I am thinking of buying a few laser engravers so as I can get the lowest price on one for myself. I do not want to spend $10,000 on one, which is the lowest I have seen so far. Please let me know if anyone has an intrest in buying one aswell. I posted an ad in the classified section with pictures. I hope this type of post is okay to write! I am hoping to be able to get the cost of the unit to around $3,000. Please let me know if I woudl be able to sell the extras I would be buying. please email me directly dixonjk@earthlink.net

laser

What is able to do this laser engraver? As I am from Romania, what would be the additional cost of shipping it to me? I would like to buy one, but for this I must borrow money and I need to know exactly what it means from cost point of view. Actually, I would like to start (finally) a small business based on my CNC knowledge got here and by building three machines (two MDF and one AL). The machines I do not think can sustain even a small business, but a laser could be a start....I hope...

You like the laser the machine?

I purchased one of these laser engravers. For the price, it is hard to beat.

There is one big problem with the one that I purchased, however.

The included software really only supports pixel based graphics, as in .bmp and .jpg

The software is easy to use and easy to configure. I took my time setting it up to be sure that I was doing everything correctly, but probably could have been cutting and engraving in less than an hour.

The software is for both designing what you want to engrave AND for controlling the engraver. Now like I said, it is easy to use. But, it doesn't support vector based files directly. It would be nice to "plot" (I mean engrave or cut) straight from a CAD program. But so far, that just isn't working.

According to the Users Manual, there are 4 output modes

1) Output from their software to the machine

2) Install a printer driver and print to the device from windows applications
They recommend NEC p2200 driver...

3) Output from their software to a .plt file

4) Print from DOS

---

Well, options 1 and 3 work fine. The .plt file appears to be pretty standard hp-gl.

However, I have not been able to get options 2 and 4 to work. I wrote an email to the seller, but was told that option 2 doesn't work. I wrote an email to the manufacturer and was told that I could buy new software that would "solve my problems."

I will let people know if the seller or manufacturer offer any assistance. I would like to think that since it is in the manual, that I will be lead to a solution.

For what it is worth, this laser is a LOT of fun to play with. I probably won't use it much as an engraver, but mostly as a cutter. But, watching it engrave is very satisfying.

I really hope that I can figure out how to use it with IntelliCAD. If I can, then I would give this small engraver rather high marks.

Steve

Actually, while I am here, I'll ask the question, but post a similar one in plotters...

This laser appears to be basically an hpgl plotter, but with a laser rather than a pen. I have played with numerous hpgl drivers, but none seem to make this thing go.

At first, I was getting various errors (no paper, device not ready...)

Thanks to some help, I made a parallel cable with pins 11 and 12 tied to ground via 1k resistors and with pin 15 disconnected entirely.

This improved the situation, as I was now not getting error messages. But the drivers still won't control the "plotter" - i mean laser engraver.

Any advice on how to establish control of this thing?

It would be nice to keep it as an hpgl plotter, as the PU and PD commands turn the laser off and on.

Thanks

Steve

Is hooking up a scope and monitoring what is going on when it is "printing" from its proprietary software as possibility? Do some reverse engineering.

Or:

I would think that, depending on steppers or servos, that you could replace the proprietary drivers with something from Gecko and a breakout board - then drive with Mach3? Maybe? Not sure if Mach3 can turn-on/off a laser, plus you have to adjust power levels too, right? Might want to see what the homebrew laser guys use to drive their machines...

I do have a "spare" 3 axis card laying around...X Y and laser power adjust. Laser On/Off could be one of the other commands.

This is a possibility and a likelihood that I will have to go this direction.

But for the fun of it, I would like to take this as far as I can with its current board.

How can I learn more about monitoring what is going on? Is there any software that can monitor/track/record what is going on in the par port?

How else does one monitor what is going on?

No need for a tutorial, but a point in the correct direction.

Thanks

Hi , i searched a bit in the internet and found some parallel port monitoring software

try SysInternals PortMon at www.sysinternals.com/utilities/portmon.html

or checkout www.geekhideout.com

By the way , what is the manufacturer of those laser machines in pictures?
I work on a GCC Mercury LaserPro for raster engraving and cutting mainly acrylics, wood and engraving glass.

I may solve you any about this machine difficulty and the question

I am this machine manufacturer,Very many people sell the old machine in the proxy,But he already eliminated in Asia and China,Because I designed have made the new machine

The software may support PLT,DXF,BMP,JPG...
Software support color,Line,Time,Energy control
Supports CAD2002-2006,Output,Similar also has POTOSHOP,CORELDRAW
Uses new DSP the chip

The mechanical drive components also have the improvement

HKXY

Hi Pedro,

Thanks for the links. I should have some time tomorrow to continue to work on this.

The manufacturer:
Best I can tell, I believe it was made by
Jinan Hengxing Computer Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

http://www.hxlaser.com/en/index.htm
the "Rabbit HX-40A"
http://www.hxlaser.com/en/products/chapter.htm

though I purchased mine thru:
http://www.iehk.net/Products/IE300.html

----

The GCC Mercury LaserPro looks like a VERY nice machine. Software really does make a big difference...

Thanks again

Steve

The GCC machine is the very good machine, but the price is high

HX-40A is the popular machine, the price is low, but needs you to have the appropriate preparation.
Asked you know HX-40A the price?

Yes, it is a more expensive machine, not because of the software :
-working area 635mm x 458mm
-rotary option
-dual head option

The best of this machine is the auto-focusing system and you may open the front & back door to engrave long pieces as well it has internal memory to store up to 100 cutting/engraving files.

Yet it is far more expensive

I may make any size the laser to cut the machine
Size scope: 10-2400 millimeter
Power: 15-200W
Contains the complete software,Air system,Laser,Optics lens,Controls the electrical machinery...

He makes in China,The price is low

If you need,May tell yours request I,Perhaps I can give you the good price

Hey Steve,
I see you purchased through Ink Express. How was the buying experience. I have been looking at the larger laser but had my reservations because they are overseas and I would have no recourse if something went wrong. How about freight and customs?

Hey txcowdog,

The Ink Express buying experience... Overall, the buying experience was more positive than negative. But it wasn't perfect. At this point, I am still glad that I bought it.

Before I bought mine, I did download the manual. According to the manual, it could do what I wanted and needed it to do. I was fairly sold.

I would advise you to try to find the manual for the model in which you are interested in the "downlord" section of their website. If there are any features you see that are essential to you, be sure to ask them BEFORE you buy if that feature is really supported.

In my case, the manual indicates that the engraver should work as a stand alone plotter. But, that feature isn't actually supported. So, I must use their software to design and to control the machine.

Payment was wierd. They accept wire transfer or xcoin. I decided on xcoin. So, I set up a separate bank account and deposited the exact amount that the machine would cost. Then I set up an xcoin account. But xcoin has limits on the amount you can transfer from an "unverified" account and it takes awhile to verify an account. (Verification required faxing proof of identity to a number in Canada which gets forwarded to xcoin's headquarters in China or HongKong - then waiting for them to decide whether to verify your account - which could take DAYS) It was faster to go back to the bank and make more accounts and set up the xcoin account to pull from multiple bank accounts.

Shortly after the money was sent, I got a receipt from Ink Express and it didn't take all that long (2 weeks +/-) to get to Los Angeles. But it ended up in customs for a couple more weeks.

I am not sure if mine got damaged in shipping or if the guys in customs were less than subtle in their searching, but the power supply was gutted and the styrofoam had been rather smashed and lots of pieces of foam were strewn thru the machine.

But the power supply was easily fixed and the foam vacuumed out.

When I went to run it for the first time, the laser head went to the homing position, but it didn't want to stop. You know the sound, like when a flatbed scanner wants to keep going...turns out that the limit switch is a proximity sensor, but the metal tab had bent. I readjusted the tab and turned it back on and it went home without a hitch.

Also, my water filter unit was faulty, but that is just a cheap aquarium pump. Got another for about $10. That wasn't made by them, so I can't really fault them too much (only a little)

Anyway, it has been working fine since then.

But I have had issue with their software, since the software that comes with my machine only supports pixel based graphics (bmp and jpg.) It does work. And it is easy. But, I was really looking forward to using it to cut out CAD files. Their "support" has been less than stellar, as in (and I am paraphrasing) "Yes, you are right. The option you want doesn't work"

Would I buy another from them? Well, it seems the price for the one I got may be cheaper at:
http://www.hxlaser.com/en/index.htm

Another to consider is:
http://www.chinaoptronics.com/engraver.htm

Knowing that support from overseas is limited, you might consider going the cheapest route.

It is hard for me to give a glowing recommendation, but for the money...it really is a fun toy. If you feel reasonably certain that the model you want really can do what you want and need it to do, then it could be a great tool and tremendous value.

If I can hack their software and make it "plot" CAD files, then I would say it was a great investment. For now, I wish their were more support and I wish they felt compelled to make their device perform like in the manual...

If I have any advice...
I would send email to all three and see who sends email back to you.
Ask some pointed and direct questions about functionality and see which company is best able to aswer your questions.

Most of all, I wish you luck.

For me, so far, no regrets. Sorting it out is the kind of challenge I like.

As always, caveat emptor

I thought you lack the understanding regarding China's product,Because the Chinese industry is very centralized,Produces one kind of product the crowd to like concentrating in an area,For instance this small laser machine,His centralized area in north,In order to reduce the cost to produce the merchant to need the batch the purchase,Specially outer covering and plate work,But can have the massive factories in the short time also to produce the same product,Like this everybody outward appearance has been similar,But internal structure and software,The performance is very big not same,But American and Europe's people all do not understand this

I designed the production laser in China to cut the machine already very many years,If you have the interest to the Chinese product,I may provide the consultation for you,

It is likely to be true that people outside of China do not understand how things are made there. I know I don't.

I do know that there are several vendors selling laser engravers that look very much the same and are sold as having much the same features.

I would say that the limited amount of information makes it dificult to tell the difference.

--

I am not sure I understand the consultation that you provide?

