Ready to push the button and buy a laser....

Maybe ;)

Looking at getting one of the eBay offerings, all seem the same, probably a 60W model so i end up with about 30-40W at the cut.

Watched loads of videos, realise the machines, as most chinese stuff does, needs a lot of fettling and tuning, realise that they over-drive the tubes to get more out - bad idea, and so-on so hopefully there will not be too many surprises in store.

First question - most vids show them cutting white card/paper, supposedly because it looks good and shows defects well. I have a possible task in mind that uses BLACK card, about 0.25mm thick - will they cut this as easily? My guess is yes but...

I was looking at building one but there is no way to put even the motion together for what these machines are going for so buying and fixing is the way forwards.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Davek0974

Maybe ;)

Looking at getting one of the eBay offerings, all seem the same, probably a 60W model so i end up with about 30-40W at the cut.

Watched loads of videos, realise the machines, as most chinese stuff does, needs a lot of fettling and tuning, realise that they over-drive the tubes to get more out - bad idea, and so-on so hopefully there will not be too many surprises in store.

First question - most vids show them cutting white card/paper, supposedly because it looks good and shows defects well. I have a possible task in mind that uses BLACK card, about 0.25mm thick - will they cut this as easily? My guess is yes but...

I was looking at building one but there is no way to put even the motion together for what these machines are going for so buying and fixing is the way forwards.

---

Yeah bought a blue and white one and it has not needed any work since buying it.

Black card will not be an issue.

Looking at this one....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2016627522...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Should be ok, will expect to do some fine tuning but thats half the fun i think ;)

Dave,

It looks to be identical to mine.

You are welcome to come and play with my 60 watt Chinese chappie before you part with your dosh. There's a bit about it here:

http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic...html#msg126523

and here:

http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic...html#msg126442

Thanks for the offer Andrew,

I think i'm fairly certain it will need work and I'm ok with that, i like to go through and fine-tune stuff anyway, its a good way to learn all the dodgy parts and i had already spotted those terrible universal sockets - i've got some IEC ones in the CNC building parts box so they will go in pretty much exactly as your one.

I put in an offer tonight, see if they take it or not :)

Ok, i ordered one this morning, fingers crossed.

Few q's for starters...

Are there any "preferred" sources of acrylic and laser-ply sheet ?

Everyone just use the pump-in-a-bucket cooler, plain water, de-ionised water, any additives?


Two things i will be getting is a 0-50mA meter for tube current and a power measuring probe/device - these seem pretty essential things for starters.

Dave you reckless devil !


I used to use a bucket & pump, but it filled up with dead spiders and flies, and I wanted anti freeze in it as mine is close to a roller shutter door. As the dogs often come and visit me I didn't want poisonous antifreeze in an open bucket - so I got one of the cooler units described in this thread:

http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic,11786.0.html

Apart from having to replace the pump as described in that thread it's been very good.

I've been buying plywood and acrylic from Hindleys

https://hindleys.com/

Thanks, i'll look out for a chiller type unit, not too bad price on the bay but if it can be got for less then happy days ;)

Hindleys looks good, i seem to recall getting some engraving plastic from them some time ago.

Can't wait.....

Fancy plastics can be got from 908ltd.co.uk

And so it starts...

As suspected, delay tactics from the supplier - they are shipping the rotary attachment separately and the DPD tracking is working on that - currently in Oldham?

The machine however is showing fake/unrecognised tracking ref on DHL, I have asked twice for a real ref but they just send the same number and wish me a happy day :(

Dave,

I had the same problem with mine. It was supposed to ship from Portsmouth in 3 days. When it didn't show they gave me tracking numbers that didn't work. When I pressed them they said it was 'held up by DHL Strike' but DHL had no knowledge of any strikes. When I threatened to cancel the order they admitted that it was coming from Germany. When it eventually arrived the case was split and there was minor damage to the machine. I would have told them to replace it, but I needed it urgently to make various signs and decorations for my youngest Daughter's wedding.

As you probably saw in that thread on MadModder there were a few things needed to sort it, but it did fundamentally work, but obviously the tube and mirrors needed aligning as they all do after shipping half way round the world.

