it will only get better with time.

As for size of machine, that can be tough. Big is good, and was necessary for me - but really does take up a bit of space. Six foot wide and very nearly five foot deep, at the moment I wish it were smaller. But it's real nice to be able to cut a 4x8 sheet into thirds and have it fit on the bed with room to spare.

[John Lifer]

I've bought some lens and other small items from Goldray on ebay. They are actually the only company there that I've found that specialized in Lasers. I think I'd be comfortable buying from them.

[Kev Williams]

I've bought some lens and other small items from Goldray on ebay. They are actually the only company there that I've found that specialized in Lasers. I think I'd be comfortable buying from them.

--are you thinking 'Cloudray'? Nearly all of my lenses, including two for my Triumph fiber, came from Cloudray--