Can you tell me how the hardware works?
What data is it expecting?
Can the InkExpress IE300 operate with HP-GL instructions?
Must I use the MoshiSoft software?
Is there other software available that will support DXF and DWG without conversion?

Mine looks like the one in the attached photo. I can also take pictures of the control board if that helps.

Thank you

Hi I was wondering if anyone could look at the following thread and give me some advice:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20332

....sorry for hyjacking this one! ;)

sidi_steve,

Do you mind telling us what you paid for the machine?

Thanks,
Paul

I paid the posted rate:
http://www.iehk.net/Products/IE300.html
$1199 + $250 shipping

After I bought it, I got a quote for less from:
http://www.hxlaser.com/en/products/chapter.htm

And supposedly, the software at HX does support vector AND raster images...

Sidi_steve:
Your this machine,He uses the software and the PCNC controller and the computer and the WIN software work,The old machine uses HPLI,PLT,Now has the new machine,Uses DXF,PLT,BMP,JPG,Even more the senior software may in CAD,POTOSHOP,In CORELWAR works directly,Also may differentiate the color the use

Is not,Your software is specificEach producer's software name all is different,But it is a pity,They have established the different controller,Therefore the software cannot use together,This is possibly the commercial interest consideration,In this price machine,The software all is the difference not big,Because this machine is designed the manufacture circle the seal,Therefore this is his key point,If you need to make other artwares,Advertisement advertisement POP...,Then you need the senior machine,Although his price is not very high
If this small machine price is USD900,Then the 600*900 millimeter laser possible price is USD5000-8500,But a 1200*800 millimeter machine is possibly USD6500-13000,And this reference price contains you to be able imagine possessing to cut the machine about the laser the components and the software,Certainly each country can some differencesSpecially software language and price,As well as customs' outer covering packing

Certainly these machines sold to outside China the local price to be able to be higher than this locality,The reason is the exportation product has the special cost, They will not like for these small prices machines providing later to serve,I in mine company,Is attempting to change this condition,Provides the service for mine customer,Possibly is the network,Returns to the repair,Or goes to your depot level maintenance,Certainly in permission scope,And I am this goal diligently,Once attempted seeks the proxy sale and the service means,But it is a pity I not found the appropriate agent in US and Europe


Diarmaid:
You saw comes from China's middle to this machine,Wuhan Hubei,There is center laser 1.th several areas of concentration
This machine is used for to make the handicraft
Regretted,I cannot understand you % digital meaning

If you have the question,Welcome to inquire me











China's laser sale merchants,Factory,Now all busy deals with the product order the time pressure,Actually I am the hope provide us to the world the outstanding machine,Possibly lacks in the world advertisements propaganda and the introduction,I also hoped can sell this machine to world each country,Our product superiority is,The product quality is good,The price is low,Although the present also has the service and the time question,But this machine so long as cannot have the question according to the correct operating procedure work,Moreover I instruct my customer operator's correct method of work,I hoped can have many friends to act sells my machine,With purchases my machineAnd has more new products to produce by the unceasing design.

If you have about the Chinese product question need to consult,I can answer you with every effort,But my English too bad,Or you attempt yours question narration are more detailed,Perhaps I may understand

hkxy....are you in Hong Kong?

I live in Beijing

Moreover I have the manufacture sale service in QINGDAO SHANGHAI BEIJINGMainly is the manufacture sells LASER to cut machine,3AXIS-CNC,DIY-CNC.

Moreover I also want to act sell come from American and Europe's CNC product,If you have the cargo which may sell,Also may ask me to sell in China,For example CNC controller,Electrical machinery,CNC components....

Hi Steve,

Earlier you said the machine would work from a .PLT file, is that correct?

Have you tried configuring your HPGL driver to print to a file?

Then you would hopefully be able to plot from CAD to file, then dump the file to the laser.


- Joel -

Joel -

I wish it would work from a .PLT

There are 2 output options:
1)The software can output directly to the machine
2) The software can output to a .PLT file

I have tried many, many ways to plot one of those files, but no dice. The file is standard HP-GL (very simple X and Y coord data and pen up + pen down).

But apparently the device itself does not run directly on hpgl.

So, what I am hoping to do is redirect the output from the port to a file. Then I can read the file and determine what it is that the device is expecting...

Steve

.

I am looking for a machine to cut balsa and ply wood as well as etch various products... I hav looked at Epilog but they are dear...

What do you sell hkxy???

I sell the machine which the laser cuts,Cuts the size is the 1200*800 millimeter,
Also may defer to you to request to make 3,000 millimeter below the laser to cut the machine,He may relaxed cut balsa,I have the experience,Because I use this machine building model airplane

I might be in for one of these, if the price is right and the software is acceptable.

price and the software is acceptable

hey has anyone used these machines to engrave on chrome or polished aluminum?

If so what steps do you have to do the make it work? ie cover with paper, lamp black or what not.

How many watts would you need to cut tin foil type thickness in metal? (don't answer unless you done this, as I realy don't need speculation)

Also Sid_steve when you engraved the mirror/glass for Dairmaid did you run the laser over the whole surface or just on the features?

if you ran it over the whole features, why? and will it let you just engrave on the image itself?

edit: i looked at the image more thuroughly and I see that it was run as a negative image. Can you run it as a positve image where just the bird and leaves are engraved?

.

Hey Miljnor -

In this case, the laser engraved where the image was light in color and it did not engrave where the image was dark. There is a choice. There are 2 check boxes (click on one and the other goes unchecked) One check box is for "cave" and one is for "convex"

Here is what the manual says:
Convex/Cave: Two kinds of mode of the seal, choose the mode needed;

I forget which option I chose, but one engraves the black part of the image and the other choice engraves the white part of an image.

I will test on alum foil later

steve

I was reading an artical on focal length and watts vs focal point size and focal length, It said you need a certain power level to burn through certain materials.

So a XX watt laser is needed to burn thru X material at XXX focal point size (something about engergy density). So I think a 40watt laser will never be able to get to this energy density, because you can't focus the beem tight enough, due to Wavelength of a C02 laser.

I am more interested now in if it will engrave a chrome part without a laser marking compond (acts similarly to toner from a laser jet but wont come off of metal surface).

Can the engrave a cylindrical object, such as a glass, or is it limited to flat plates?

Hi Scott,

I suppose the best answer is that it is limited to flat surfaces. Likely, that is the only answer.

But I have been giving the cylinder engraving idea some thought.

Now the rest of what I am going to say is just putting out an idea, but one I am not about to embark on right now nor is this any kind of recommendation.

-----The following is just an idea! Be careful! High Voltage! Laser beams! Yeah yeah--


Basically, this thing consists of 2 motors and a laser. The two motors control X and Y. Well, if you were to engrave on a cylinder, all you would need is 2 motors, right? This will depend on the orientation, but one motor could control the rotation of a cylinder around the Y axis while the other controls Y. If you were to find another stepper motor that was wired the same as the existing X motor, then you could simply unplug the existing X and plug in this other motor and you could use that for your rotation.

One of the motors is attached to the board via thin ribbon cable (which also carried the limit/home lines) but the other motor has 4 wires and is plugged in to the board via a connector. It would be easy enough to pull that connector and plug in a different motor.

Making something to actually rotate your cylinder would be easy enough. This would be nearly the same as the 4th axis for an XYZ cnc machine and plans for a 4th axis are just a google away.

Since you would have no planar X control while the rotary device was plugged in, you would have to manually position the X position. (You may even have to manually move the X position into and then away from the home position during the init phase so that the home switch gets toggled)

The next challenge would come when trying to design the image you want to engrave. The engraver can only be run with their software, which of course is expecting you to engrave upon an XY plane. But, if you plan ahead and can calculate the circumference of your cylinder, then you could design something that would fit nicely on a cylinder.

I can't remember the focal length of the focusing lens, but it is fixed and it is designed to move about in XY planar fashion of the engraving surface. Let's say for this discussion that the fixed distance the lens is above the surface is 3". As long as the surface of the cylinder is that same 3" distance away from the laser head, then it should engrave well.

So, could you do it? Yeah, I think it could be done. Is this a supported "off the shelf" feature? Nope. And of course, your results could be either glorious or disastrous, depending on your skill (and luck) with electronics and the rest of it. Like I said, it's just food for thought.

It seems that a rotary table is what is needed and probably wouldn't be feasible given the space constraints in the case. See to be quite a limiting factor though.

Given your current machine and the limitations that you have would you be able to recommend any others?

I know that I would like more power though for a deeper etching in some materiels.

Please describe the problems again with glass. Was it tempered? Did you pulse it to control heat, can you even do that?
Thanks,
Scott

Hi Scott,

I haven't spent too much time trying to engrave, so I may not know all the options. But it certainly doesn't appear that there are any choices for pulse settings.

The glass was whatever came from a broken flatbed scanner I had. I don't really know any of its properties, but it was an HP3200c scanner. So, the piece of glass was already broken, but appeared to have no cracks in the area I was trying to engrave. The heat from the engraving process probably caused a pre-existing crack to expand and further break the glass.

I am probably not the right guy to ask about which engraver would be right for you.

I am sorry that I can't be more help. Good luck

Steve

Hey Gang -

I guess I have to eat a few of my words and take back what I said. Here goes.

If you have been keeping up with my postings on the subject, I bought my Ink Express IE 300 mini laser engraver with the primary goal of cutting vector based files. I like gears, so the plan is to cut plastic gears using .PLT files.

My initial attempts to do this were less than successful and I wrongly assumed that it would not be possible to cut vectors properly from within their software.

Now, I will say that it would be easier and offer more control if one could cut directly from DOS using PLT files, but you can't and that is a sore point.

But, getting back to what you CAN do from within their software...

At first, I made a mistake. It appeared that the only image files it could accept were BMP and JPG. There is an image converter portion of their software. It will convert .PLT into BMP, but the results are not great. Not the way to go for precision.