Yeah, i've suffered before from these types, as long as the frame is not twisted etc, i can put up with slight damage as i'll just put in a request for compo or refund - they will 99.9% of the time just buckle and give cash back as long there are photos etc.

I know the tube will be near the end of its shelf life already and fully expect no more than 50W from the supposed 60W tube - will also be advising them of that too if the tube is the wrong length i.e. wrong power.

You have to stand up and not bend with them and they will generally do something in return - they certainly hate bad feedback and never take the goods back.

Still a PITA though.

I didn't have problems with mine, a blue and white 50w from Portsmouth.
Arrived well packed in three days and it was still all lined up. That bit didn't bother me as i have had quite a few years lining 4Kw + lasers up.

Small son recently, 2 months ago ordered one of the red 60W ones , again from Portsmouth and his took about 5 days to arrive but his again worked out the box.

I know when I ordered my 3040, the tracking number provided didn't get recognised by the courier's website, yet the machine turned up with said courier and that tracking number.

I think it was DHL, however it's been a few years. Have you tried putting the tracking number into one of the websites that tries to recognise the number format and identify the relevant courier?

Dave,

Did you get your power probe - if so can you let me have the details please ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AndrewMawson

Dave,

Did you get your power probe - if so can you let me have the details please ?

---

Not yet - i have one of Russ' DoHICkeys on order - he will be back in the country in the next few days will send when he gets here - The Mahoney probes only seem to be available in 200W range which means most of the scale is wasted on a 50-60W machine, I also have a nice digital meter that i can use with Russ' product.

Any chance of a link to Russ's product please, Google is being a bit vague.

Go in via the YouTube channel - SarbarMultimedia - it's Russ' channel and has some amazingly good videos on lasers etc. Then use the email/contact feature.

He's pretty fast on the reply, just ask if he has any DoHickeys left :)

LOL, rotary attachment is currently in Birmingham and finally got working tracking on the machine which is currently in Bremen, Germany.

So much for "UK Shipment, Portsmouth" :)

Oh well, one down, one to go....

The rotary attachment arrived today - totally wrecked as the chuck had broken the shaft that mounts it and was loose in the box, unusable and a complete waste - the box that should have held the chuck was in there so why was it fitted??

My thoughts were previous customer return item.

emailed supplier with a photo.

Oh dear, not good.
My rotary attachment is still bubble wrapped but mine is the simpler, cheaper unit with no chuck, just a set of stepper driven 3 rollers to hold a glass or bottle by friction.
Can't see it ever getting used.

I did see another one of the type you have on a forum somewhere, where the spindle had pulled out of the upright because the bearing was a loose fit but it looked an easy fix if you could get redress off the seller.

This would be an easy fix - re-weld the plate and true up on the lathe but that's not the point :)

See what they say in the morning.

Broken weld, if you call it a weld...
Attachment 21108

Put the chuck box in though, thats a nice touch...
Attachment 21109

Nice wiring....
Attachment 21110

JS probably saw my post here on Madmodder - see reply #23

http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic...html#msg126523

Oh, and my cable outer also was stripped too far back to use the clamps like yours, but I found that by friction warming the outer by gripping with a cloth and sliding it, I could ease the outer far enough down the wires to get under the clamps (which are too large a diameter to grip, but a bit of the serrated end of a tywrap makes up the gap sufficiently !

Supplier reply - can i get it fixed locally and how much?

I guess £50 will cover it :) See what they say.

Mine ended up £40 under asking price. They've just this morning sent me an eBay message asking if it's arrived and am I happy with it! Considering I told them it arrived broken, sent photos, got a discount, and left them neutral feedback you'd think that they were aware of my opinion by now!

As this was a package deal, i think the rotary added about £100 over the price of the basic machine so £50 seems reasonable i think.

They certainly don't keep track of orders very closely it seems in your case ;)

More like it...
Attachment 21117

Ground the bird-sh1t off, turned a bevel on the stub so there was somewhere for the weld to fill, nice heavy fillet, turned the flange true to the shaft, refitted it.

