Based on all the other prices I'm seeing lately, many of which don't include duties and tariffs and all, $4000 for these machines is a steal. But BEAR IN MIND, these machines are very much intended for 'seasoned' users, or users who are somewhat mechanically inclined and not afraid to pull covers and plugs and such to adjust dip switches or add simple accessories yourself. Example, I don't know if many people are aware of a simple modification to these machines that can speed up setup and production time, which I found out about accidentally-- As users are aware, when you start the laser, you get an on-screen "MARKING" message during the marking procedure. When marking is done, the message goes away. The problem with this is that while marking, EzCad is now busy and you can't do anything but wait for the engraving to end.
BUT, built into the controller is a simple function called REMARK... to enable it you need a switch-
like another foot switch- and you have to crimp or solder the switch wires to the male connector that fits
the plug shown...
remark.jpg
Note that pin 8 is labeled 'REMARK', one of the switch wires connects here,
the other wire connects to any ground location, of which there's 3, I've
chosen pin 13, and if memory serves, pin 13 is 'empty'...
So, what the REMARK function does is this: When you run a job from EzCad, that job remains in the machines memory. What REMARK does is re-run the saved job in memory instead of EzCad feeding the same job over and over from the computer. This is great if you're engraving multiples of the same thing over and over and have another job waiting to set up; When remarking, EzCad is divorced from the machine, which means you're free to set up the next job AND run multiples of the same parts, instead of waiting until all the parts are done to start the next setup! -There is ONE catch, there's no STOP button when doing this (other than the E-stop), but normally there's no reason to stop when running multiples...
SO, I told you all that to say this: If you're the type of person who can wire up a new switch or install a new scanhead if the original goes out, or have a good friend that can
-- then one of these cheap machines may be a worthwhile investment! Otherwise, enter at your own risk... I've been extremely pleased with both my ebay machines, and when my foot switch didn't work on the first one, the seller was prompt and helpful about making it right (it was disabled in EzCad, ez fix!) but I'm also aware that a guy in China can only do so much to help a guy in North America...
Originally Posted by Kev Williams
Based on all the other prices I'm seeing lately, many of which don't include duties and tariffs and all, $4000 for these machines is a steal. But BEAR IN MIND, these machines are very much intended for 'seasoned' users, or users who are somewhat mechanically inclined and not afraid to pull covers and plugs and such to adjust dip switches or add simple accessories yourself. Example, I don't know if many people are aware of a simple modification to these machines that can speed up setup and production time, which I found out about accidentally-- As users are aware, when you start the laser, you get an on-screen "MARKING" message during the marking procedure. When marking is done, the message goes away. The problem with this is that while marking, EzCad is now busy and you can't do anything but wait for the engraving to end.
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