But, I recently discovered that in the image import part of the software, it will import .PLT directly, without conversion. It is a little funny, because there is a dialogue box that says image.BMP even though you are looking at image.PLT on your screen. So, I wrongly assumed that it was doing a conversion. The fact is, that it is making a BMP, but that is only for viewing. So, even though it looks like a low-res pixelated (aliased) version of your vector file, it will actually cut as a vector.

But no so quick. You go to the output screen and click on "outline" (which is their vector mode) and then "output". At this point, it will only cut out part of your file. And thats all you get. The user is totally reliant on how their software interprets your .PLT

I knew my .PLT file was good, as I also have an HP compatible plotter and I could completely and accurately plot my .PLT files on the plotter. And when I open them in the laser engraver software, you can SEE the whole thing, but it wouldn't cut the whole thing. It would typically get hung up on the edges.

I spent DAYS working on this, but then realized that their software wasn't really trying to calculate some edges. Hard to explain, but for any single image, the software my fail to edge detect where the edge is close to (or falls on) the outer edge of the image.

So, in the case of a .PLT file, it was simple enough to introduce some bogus lines that were outside the area that I really wanted to cut. This worked, but not always.

I finally stumbled onto a solution where the bogus lines sort of defined the corners of an image larger than I was really trying to cut. And by doing short bogus lines, then when the software is scanning for edges, it finds the edges I want. Hard to explain, but it works! I am finally cutting gears, using their software. For what it's worth, it sometimes finds the bogus lines and cuts them too, but sometimes it doesn't find the bogus lines.

Yeah, a long and complicated tale. I had to tell ya that it CAN be done!

I hope the pics help!

The first represents a PLT that successfully plots on HP plotter.
The second shows a possible result of that PLT with engraver
The third represents a PLT file that successfully cuts out a gear with engraver!

It's those lines outside the cutting area that let the software see the edges of the image.

It really can be done!

And here is an example of a 45tooth gear cut out on the engraver. The gear came out very nice. Notice how only one of the bogus got cut.

That is nice steve. What software do you use for drawing your gears?

Thanks Diarmaid -

I really do like gears...and with the aim of making gears of different tooth count that can mesh together, I cobbled together a little excel application. At first, it was for g-code only, so I could make wooden gears with cnc. But recently made a PLT version.
You can download here, if ya like:

http://www.geocities.com/sidi_steve/NewPix/picView.html
GearCreate8

To get the g-code to compile, macros must be enabled. But to get PLT, you can enter the dimensions on the GearDataEntry worksheet and the results are on the LaserPLT worksheet.

Steve

After I bought it, I got a quote for less from:
http://www.hxlaser.com/en/products/chapter.htm

And supposedly, the software at HX does support vector AND raster images...


this machine you posted I just got a email back from and they said they now sell from a U.S. Merchant. But unfortunately he needs his nut and the machine is almost double the price. I don't know if you can get them direct anymore.

http://www.electronicutopia.com/ This is the US sales now

miljnor

Maybe you should have a look at this site: http://www.hflaser.com/jgdkj.html

Im thinking about the 3040A machine. It is more expensive than the IE300 (Less expensive than that crazy new price!) but it comes with a larger cutting area for the extra cash so its justified, and the distributors are in Canada.

Unfortunately there have been no replies to my post about it so I dont have a clue if its any good.

www.hxlaser
www.hflaser



These laser machines all are in the Chinese Jinan,I understand them extremely,Because we are the colleague,Or is the friend,
I sell such machine in US and Europe,But they need the customs to authenticate,
3,040 prices estimates are between 1000-3000 US dollar,And he is the RISC machine,Was inferior to DSP is good
Hoped I may help you,About this machine

Hi Sidi Steve. I ordered an ie300 last week by wire transfer to their bank, and they got the funds and shipped within a week. The transfer cost $45., but I felt better doing it this way. Anyway, they said it had been shipped via FedEx and I should get it in 3-5 days. Assuming Customs doesn't delay delivery, I should have it in a couple of days. I hope it arrives in good condition, and that all I will have to do to get it up and running is djust the mirrors and lens.
Anyway, I just read your story about cutting vectors, and I have to say that your hard earned info and techniques to cut vectors is pure gold. You have earned my heartfelt thanks! When I get it up and running I'll post my experiences and results. I hope I will also be able to provide some useful info for any other users out there. Again, THANK YOU! I wouldn't have figured out your techniques by myself in a year of trying. I'll keep you posted.

Hi smparkinson -

Well congrats on the order and I hope it arrives safe, sound and soon.

One thing you can do while you are waiting is to go to a hardware store and buy a clean 5 gallon bucket. Then go to a grocery store and get at least three gallons of purified water.
Also, if you find a sale on poster board or any other card stock kinda papery stuff, then you'll have lots of stuff to practice your cuts on. Me, I went dumpster diving behind an art supply store and got lots of stuff about the weight of manilla folder, but white and red.

Anyway, always good to practice on something cheap.

Also, Might be a good idea to have a fire extinguisher nearby. Some of my experiments had the laser setting too high, and this caused the paper to burn. Hasn't been a problem yet, in that it hasn't caused the whole paper to ignite yet. I have seen flame and I have been able to blow it out.

If you have questions, lemme know. And please do keep me posted.

Steve

I just wanted to apprise everyone of my experience with Electronic Utopia. If ever the words Buyer Beware were applicable, this is the place. I purchased the 40 watt laser from him, by way of Ebay. After six weeks of waiting, and many unanswered phone calls and emails, I filed a grievance through PayPal. He immediately contacted me with a tracking number and begged me to withdraw my complaint, as the unit was on the way. DON'T EVER WITHDRAW YOUR PAYPAL COMPLAINT UNTIL YOU ARE COMPLETELY SATISFIED! But I didn't know that I wouldn't be able to refile it, and complied. The unit arrived via UPS a couple days later (Thursday, June 8th) -- now almost seven weeks after placing the order. I opened it immediately and inspected it. As you've probably already guessed, it was damaged. The laser tube was shattered, the fan unit was broken, and the cord that goes from the transformer to the unit is missing. I took photos of the damage and emailed them off to him post-haste. You're not going to believe what his response was. I am still sitting here, slack-jawed, myself. According to him, the photos are not of the unit he sent me. Apparently, he says, I have photographed another unit and am trying to commit mail fraud. Like I could afford two? As I've already mentioned, PayPal can't help me because I was naive enough to cancel the grievance at his request. And even if I hadn't, their limit for re-imbursement is only $1000. I've filed a grievance with Ebay, but it looks as though they are going to just kick me back to Paypal, because that's the payment method I used. I've filed a damage report with UPS yesterday, so I have no idea how that's going to come out yet. I don't hold out much hope for that because it will no doubt involve coordination with the vendor. That's obviously not going to happen. I have another avenue that I plan to pursue tomorrow (Monday), but overall, it looks like I'm out 2-grand. Small potatos to some, but I am laid-off and was hoping to use this opportunity to start a small business. Guess I start job-hunting tomorrow.

I'm not telling you to buy or not to buy from this individual. I'm just letting everybody know what I encountered. I wish I had this information available to me on April 22nd. My choice about whether to purchase or not would have been considerably different.

Hi colonel click,

:( Im really sorry about that mate. 2k is a lot of money, and a fortune if your out of work. Your info is much appreciated though. I wont be buying from him for sure.

Thanks for the kind sentiment, Diarmaid.

You know, what adds insult to injury here is that I had actually started to purchase from Ink Express back in March, but my banker called me and strongly encouraged me to withdraw my transfer (prior to executing it). He expressed deep concern that transferring money overseas had, in the past, resulted in the money disappearing down a "black hole", as he put it. So I decided to err on the side of caution and purchase from somebody domestic, with the belief that, although more expensive, I would stand a better chance of actually receiving the merchandise. It now looks like I should have gone with the "black hole". At the very worst, I wouldn't have lost as much.

I don't know if anyone on here has successfully ordered from Ink Express yet, but I would be interested in hearing about it. I see that smparkinson has placed an order, and I wish him the best of luck. If it goes well, maybe in 6 months or a year I can afford to follow his lead.

I just don't know how guys like that can sleep at night. Man, I am sure sorry that you have experienced such a horrible experience.

Here are my thoughts for damage control.

The cable, at least for my IE300, was like a standard computer cable. These can be found at Radio Shack, for sure, but often can be found at thrift stores for cents on the dollar. And many garage sales have some kind of computer equipment that would have the cable.

The fan, again can be found at Radio Shack or from old computers or similar.

The laser tube...I haven't tried, but according to the FAQ on the Ink Express website:

http://www.iehk.net/faq.html#6

08.Where can I purchase the laser tube and the Optics?
Ink Express can supply this consumables at low price.

I would try to contact people at:

hxlaser:
http://www.hxlaser.com/en/index.htm

and
Ink Express
http://www.iehk.net/

and
RedSail (hflaser)
http://www.hflaser.com/

Send them a picture of the model you have and ask for a quote on the tube with shipping.

While it is evident that you do have several problems, it may not be entirely dire, just a supreme pain in the ass.

I would start with the power cable and fan. They are cheap. At that point, you can do some testing. As in, you can power the unit on. Be sure the laser power know is ALL THE WAY to the left. When the unit powers on, it will try to drive the head to its home position, which is upper left. If it goes there and stops, then at least you know that the motion control system works. And if so, then you'll know whether to invest in a tube. DO NOT TRY to test the software and DO NOT press the "laser test" button. I am thinking that if the unit tries to activate the laser, but the laser isn't there, then "BAD THINGS" could happen... I believe that as long as one does not try to activate the tube, then one can power the unit on to test the X and Y components.
Also note that when under power, the head can not be moved manually. But with power off, you can move the head. So, a real simple test is to manually move the head somewhere in the middle and then power the unit on. Finally, no need to worry about the water, as the water is only to cool the tube.

Please feel free to ask me any further questions. I wish you luck!

Steve

I meant "knob" not "know"

Be sure the laser power KNOB is ALL THE WAY to the left.