Also drilled a couple of divots for the pulley screws to locate into.

I'll also replace the crap allen screws which appear to be M6 but have a socket that fits nothing with some proper M6 ones !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Davek0974

More like it...
Attachment 21117

Ground the bird-sh1t off, turned a bevel on the stub so there was somewhere for the weld to fill, nice heavy fillet, turned the flange true to the shaft, refitted it.

Also drilled a couple of divots for the pulley screws to locate into.

I'll also replace the crap allen screws which appear to be M6 but have a socket that fits nothing with some proper M6 ones !

---

Good recovery Dave
It has been said before that this Chinese stuff has to be considered a kit of bits

I just hate the wastage of materials etc.

I was doing some mental sums on the way home, I figured price of machine was £1650 so eBay/paypal fees @ 15% is £247, shipping from Bremen in Germany to UK via DHL maybe £200??, UK import duty @20% maybe £330, shipping from China to Bremen possibly free if company container etc so ignore that step, we are now down to £873.

They will probably throw in the £50 i asked for to repair the rotary so now we have £823

Next, figure they will get a hit when i query the tube length/power not as advertised, any physical damage etc - they always offer up a compo payment just to shut the customer up, no idea how that will play out yet.

So we have what, £700 left to pay for assembly, making the cabinet, supplying the (usually) reasonable quality parts and whats left? Maybe they see £100-150 on each machine?

The logistics of China manufacturing baffle me every time.

Anyway, I digress.....

I have to say that you do get a lot for your money, and if they'd only spend just a little more time on those final steps tidying up the silly mistakes they would be supreme value. Beware - that is the future !

If this is the future then there is not much to look forward to i feel ;)

I'm on the side of good quality workmanship, taking pride in your work etc, that's what grates my nuts when things like the rotary get shipped with a 4lb chuck fitted on a weak flange - it took some chinese person some small amount of time to make that unit - simply shipping with the chuck in the box and it would probably have lasted forever.

Ah well...

Chiller arrived today, not really a chiller more an active radiator but far better than a pump in a bucket:)

I was pleasantly surprised with this bit of far eastern engineering for a change...

Attachment 21141

Attachment 21142

Attachment 21143

Nice, tidy wiring, earth connected to chassis, no more bare pipe matrix - now we have a nice finned radiator unit, wall-wart psu - nothing wrong with that, flow switch and audible alarm function nicely if you squeeze the pipe shut, thermometer reads ok, even has a liquid level display on the front.

I might even get another for the 2kw spindle on my mini-mill.

This put a grin on my face...

Attachment 21144

"Forbidden to anhydrous boot" - I guess it's a long way of saying "Do not run dry" :)

Where did you get the chiller from Dave ?
Could do with one for my TiG

eBay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1724052861...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Don't forget - its not an active chiller - just a pump and radiator :)

The CW5000 model is active but costs more of course

Machine is "out for delivery..."

Fingers crossed.

It's here :)

Uncrated, no signs of severe damage, the only two things i have spotted so far are the table up/down buttons smashed and the safety switch on the table cover broken.

The tube as suspected is NOT the 60W one i ordered but a 50W overdriven. It's only 1000mm long and a 60W should be 1150mm approx.
Attachment 21178

The wiring seems well done...
Attachment 21179

I can't see any loose wires or trapped ones etc, the safety reset button was loose, I have wound the head back/fwd by hand and it seems easy to move to so no jams there. Couple of scuffs on the paint but not worth worrying about.

The universal sockets on the back will be coming off and replaced with IEC ones.

Now to get a claim in with the supplier for the wrong tube etc......

Beware - there was a little rocker switch on mine that over rode the cover safety interlock switch - it got disconnected very quickly - I'd like to keep the one eye that I have left !

Obscurely labelled 'Open Cover for Protection' what it actually does is remove the protection of the cover safety switch !


Attachment 21180

Yeah i have that one too, i am ok with safety, got goggles etc.

The cover safety switch was smashed on my one anyway - its all in an email to the supplier tonight along with the fact that its a 50W not 60W etc

Found a couple of switches to fix the up/down buttons ;)