Hey Colonel -

For what its worth - I felt exactly the same way. I almost ordered from Electronic Utopia. I was uneasy about sending money to the potential black hole. But, after sending Elec Distopia an email asking for info, I heard nothing and decided to go the route of Ink Express. It arrived and the experience was mostly alright.

Just outta curiosity, where are you located

Steve

So why did you all not buy one from me then???

dixonjk,
I did previously state that I might be interested in one if the price and software were right. See post #30. I never heard a word from you.
Scott

Knob. Got it.

Thanks, Steve. Your suggestions are highly insightful and greatly appreciated. The first thing I want to do is wait and see if UPS wants to inspect this. So I don't dare touch anything unless or until they get back to me. At that point, I will print out your post and follow it like a recipe. Ain't got nothin' to lose, right?

So you have successfully purchased from Ink Express, then? Wonderful! Wish I had discovered this forum months ago. Which brings me to Mr. dixonjk's post. I am truly sorry, sir. I did, indeed, only discover CNCzone today. Or, to be more precise, my buddy Paul discovered it today. He was so incensed about what has happened to me that he started googling around trying to find more information and such. "Check your email", he says. I began at the beginning of this thread and followed it all the way through. I knew that I had to get the word out about my experiences, so I signed up immediately. Glad I did. You folks seem like a pretty good bunch. Hope I can save just one person from making the same mistake I did.

The ol' Colonel currently calls Springfield, Missouri home, Steve.

Hey Colonel -

I was hoping you might be right down the proverbial street..but alas, I am in Nor California. Regardless, I'll try to provide assistance.

Of course, it makes sense to try to get the situation resolved properly first, as that would be best. Let us know how it goes.

again, I wish you luck.

Steve

Only if the proverbial street is 1900 miles long. On a recent trip to northern Arizona, the motel operator asked me where I was from. I smiled and said "Just down the road." She gave me the expected look of perplexity. I said "See that street out front: Route 66? I live about 1200 miles THAT way." (In fact, I live one block off old Route 66 in Springfield, MO.) We became fast friends.

I'll keep you up to date on the progress, or lack thereof, of my little.... um... situation. Thanks again, Steve.

here is the email of the suppliers of Electronic utopia. I am sure they would be interested in how thier American supplier is doing business.

And who knows maybe they will make good on it. And if they don't you could always say the the P.R. would be good if they "made it right" and bad if the didn't. Their choice.

hxsun@hxlaser.com

Is it me or do all of the Online names of the chinees guys look the same? :)



I am going to order one of the bigger units from ink express. But will wait to see if smparkinson's come in good condition.

I am going to order one of the bigger units from ink express. But will wait to see if smparkinson's come in good condition.

Ink express are certainly getting steady business from this site! Maybe cnczone could contact them and see if they will give any special offers to members. :D

no doubt. Although usually the prices just goes up... :(

Companies get successfull and the raise prices. Whats up with that? usually they get bigger and make things cheaper, Must be greedy! ;)

Everything is alrighty though! just have a moose droole! :cheers:

Thanks for the suggestion, Miljnor. I think that's a fine idea. The supplier does need to know how his "representative" is representing him. I'll shoot off a little advisory to him right now. Frankly, I don't expect much in the way of satisfaction, but you never know. I'll keep you folks in the loop.
-Click

Hey Colonel Click,

You might be interested in these two threads:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20332

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20872

There's a lot of good information in those two threads, Diarmaid. Thanks for making them available to me. Maybe by the time I can afford to try again, I will be able to make an informed decision this time. I do plan to try again, it's just that I may have to go back to working for the "man" for a while to replenish my cash reserves a bit.

Hi Sidi Steve,
Well, I took delivery of my ie300 unit today. This will be one of the longer days of my life, as this is hardly a plug and play piece of equipment. First, I'll tell you of today's trials and tribulations, than I have a few questions that I hope you can help me with. OK, here goes........
Two packages were delivered by DHL this morning, one big and one small. The small one was the power supply. As I opened it, a couple of small springs fell into my hand. When I got it opened, there was a grey sheet metal case with lots of dents and it rattled like tons of lose parts. Sure enough, I opened it and everything spilled out. This wasn't a matter of Customs inspection gone wild. This "power supply" had been damaged before being packed. Anyway, aside from being dented and ugly, the switch on the back (115V / 230V) was in pieces. The pieces were all there and I put it back together and snapped it closed. There was no way of knowing if I had reversed the output or not, but I figured that once I knew which setting was which, I could keep it in the right position with a piece of duct tape or something. Since I didn't have an amp meter to check it with, I took a junk mini halogen lamp I had laying around and tried it with the power supply. When it was set to the 115V setting, the lamp went on brighter than I'd ever seen it. Than I tried it on the 230V setting, and the lamp came on rather dimly. I than took the lamp and pluged it directly into the wall recepticle. It went on dimmer than on the power supply set to 115V, and brighter than when it was set to 230V. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a lot about electronics, but it seemed to me that while the 230V setting was probably closer to the 115V output I was seeking, it seemed the dull lamp light was not getting enough voltage. I tried the same thing with a little exhaust fan I had laying around, and sure enough, the fan turned a lot faster when it was plugged into the wall recepticle than when it was plugged into the power supply set at 230V. Be assured that I will be getting a volt meter before the day is out, and than I'll know the actual output of the power supply in both settings. It goes without saying that I will not be pluging the laser unit in until I have the correct power supply.
Not plugging the laser unit in until later shoudn't be a problem since they sent me a power cable for Europe and/or Asia(?) I have an extra power cable I found in the garage, so it's no big deal. And it's a good thing that I had that old exhaust fan laying around, because the one they sent me doesn't work no matter where I plug it in. And speaking of cables, the one they sent me to interface between my computer and the laser is the old style parallel port type. I had to pay $39. for a parallel port/USB cable. They say there is an English users manual, but I couldn't find one. Good thing I can download one from their website.
I was able to load their software into my computer without too much of a problem. I figured that a good way to get familiar with their software would be to click on the "HELP" button. When I clicked it, turned out that all the "help" info is in Chinese.
Now, my BIG question is this. If it turns out that their power supply will not give me the correct voltage I need to run the machine without damage, would I be able to substitute a computer power supply from a place like CompUSA? And if I need to do that, should I get one that is rated for 500 amps, or will a 250 amp unit do the job?
Believe it or not, aside from all my *****ing and whining, I'm still not all that mad. I am looking forward to getting things up and running. It's like a lot of other things in life. You deal with the problems, you buy parts and you fix things, and than the things actual work and you've saved some money. Not such a bad way to end the day, assuming everything works out OK. That being said, you can be sure that I have some things to say to the rep at Ink Express. I expect them to make it up to me one way or another. A complementary mini CNC machine would do a lot to smooth things over. (Yeah right)
In closing, let me thank all you out there who offer information and advise to the people who have questions and technical problems. You're very much appreciated, and I certainly hope I will be able to help someone in the same way one of these days.
My personal thanks go out to Sidi Steve for sharing his experiences and advise regarding this potentially (hopefully) nice little engraving machine. THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
Steve Parkinson
(smparkinson@hotmail.com)

Hey Steve -

Well, it arrived rather quickly! That is a good thing. Sorry to hear that it was less than perfect. So frikkin frustrating. I do hope you can figure out a way to get Ink Express to make it right.
My transformer was also in a state of disassembly. I thought it was due to "Customs inspection gone wild", but mine wasn't as bad as yours. Sounds like it works, tho.

I just went out to mine with a voltage meter.
This transformer can be used to convert 110v ac to 220v ac. Inside there are 2 coils, one with 2x as many winds as the other. So, it can also be used to convert 220v ac to 110v ac. Now, since we use 110v ac (really anything from 110 to 120 or so) this transformer will convert it to 220v ac or 55v ac - either double or half. Make sense? The switch in back should display the input voltage. Mine says "115" meaning that it is getting 110-120 and will output 220-240v ac. The unit runs on +/- 220v ac.

Inactuality, the voltage coming out of my wall reads around 121v ac and the voltage I read post transformer is 233v ac. That gets plugged into the laser engraver. Inside the laser engraver, the power appears to get directed to 2 different locations. 1 goes to a regulated power supply as the motion control and logic runs on what looks like 12v dc. The power is also getting directed to the laser. I haven't yet measured the voltage going there, as I really haven't wanted to stand there with the unit open and the laser itself ON while trying to make contact with the leads of my volt meter...

I truly hope this helps

Steve

USB v Parallel compatibility...

Hey Steve - I truly hope that the USB to parallel cable solution works. Let me know either way on that one.

First, let me ask, is your software called Moshi or MoshiSoft or somesuch like that?
Second, is your computer laptop or desktop?

My experience is that Moshi only works with LPT1 (not even LPT2) . You can see in my previous posts, that I have made many attempts to control the unit outside of LPT1, to no avail.

Let me know if you have a problem controling the unit and I will try to help.

----

About the transformer...be careful in selecting one. Like I mentioned, this is a transformer for changing voltage, from 110Vac to 220Vac. It is also rated for 600VA.
(That is what it says) Mine gets pretty warm. Now, I am not really great at explaining electronics, but I believe that in order for that 40w laser to "lase" there is a transformer within the unit that produces some very high voltage (not unlike the ballast for a fluorescent tube) This transformer probably draws some pretty heavy current. So, should you need to get a new power supply, I'll do my best to help you locate something. But I would suggest steering clear of anything in the 250watt range...

I should really contact Ink Express and Red Sail and all of those companies...I could do a decent job of representing and troubleshooting their product...

Out of curiosity, where are you located?

Steve

Hi Steve,
Just a quick note, and I'll fill you in as I make progress (Ihope). When I hooked up the box between the wall outlet and the laser, the laser toggle switch did glow red. But the test button didn't produce a beam. Also, the X/Y mechanism did nothing. However, after reading the manual again, I noticed it referenced the use of a voltage regulater. I wondered if my box was actually a voltage regulater used to keep the juice consistant, so I plugged the laser directly into the wall outlet. Although the laser head didn't move home, which my old GCC Mercury did on power up, the test button did produce a cutting beam which I tested on a piece of paper. That made me happy.
Anyway, I'll hopefully get the software up and running and see if that brings the X/Y mechanism to life. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for your help!
Steve

Sorry. I forgot to answer your question! I'm located in the Orlando Florida area, but I work in Vermont and spend more time up there than down here. My wife would much prefer me to move my laser up there, and that is what I will be doing. She's much nicer to me when I do what she says. I think she will be happier when me and my laser are both up there.
Steve

Hey Steve,

Well, either way - Florida or Vermont - it is a bit far for this California kid to take a look at it.

How are things coming together?

So, I just disconnected my laser engraver from the computer. Mine, when powered up, will still home itself, even without being connected to the computer.

Steve

Hi Steve,
The transformer worked out ok. The one they sent me only put out 60 volts, than dropped to 2 volts, than down to o. So I got one at a local place called Skycraft. Cost $50. and is rated at 600 AV. I tested it and it's putting out about 230v or so, and when I power up the laser head goes to home as it should. The laser puts out a nice hot beam when I hit the test button. But that's about it.
I've played with the software and made a test file consisting a series of concentric numbered rectangles so that I could tell exactly what the cutting area is. However, I can't cut it. When I hit the output button, I get a little message that it is outputting, but the laser does nothing. I think it's because of the USB to parallel cable setup, and if that's the case I don't know what to do. I don't mind jumping through a few hoops to get this thing up and running, but this is getting rediculous. Please help me!!!

as stated earlier I don't think you will be able to use the USB-Parallel cable, as I don't think their software is setup for it.

you will probably have to get a pci card with a parallel port to make the software work.

Hi Steve

You are SO CLOSE to getting this to work. You will be cutting soon.

Here is the deal as I see it.

When you open the moshi software, on the upper left there is the file tab.
When you click on file, there should be a "System Options" or "Options" that
you can click on.

This will bring up a Systems Option dialog box.

With the box open, click on the "select port" tab.

The upper most option is the key. Although it appears that there are options,
really it seems that ONLY LPT1 works. LPT1 is your systems primary parallel
printer port. LPT2 won't work and neither will com1 (serial). I checked out
the backend of their software and the output supercedes regular windows
protocol (at least in win98) and takes direct control of the lpt1 port. Kinda
weird and different than a regular printer or plotter. You NEED to have a
parallel port. So, if you don't have a parallel port, there are 2 things you
might try.

1. Go to compUSA or other and buy a parallel card. Usually they are cheap.
Follow the instructions (Generally, open box, install card, power up, install
software and restart) Now you have a parallel port. Right click on my
computer, click on hardware, click on Device manager, scroll down to "Ports
(COM & LPT) click on the "+" and be sure LPT shows up as LPT1. if you have no
LPT1, then see if you can find instructions for LPT1 assignment.

Remember, you NEED LPT to be LPT1.

Once you have LPT1, then set moshi to LPT1.

If ADDING a parallel port to your computer fails, then try buying a cheap
computer from craigslist or other used source. Mine runs on a $25 Pentium3
running windows98. They can be had cheap. If you find several, stay away from
NT as there is no USB support and you will still need USB for their dongle to
work.

Once you have functional parallel port, things should work.

I gotta run out for dinner, but I'll be back in a bit.

Good luck

Steve

Hi. This info is all really facinating, and Steve P I hope you get up and running soon. Im sure its no consolation but at least the info from your problems is and will be helping others who haven't bought yet (Me), and who look at this thread in future. Thanks.

One question. Did either of you buy specific protective goggles for using with this? If so, where did you get them. If not, what are you using, or are they needed at all. Thanks.

Hi guys,
I can't say enough about how helpful you all are with your suggestions. Having spent most of yesterday fooling around with the laser, I have neglected to take care of my household duties. I am home on a "vacation" from my work up in Vermont, which means that my wife expects me to work around the house while she is at work. If I don't take care of things around here before she gets home, she'll be hitting me with that rolling pin again.
One thing good about the domestic work. It's mindless stuff which gives me time to think about important things, like will I ever get this laser to cut? And, when I get this laser to cut, will she (the wife) make me get it out of the living room? And, will I ever be able to make a little money with this laser once I get it works?
I wanted to use this unit with my laptop, which doesn't have a parallel port. It does have a knock out cover for a slot showing a parallel port icon, however, when I removed the cover, there was no parallel port outlet. Didn't look like there was room to plug in a card/port either, but I know everything in laptop's is miniaturized, so I'm hoping I can go that route if it doesnt cost too much. I would certainly be prefer to control the laser with the laptop, but if that can't be done I guess I'll have to go the used desktop route. That is IF I can find a machine that has both parallel port for the laser AND a USB port for the software key.
Now I am starting to wonder if there would be a cost effective way of just using the mechanical components of this machine, and obtaining / installing control electronics that would be more user friendly. It would be really nice to be able to "print" directly from Corel Draw or Autocad. When I had my GCC Mercury machine, one of the features I really liked was that you could control different segments of the job by assigning them with color coded parameters. Each color could be controled by assigning specific values like speed, laser strength, PPI, etc. In effect, you could actually give your work a little bit of 3D effect. It also worked well to have the job do raster first, than cut out the rastered parts in vector mode.
Anyway, if anybody has any ideas about replacing the electronics as described above, please let me know your thoughts. I should tell you that I know next to nothing about electronics. Any electronic retrofit would have to be plug n' play with a minimum of set up. If this is possible in a cost effective way, it could open up new doors for this machine. Think in terms of buying directly from the manufacturer in China with no controm electronics installed. The price would be lower, and the electronics could be chosen by the purchaser's preference.
I really want to here from you guys on the above prospect. Is there an electronics
control package out there? Would it be inexpensive enough to make it a cost effective change? And would it be easy enough to install and matchup with a software package to make it a viable alternative to "Moshidraw" and the laser as it now exists?
I will be scouting around for the parallel port fix today, and hopefully I will be lasing by the end of the day. Again, I very much appreciate everyones support out there, and I will keep you posted as the IE300 story continues to unfold.
Thanks again for your help!
Steve (smparkinson)
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Glad to hear your still plugging away Steve, sounds like your close to getting up and running. :)

Re the electronics, unfortunately I cant offer any advice but what you say certainly sounds do-able to my uninitiated mind, although it may involve quite a bit of work and time. You should contact the moderator 'Al The Man'. You'll see his posts in the electronics forum threads. Maybe pm him. I dont know if he'll be any help, but he certainly gave me great advice on electronics problems before. Maybe post a new thread in that forum also and see what comes up as those guys would probably know better than any general laser people in this forum.

Have you re-evaluated your position on the RedSail 3040A laser engraver since you bought this one, or do you still think you were better off not risking it? Im wondering because any opinions either way will affect my decision on which one to go with and I have to say that your experience is chasing me away from the IE300. :) Thanks.

Finding a used PC with parallel port/usb to get the system going as intended makes alot of sense. It appears you are trying to work through too many variables at this point. Retrofit of electronics sounds to me like a very bad idea.
Keep posting your progress.
Carl

Hi diarmaid,
If I had known than what I know now, I think I would have gone with the Redsale 3040. Although the price is about double of the IE300, the engraving area is about 11" x 16" as opposed to the approx. 8" x 11" of the ie300. That doesn't sound like much of an area, but when you actually measure it out, it is a substantial area to work with. In retrospect, I think that there probably isn't too much difference between Hong Kong and China these days. And if I can work out a plan to take delivery personally up in Canada, there is no doubt that is the route I would take now. After all, I can require a demo of the machine and software BEFORE paying the balance due on delivery. Hindsight is always 20/20, but perhaps others will benefit from my experience.
Redsail's software, as described by them is called Easycut 2.0 and...... "The Redsail laser system is compatible with Windows-based graphic programs, such as Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Auto CAD and etc."
I have been in contact with Leo at Redsail Canada, and he is trying to work out some sort of agreement with the company in China. What I proposed to him was that upon placing an order for the model 3040, I would pay $1000. in advance and the balance including shipping upon delivery, which I would take in person at his office in Canada. It's about a 500 mile trip each way for me when I am in Vermont, but if all else goes according to plan, I think a couple of days on the road would be well worth the effort.

I have found a download link at

http://www.esplines.com/langenu/downloads_easycut.php

I'm going to atempt a download of their English version, just to see if is more user friendy, even if it wont drive my ie300. If I can download a usably copy, I'm certainly going to see if I can get it to do anything with my laser. I'll keep you posted!
Steve
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Hi Carlnpa,
I agree with you about the retrofit of electronics in the ie300. If all else fails and it can be done cheaply, and if it is sure to work, I may consider it. If I end up getting another machine from another company, I might also try a retrofit on the ie300 just to make the two machines compatable. I have a lot of "IF's" going on right now, so I'll just have to keep working and see if I can get things going. I'll try to deal with all my "IF's" in the future if need be.
Steve
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Hey Steve,

Here are some of my thoughts - but I just got back from a long-ish bicycle ride. I haven't refueled yet, so the thoughts are less than organized.

Motion Control from Laptop:
Many people are using laptops to control their homebrew cnc machines via a parallel port. However, many other people experience problems using a laptop for motion control. The problems are generally due to slightly lower voltages coming off of the parallel card.
I would recommend trying to find a used desktop. Since I got into the cnc (and now laser and plotter ) hobby, I have collected several cheap computers. I use my nice one in the house for design and such and then keep the rest in the garage. I have one hooked up to my little cnc mill and one hooked up to my laser. And whenever I get a new toy to play with, such as a plotter or something, I have a few extra stacked in a corner. I try to find free ones or ones for less than $20. If I don't need it, sometimes I'll make sure it's running well and resell it for more...
Anyway, a desktop with USB and parallel shouldn't be too hard to find. I wish I were local to ya, I'd give you one to play with.

Retrofitting the Electronics:
I gave considerable thought to redoing the electronics on mine. In fact, I am still considering this route.

There are 3 primary things that you have the ability to control with the IE300:
1. X and Y motion - controlled by software
2. Laser On and Off - controlled by software
3. Laser Intesity - Manually controlled

The easiest electronics swap I can think of is this - to find a flatbed style XY pen plotter. I bought one similar to the attached picture, on eBay for a dollar plus $25 shipping. The one I got can be controlled via parallel or serial connections.

You would start by making sure you could plot the way you want with it. If so, then that is a good start. The next bit would be a little tricky, but these kind of flatbed XY plotters basically use an electro magnet (much like a solenoid) for pen control. It is likely 12v DC , but I haven't checked yet. Now the laser on and off, which you already know works, is as easy to operate as pressing that button. The same 2 wires that are on the backside of that button, can be closed just as easily by use of a relay. So, if you were to go to Radio Shack and buy a relay, then you could easily turn your pen control into laser control. Make sense?

There are other plotters out there that are more readliy available, but the flatbed type are easier to modify. The others have optical paper sensors and paper-size sensors and firmware that would present a far greater challenge to hack.

Retrofitting the Electronics - cnc style:
It would also be possible to buy a 3-axis cnc control card and some steppers. Be sure that the card had at least one software controlled on-off connection.

I believe these can be found from xylotex or hobbycnc, as well as others.

With this method, 2 of the axis will be X and Y. The third axis (called Z) can actually be used to control the laser intensity knob. The on-off can control a relay which can control the laser on-off.

Control of this cnc card would require a desktop computer with a parallel port. Would also require cnc control software - like TurboCNC or Mach3. For this application, Mach3 might be better as it can do what is called constant velocity contouring - meaning that it will adust the speed of X and Y to produce a constant speed. This is important with a laser because depth of cut is affected by speed. Make sense?

Summary:

The easiest thing for now is to see if you can find a cheap parallel card for your laptop - if it cost more than you feel comfortable investing in an additional test, then put that money toward a used desktop. It will likely work better anyway for motion control.

I truly believe that this is your final hurtle between where you are now and getting your IE300 moving and cutting.

The very fact that it goes home means that it can control the motors. The fact that you have pressed the laser test button and you get a beam means that the laser works. You also have the software up and running, so you know that works.

And I can tell you that the software is effectivley hardcoded to require LPT1. So, once you get a computer with a parallel port, you should be off to the races.

The only reason to consider a switch to different electronics is if you either can't get your computer to talk to the laser or if it can't do what you want. But I think you are almost there.

Good luck

Steve

Steve -

1 more thing -
should you choose the cnc route, you wuold also need some method of producing gcode, which is what the cnc control software requires. Basically, it is X, Y and Z data. I have used excel to make it. Once you know what flavor gCode your cnc control software likes, then it is fairly easy to make, but can present an additional hurtle. Not always plug-n-play...

Hi sidi_steve,
I wish I lived in sunny California so that I could enlist your help in person. Your depth on knowledge far exceeds mine when it comes to electronic controls. Fact is, I'm pretty much of a wysiwyg kind of guy, so I am probably better off making the best I can with what I have. But your suggestions all make a lot of sence, and I'm sure other members can benefit from them.
I'll be going back up to Vermont in another week or so, and my boss has several old computers laying around that I'm sure he would let me have if the did the job for me. In the meantime, I'll hook up to the family computer with the parellel port in back. Since it will only be for a few days, my wife can't give me too much heat about it. I'll just move things around while she's at work, and be up and running (I hope) before she gets home. In spite of the problems, I'm still very excited about getting this machine working. After all, even a laser engraver as small as this would cost several times what I've paid for this one.
Once again, I cannot express how much your encouragement and information means to me. I will keep you posted, and within the next 24 hours I hope to tell you that things are going great. Thanks again to everyone in this forum. It's great to have access to so many people with similar interests, and I hope that I will be able to provide useful information for you people out there in the near future.
Steve Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Hey Steve,
With all the initial problems you had with broken parts, I was wondering if you had contacted InkExpress about it and what help, if any, they were in trying to help you resolve the problem with broken parts.

Hi txcowdog,
Here is a breakdown of my IE300 buying experience with Ink Express so far:

!.) Very prompt responses to my inquiries regarding pricing, shipping costs, etc.

2.) Very fast shipping! From the time I wired payment to their bank to the time I received unit was 7days! I don't think shipping could have been faster than that.

3.) Problems begin. 120/240 voltage converter damaged with loose parts. When I reassembled it, it only put out 60 volts, which dropped down to 4 volts, than nothing.
Note that my reassembly only consisted of securing the actual converter itself to it's it's base, and snapping its switch back together. I did no rewiring. I stress this to assure you that the converter's failure was not due to incorrect rewiring, as no rewiring was done. The sheet metal case was heavily damaged when I received it, with crushed corners and pronounced dents on top which were the result of impacts from the INSIDE of the case. Note that the shipping carton was double walled heavy cardboard with no damage on the outside. This unit was damaged before it was shipped to me.

4.) Exhaust fan provided by Ink Express did not work.

5.) Water pump provided by Ink Express worked for about 10 minutes before it died.

6.) Power cord provided by Ink Express was European style plug, and would not fit the power converter they supplied.

7.) No user manual was supplied.

8.) Printer cable supplied was parellel port style, not USB. ( In fairness I will say that is a problem for me only because my laptop, which I wanted to use with the laser, had no parellel port. I have been advised that using a desktop computer with a parellel port is preferable to laptop.)

What I have done to deal with the above listed problems is as follows:

1.) I found a 120/240 600 voltage converter at a local electronics surplus store for $50. I cut out the front control panel of the converter sent by Ink Express and mounted it to the converter box I got locally, wired it up, and at least was able to use the switch and outlets from the bad converter. This turned out ok, and the replacement converter is putting out between 230 and 240 volts.

2.) I had an old kitchen exhaust fan which I fit to the laser engraver case. I think it pulls out a lot more air than the one they provided even if it had worked.

3.) I had a little water pump I had gotten on sale for $5. from Harbor Freight Tools. I set it up in my 5 gal. drum and again, it is pumping more water than the one provided by Ink Express.

4.) I found an old computer cord in the garage to replace the European style one provided by Ink Express.

5.) I downloaded the user's manual from the Ink Express web site.

No doubt that the voltage converter was the main problem. The company I purchased the replacement from is called Skycraft Surplus, and they have an unbelievable variety of electrical, electronic, and mechanical parts selection. You can check them out at www.skycraftsurplus.com to find things you wouldn't find elsewhere.
The exhaust fan, water pump, and power cord are things you could find locally if you didn't have them laying around. And downloading and printing the usuer's manual was no big deal.
I guess my problem is not so much the fact that I had to do some scrounging around to get the stuff listed above. What bugs me is the response I got from Ink Express when I emailed them about the problems. Leo (the Ink Express rep I had placed the order with) simply said that the converter must have been damaged in shipping, and that I should get one locally. He said that the fan was 240voltd, and should work with the converter (It didn't.) He said nothing about the power cord, and that I could get the user manual from the website. His response gave me the impression that he didn't care, now that the sale had been made. This is an unfortunate attitude from a business perspective. Had he just responded with a little more "after the sale" concern, and maybe offered to offset the price of some possible future equipment sale, I would have felt that he was making an effort to address my problems. This is unfortunate, as I would have definatly considered purchasing equipment from him in the future. They have a CNC router, the IEC6090 with a 24" x 36" work area, which they sell for $2999. plus shipping. It looks like a great machine for the price, and I would have been very interested in buying one had my first purchase been handled with better customer service. In fact, if I hear from Ink Express with a little "after the sale" feedback inquiry, I might still consider another purchase from them.

Sorry about the long reply to a short question, but I wanted to explain my perspective, and the fact is, my response is as much for the people of Ink Express as for you and the other forum members. I still hope to hear from Leo, and I think a certain amount of the above is maybe to some extent cultural misunderstanding and different business perspectives.
Well, I've finished my coffee. Now it's time once again to see if I can get my IE300 up and running. You can be sure that if I do, my next posting will be a happy one!

Steve Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com
.

the IEC6090 with a 24" x 36" work area, which they sell for $2999

I think your confusing ink express with redsail man. inkexpress is ie900/ie1200 and they are more expensive.

and I think Leo works for redsail canada too.

My error about Leo. He is the Canada rep for Redsail, and he has been responsive to all my inquiries. I meant to say David Chan from Ink Express. And the cnc router I was speaking of in my last post was the IEC6090 for$2999. which is from Ink Express. I haven't seen any cnc routers on the Redsail website, but I would certainly be interested in seeing what they have besides lasers and plotters. Sorry again for my confusion!

I think your confusing ink express with redsail man. inkexpress is ie900/ie1200 and they are more expensive.

and I think Leo works for redsail canada too.

http://www.iehk.net/Products/CNCIEC6090.html
Here is the link to the cnc router I refered was refering to. If you have a link for a similar machine offered by Redsail, please let me know about it. I know sometimes some of these companies have web addresses not linked from their main domain, so it wouldn't suprize me if Redsail does offer this router.
Thanks for your keen eye. I don't want to infer anything negative to Redsail. In fact, I will probably make my next equipment purchase from them if Leo and I can work out the delivery details. Thanks again!

It is ridiculous that you have had to go to such extreme lengths to get your laser working and after all you have done, it is still not to the point of functional. From what you have said, it appears that if you can not get it to work you will have a rather large paperweight because I do not think you will get any help from InkExpress. Another Zone member had initial problems with his unit but was able to get it working with little effort but he had to work on it nonetheless. Hearing that these units arrive DOA makes me look elsewhere for a low cost laser because I do not want to be stuck with a non functional box from InkExpress who is 4000 miles away with my money and not providing any service after the sale. Even if you get it working I am still very disappointed that you received no assistance other than lip service from Ink Express. Thanks for your posting. Word of mouth is truly the best advertising.

Another Zone member had initial problems with his unit but was able to get it working with little effort but he had to work on it nonetheless. Hearing that these units arrive DOA makes me look elsewhere for a low cost laser because I do not want to be stuck with a non functional box from InkExpress who is 4000 miles away with my money and not providing any service after the sale. Even if you get it working I am still very disappointed that you received no assistance other than lip service from Ink Express. Thanks for your posting.
Steve P, as this thread goes on Im getting more and more irritated with InkExpress. Im going to go with RedSail when I buy. The other zone member Im sure you are aware is Sidi Steve, and its to his merit that he gave an overall good impression of his machine although he had terrible aftersales service also. This service was to the point that I e-mailed InkExpress for him telling them about this site and that I was interested in purchasing but that they were treating him very badly. :boxing: A lot of this was done with S Steve using pm's so your probably unaware of it. Im afraid after following this topic for the past few months I have to say IE seem a bad choice (Although we don't have any others to compare with at this point), and if it wasn't for you & S Steve we wouldnt have any info on them at all. Thankyou & I hope it works out.

Edit: Of course IE's reply to my e-mail was polite but less than helpful. I think they'll be out of business within 24 mths max if they dont sort themselves out.

It is rather sad that we haven't heard one success story for ANY of the low cost lasers.

Ink Express ships quickly and offers timely responses to SALES queries and that's about it. So far, people have complained about BOTH Ink Express and Electronic Utopia.

Sadly, it seems that one must spend THOUSANDS more to get something that will come with anything resembling support.

It would be nice to see if ANYONE has been able to get a non-DOA laser engraver from ANY of the Asian suppliers.

For me, even though mine was DOA (as in, I also had to rebuild my 110 to 220 transformer and do other tinkering) it was worth it. I got it to work and there is no way I could afford anything else.

It would be nice if they were plug-n-play, but it appears that they are not.

I think your disappointment is entirely justified. It is appauling that Ink Express makes no effort to somehow "make it right." One would think they would want to, because it is the right thing to do. Or less altruistically, because a happy customer tells his friends and a peeved customer lets the whole world know thru a forum like this. Do a google search on IE300 and one of the first things that comes up is this forum, talking about their lack of customer service. Still, they don't want to make it right.

For me:
Damaged 110-220 transformer - luckily, I was able to fix mine
water pump - missing parts - New one from ACE $15
Wrong power cable - Euro model - I had a spare computer cable
Plus the whole fact that their manual says you can engrave from outside their software - but you can't - you gotta use their software. Initially problematic, but again, there is a work around.

So, I was ultimately able to get mine working for under $1500, which is rather cheap.

Laser Engraver IE300 = $1199 (now only $999)
Shipping = $270
water pump = $15

It does the job and cost a WHOLE LOT LESS than anything else I could find locally.

My $.02

Steve

Hey Steve,

how is it going today? Have you tried in on your desktop? I hope it's working out.

Steve

diarmaid! sidi_steve! Everybody!
IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! AND WITH VECTORS NO LESS! [U]

"Tis a great day, indeed. After hooking up to my desktop with the parellel cable, I did a test run with a circle. I selected "line", which I guess is their term for vector. The positioning was off, but I cut I nice symetrical circle in vector mode. And now that it's connected to the computer, there seem to be some additional choices to make within the software before cutting takes place.
I am going to shut down tonight since I had to move the laser into my bedroom where the desktop computer is. My wife was not pleased to see it there, so I am better off not using it until the morning. Don't these women understand that they married little boys, who like to make stuff, and burn stuff? I guess not.
Anyway, the morning will be the great time for me and my little friend. And tonight I can design some patterns to use in the morning. I had made a numbered grid to help me determine positioning, but the file somehow got corrupted, so determining positioning and actual work area will be the first job. After I get that down I'll make a few templates and than off I go.
For all the headachs, I now have a little laser engraver that can raster and vector, for a total of a little over $1,300. including shipping and my replacement voltage converter. In my book, after all is said and done, it's not such a bad deal. I am indeed a happy camper tonight. I'll check back with you all tomorrow.
Steve Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Now that IS some good news! Way to go. I am glad you hung in there!

Show us a pic of something you cut, ok.

Be well and good luck,

Steve

Woohoooiee! :D
:wee: :banana: :wee: :banana: :wee:

Congrats. Im so glad its started working after all your trouble. Enjoy it m8.
Now......post some pics! :)

I wish I could tell you that I have been busy lasing, but first I had to get my water pump and exhaust fan up to snuff. The ones they sent me didn't work, and in any case even if the fan had worked, I don't think it would have pulled the volume of air needed. I took an old kitchen exhaust fan and built a wood case for it. I made slight extensions on the sides to match the flanges on the laser case, and wired it up. Right now it just plugs in, but I'll be putting a toggle switch on it.
Anyway, tonight I just did my first real test run with the grid pattern I set up in Moshidraw. The vector pattern came out fine except for the fact that the right half cut off because somehow the pattern cut in landscape rather than portrait orientation, and it ran out of printing area. I think I'll be able to figure that out without too much problem, and it is probably just a matter of determining what they call orientation in their options. I also noticed that there is an option called "versa" which I assume to be a mirror image for cutting stamps and other reverse jobs. I think I also noticed an option that defaults to cutting each line twice, which my test cut did. Again, I think it's just a matter of trial and error to understand the command options. The translation into English phrases could have been better, but I think it will turn out to be fine once I get used to it.
I did notice that two other Chinese companies who also sell the same laser unit under different names and refer to different software, one is called Newlyseal 11, and the other is called Easycut. I downloaded a demo of the English version of the Easycut software, which appears to be German. I don't know if it is a usable program or not, but I'll be giving it a try tomorrow. I Googled Newlyseal 11, and to my untrained eye, the text in the links I found looked to be Russian, but there were some English words in the site. As I have said previously, I don't know electronics, but it seems to me that if the same circuit boards are used in the machines offered by companies other than Ink Express, maybe the other software programs will also work on the IE300.
I'll be doing a lot more experimenting tomarrow, and I will keep you all informed. I think I might even write a book called MOSHIDRAW FOR DUMMIES.

Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

No doubt these products are ripped off copyrights or patents from those countries.

I am surprised that none of the world’s gov. are doing anything to quell this type of activity!

Hey Steve,
It appears that Stephen has had success at cutting a vector file by selecting "line" in the software. I was wondering if the version of the software you have has a similar option. I think I remember early in this thread that you could not cut anything but jpg and bmp.

Hey Stephen,

So, you did say you cut vectors using "line". Is this in the "Output" screen?

I have looked all over, I could only find "outline" - Where am I going wrong?

Thanks

Steve

Hi everybody,
Regarding your comment miljnor, I don't think Moshedraw is a ripped off copyrighted program. It just isn't very good, and if they were going to pirate a graphics software package I think they would have copied something better. On the other hand, they may well have pirated a bunch of features from copyrighted programs and than tied them together. At any rate, the program seems to be usable enough. It just isn't good enough to have been worth stealing.
Regarding txcowdog's comment about my cutting a vector file, I did indeed select "line" in the software. I have not yet done a raster file, and will be testing other files today and will let you all know about the results.
sidi_steve had earlier stated that he wasn't able to cut vectors, but had later on discovered how to do this within the software. He posted detailed information about how he succeeded in importing a vector file of a gear he had designed and than cut within Moshedraw. His results were hard won, and they will help me and anyone else who is trying to learn how to use Moshedraw effectivly. Sharing his experiences with us, he continues to contribute valuable techniques and information with us.
I again wish to thank all of you who have offered opinions and advise to me even before I decided to purchase my IE300. While I have often logged on to forum's covering a variety of subjects, without a doubt, this forum's members contribute more and better information than any place I have found on the web. I can't thank it's members enough, and I only hope that my own observations help it's others as much as I have been helped here.

Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

Hi sidi_steve,
Tell you the truth, this software is pretty confusing to decipher. At this point I'm not sure if the option I used was "line" or "outline". I just now figured out that I have to set X & Y position before I start to engrave, or the engraver will try to go past the actual dimentions of the machine and make that machinegun sound as the stepper motors try to take the laser head to parts unknown. This is going to take a lot of trial and error to get good results.
From my limited experience with this unit, I have only come to a couple of conclusions. One is that vectors will cut fairly quickly, while raster images will take a while to complete. This is putting it kindly. Another thing regarding raster images is regulating the intensity of the laser itself, as the power seems to fluctuate at lower settings. As I am using fairly thin posterboard to practice on, I am trying not to cut thru the material but just mark the surface. When lasing wood or other materials this might not be an issue as you would probably be using a higher power which might not fluctuate as much. I'll keep you posted as I work on other materials.
I wish I could get a screen shot of each page as I navagate this software. Without an illustrated user manual I find myself trying so many combinations of settings, that when something actually works I sometimes forget how I got there! I am starting to take notes, and I'm sure things will start making sense as I progress.
One thing I have not yet been able to do yet is to import image files into Moshidraw from other applications, although I haven't spent much time atempting to do so. If you have suggestions as to how I should proceed to do this, please let me know. In the meantime I'll try to remember the actual options I selected to do vectors. It also occured to me that we might be using different versions of Moshidraw. Mine came as a cd with a couple of hand written markings on it, either the initials LE or possibly a couple of Chinese charactors. This copy was obviously just a disk sombody burned on a computer, and there is nowhere within the software that I can find any version referenced. It should also be noted that when you click on the help menu that the help is in Chinese, and this is in the English version of the software. I also found that their website is completely in Chinese. Navigating their website I found a page that showed a variety of items that had been laser engraved, so I am assuming that the software was produced specifically for that purpose. Another page shows several circuit boards, and I am wondering if they produce the hardware as well as the software. If this is the case, it may turn out that I will be stuck with using their software exclusivly, although I hope that's not the case.
When I post again, probably later on tonight, I should have tried lasing on some other materials such as wood. I also have some samples of laser engraveable plastics from Romark, and some "absolute black" granite. I will be trying these materials within the next few days, after I feel a little more confident from my practice sessions with posterboard and scrap wood. Anyway, sidi_steve, I will try to make some more notes as I continue with my experiments, and I will keep you informed.
Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

I wish I could get a screen shot of each page as I navagate this software. Without an illustrated user manual I find myself trying so many combinations of settings, that when something actually works I sometimes forget how I got there!
Finally I can offer somthing a tiny tiny bit more useful than opinions and noob questions! :)

I use ScreenHunter 4. Just click 'Try' when it opens up. Takes about ten seconds to set up & activate and two seconds to take a screen capture. Free for unlimited use time period. Enjoy!

http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm

If you decide to use it to make a user manual send me a free copy. ;)

Hey diarmaid!
What a find! Screenhunter is the best, easiest, and most useful free software I have ever been turned on to. I can't thank you enough for your tip. Tomorrow I will be going through Moshidraw and making screen shots of each screen. I'll print them out and start making notes on the prints that will have a visual reference. I will be able to put together a user manual with illustrations that will be a lot less confusing than notes alone. The visual reference will really make a big difference in my ability to recall and organize information and techniques in a useful way.
Now that I have the ability to print a screen, I'm sure that I'll find a lot of other uses for it as time goes on. DIARMAID, YOU GET THE "TIP OF THE YEAR" AWARD IN MY BOOK. Thanks a lot!
Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

I almost forgot a couple of things! The URL for Screenhunter is.......
http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products...hunter_free.htm
And the other thing is that I will be happy to send you a copy of a manual when I get it done. It might take a little while, but you'll get one.

Finally I can offer somthing a tiny tiny bit more useful than opinions and noob questions! :)

I use ScreenHunter 4. Just click 'Try' when it opens up. Takes about ten seconds to set up & activate and two seconds to take a screen capture. Free for unlimited use time period. Enjoy!

http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm

If you decide to use it to make a user manual send me a free copy. ;)

See my post about Screenhunter

Your very welcome. :)

Hi sidi_steve,
It's interesting just how similar our experiences with Ink Express have been. As I read your post, I can't help but wonder about as to why Ink Express has not made any effort to make changes which would be both easy and inexpensive.
I just try to think in terms of overcomming obsticles. It's frustrating as hell, but when you make a discovery that works, it feels like victory. Make it work and you have earned the right to get results from a machine that costs a little over a grand.
I still think that the software is the main problem, and I think there has to be software somewhere out there that will work well with this machine. Happy lasing!

Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com


One new good thing I discovered regarding the aquarium pump they sent me. I discovered that when it first starts, you need to expose the intake to air for a couple of seconds for the water to flow well. I accomplished this by sticking it to the wall of my water bucket just below the waterline. There is enough stretch in the suction cups that I can just give the pump a twist to expose the intake to the air for a second, than let it go and it pulls itself back under water. I had always thought that a lot of pumps needed to be primed with water to do the job, but this on needs just the opposite. I don't know why it works, but it does.

One new good thing I discovered regarding the aquarium pump they sent me. I discovered that when it first starts, you need to expose the intake to air for a couple of seconds for the water to flow well. I accomplished this by sticking it to the wall of my water bucket just below the waterline. There is enough stretch in the suction cups that I can just give the pump a twist to expose the intake to the air for a second, than let it go and it pulls itself back under water. I had always thought that a lot of pumps needed to be primed with water to do the job, but this on needs just the opposite. I don't know why it works, but it does.

I've had quite a few fish tanks over the years. :drowning: Usually there's air bubbles trapped in the pump and filter. When putting it in (e.g After cleaning the tank) you rotate it around a bit under the water to get out the bubbles, then you use the suction cups to hold it onto the side of the tank. Each one varies but usually it needs around the top quarter to protrude above water level to work efficiently. Only after this is done plug it in. You can usually judge the amount above water by the join between the motor housing and the filter box but yours is probably just a basic decorative pump and no filter, but should still be able to judge by looking at it. Also the suction cups provided almost never hold the pump tight enough, but since your buying/bought them just get bigger ones. :)

Stephen or Steve

How do you tell the machine where to engrave? Do you tell it where the center of the design is or tell it where the lower left corner is? Any update on cutting vectors?

Hi Stephen, diarmaid, txcowdog (and the rest of the gang)

We can't be the only ones receiving these units who have had to "wrestle" with them to get them to work. I wonder how many of these units have been sold to folks who have neither the time nor desire to fix them - in other words, how many of these units are just sitting DOA. It would be nice if Ink Express made some effort to support the models that they sell and to try and improve them. I know we have made suggestions.

But I wonder where Ink Express sits in the supply chain. If they are just a vendor, then perhaps they have little pull with the manufacturer. I doubt we will ever really know.

As far as the software goes, it would be really nice if there were a way to control the machine with other software. I am not saying it is impossible, but it will be a challenge to find something that will work.

The moshidraw software is unique in how it controls the electronics. The only hope would be if one of the other low cost engravers uses the exact same board. Then perhaps their software might work, like NewlySeal or one of the others.

I have asked Ink Express and Moshi for a way to control the IE300 from outside of their software. Moshi has stated to me that it would be possible to make a control that was more like a printer driver. In this way, you could send data to the driver from other programs to the driver, which would then send data thru the parallel port to the engraver. But you would still be reliant on the way in which his driver interpreted your drawings.

His raster based scanning algorythm seems to be optimized for engraving and seems to work for simple outlines (vectors)

But, where a plotter doesn't try to interpret vectors (it would just do x1,y1 x2,y2 x3,y3 etc) moshidraw does appear to try to interpret vectors. Luckily, a work-around exists. So I am cutting gears and such. But there is very little control. Let's say I want to cut out a ring, like a washer. Easy, right? Just 2 concentric circles. If it were a plotter, I would program the inner circle first and the outer circle last. Now let's say I take that same .PLT file into moshi. It appears on the screen as 2 concentric circles. I go into output. At that point, I have no control over what it is going to do. If it cuts the outer circle first, then the circle could fall away and never cut the inner circle. This is because it has a raster based scanning algorythm and the first thing it runs into as it is scanning the image left to right, top to bottom, is the outer ring.

My only work-around for more complex vectors is to make every individual piece of my graphic into different .plt files Then import them one at a time in the order I want them to cut and actually make the cut. Then go and import the next bit and so on. Basically, I gotta show it who's boss. As long as I don't jog the cutting window, then everything lines up well and I can cut some pretty detailed stuff.

I have also asked Moshi for a detailed description of the datastream that gets sent to the engraver. The whole deal. What pins on the parallel port control what part of the engraver and so on. If we knew exactly what data the engraver unit was expecting, then it would be possible to control it from outside their software. Then we wouldn't have to rely on his interpretation of our drawings. But then, of course, we would have to come up with our own software...not impossible, just challenging.

As to whether or not this is pirated software, I really doubt it. As Stephen has pointed out, it just isn't very good. If they were going to steal something, I would imagine that they would steal from the standards that are used in the industry, like Corel, for example.

For now it works and I am lasing, for less than $1500 but knowing it should be better...

Hi Everybody,
Right now I have not used my laser for a couple of days. I got very discouraged a couple of days ago while trying to figure out the actual engraving area. I was setting up rectangles, increasing them in size a little at a time to see how far I could go in each direction. If I went past a certain point, the unit would get stuck and give me the machine gun sound at which point I would shut down the machine. When I powered back up, sometimes the unit would reset to home, and sometimes it would go nowhere. I would hear a soft click when I hit the power button, but nothing would move. When this happened, I would leave the machine off for about an hour. When I powered up again, the laser head would go home. I dont know if the stepper motors were shutting down due to overheating or what. The first time this shutdown, I thought I had killed the machine. But the next morning it worked again.
sidi_steve, I remember you describing your initial over travel problem when you powered up ofr the first time. You said that you found that the limit switch just needed to be bent back a little in order to make contact when the laser head reached the end of its travel. I'm sure thats one of my problems, but I have been unable to find any kind of limit switch to adjust. Did you need to disasemble anything to access this part?
The other thing I found after I had this problem, was that when I cut an oval shape the laser head went around twice and the two ovals created didnt aligh with each other. Also while making the cut, the machine made a kind of grinding sound as it was cutting the area around the side areas. It almost sounds as if there is either a tooth missing or damaged on either the stepper gear, or a bad tooth on the belt.
I wish I knew more about how these things were set up. If I did, I would do my best to open it up and make adjustments so that the limit switches and belts were properly adjusted. I can't help but feel that if I'm hearing grinding or machinegun noise, there is damage being done. I wan't to make this laser better, not worse!
I'm going to play with it a little today, and see if I can make any progress. Tonight I have to pack it up to bring it to Vermont where I spend most of my time. I sure would like to get this thing running properly. Even if it will only have a very small work area functioning, I could probably make a few bucks with it up there. As usual, I will keep you all posted. The saga of the IE300 goes on.

Stephen Parkinson
smparkinson@hotmail.com

If it cuts the outer circle first, then the circle could fall away and never cut the inner circle.
I might be misunderstanding the operation of the machine, but if its on a level surface nothing should move during cutting, even without being held down, since all that is in contact with the object being cut is light rays which wont have any directed force to 'push' any pieces. Hence, it shouldn't matter which circle is cut first. Am I wrong here?

Say in sidi_steve's example of cutting a washer, you were to cut the outer circle first. As the circle is being cut, your are removing material around it. When you come to the end of the cut, the cut piece will shift slightly as it lets go of the material it was cut from. Even if the material is supported fully and evenly, there will be a slight shift in it's position. The inner piece will than not be exactly alligned for the second cut, so the second cut will be slightly off. If the material being cut is supported by a vacuum table, this effect would be very slight, and would probably be acceptable.
When doing vector cuts, it is really preferable to have the material being cut supported by a grid or screen type of base. That allows the laser to cut cleanly through the work and allows smoke to be vented away from the work. This helps to prevent smoke residue from forming on the piece. When using this type of base, the work is very likely to shift into the gaps between the grids, making it very likely that cut pieces will shift when they are cut. In fact sm