We're new to the forum, and we are also new to laser cutting. We predominantly use blade cutting in our printing & Mylar stencil business, but we have been looking to expand into new niches and products for a year, so I have been researching and learning everything I could about laser cutting.
Two things I must point out before I provide my review of Dropswell...
The first is that there is a wealth of information out there to enable you to make an informed decision about buying a laser. To see how one of these machines work, and the trials & tribulations of owning one, you should check out SarbarMultimedia on YouTube. Russ has so much content that will help out newbies and veterans alike, detailing each step he takes for each material he tries out. Not only that, if you send him a message, you'll likely get a full dissertation on your problem!
The second thing - regardless of how good you think you are, always, ALWAYS put safety first. I had a slight issue with some debris in the tube (more on this shortly) and this could have cost me the laser or worse. Check, then double check your machine. Whether you are spending £300 or £3000, little things can crop up and make BIG problems for you.
Delivery & Unboxing
We advised Francis at Dropswell that we operate a home business with workshop annex. This meant we were in a residential area, and would require a tail lift to deliver our crate. Unfortunately, nobody told the carrier we had a communication problem... and a very affable and helpful driver told us the bad news when he arrived. We decided that sending back the laser and redelivering would not be an option, as we had planned for that day, and could not reschedule. After twenty minutes of huffing and puffing, three of us managed to get the laser off the trailer and onto our driveway. From there it was a case of putting the laser on the dolly and a bit of man handling to get it in place. I had no contingency for not having a tail lift & pallet truck, so be aware that these things can happen. Are you able to do the same if the carrier does not get the memo? This is not on Dropswell, as we've seen the emails to the carrier. They tried to get a solution for us, but brute force and ignorance was all we needed.
To get the laser off the truck, we needed to open the crate. In transit the crate had actually separated itself from the base, so we lifted off the top of the crate, only for the front panel to fall off, and disconnect a fan. This is an easy fix, and was probably due to the shaking in transit. Everything was packaged fairly well, but a little more padding inside the laser bed would have been good, to prevent the gantry from moving freely.
Initial Setup
Following the instructions on the enclosed CD was pretty easy. A few confusing parts, but nothing a quick call to Francis couldn't fix. These guys are spot on when it comes to customer service. Francis is knowledgeable and always there to help.
After using the water chiller (which pumps water through the laser tube) for about 10 - 15 minutes, I checked for air bubbles. There were none. All good. Almost ready for a test fire. I booted up CorelDraw and CorelLaser (LaserDRW was causing issues with other software being open, and even changed the model number of the laser to another laser on one boot up). I positioned the laser over the area I would test fire, and thought I'd check everything for the fifth time (with something this dangerous, I believe in safety first, second, third etc.). Lo and behold a piece of debris had crept into the tube. Francis and I could not work out what it was from a photo; either polystyrene or liner from the chiller. Either way it could not live there. next morning, I took off the outlet pipe from the chiller, aimed it into a bucket, and started the pump. Out popped the debris. It had broken up overnight, or weakened enough to come free, and it landed in the bucket, enabling me to finally perform a test fire, with Francis on the end of the phone. All went fantastic, and the mirrors were all aligned perfectly.
Conclusion
Dropswell are a customer focused company. Every call and email is answered in a timely manner.
The equipment is well put together, and well worth the price
The instructions are a little hit & miss, as they have been translated it seems. If I had one complaint, it would be this. What it needs is a native English speaking laser operator to re-write it, and also some videos would be great!
When it seemed the water chiller was at fault for spitting some lining into the tubes, Francis offered to send a replacement. These run to £130 - £150, so for Francis to offer this right out of the gate, you know this is a reputable company with your best interests in mind
As a new user, I felt 100% confident that I could use the product - but bear in mind I have 15 years IT experience - hardware and software - have worked with machinery before, and also operate a design business... so if you don't have this kind of experience, you will need assistance. Dropswell are willing & able to do this, and YouTube is fantastic. Use both!
A few tips:
Buy distilled water from your local Halfords or mechanic for the chiller. We got 25l for £9.99 from Wilko Motosave
Make sure you have a minimum of two burly guys on hand in case you need to handball the laser off the truck. At 120kg, I felt like I had been in training for Mr Universe once it was set up...
These machines don't go through regular doors. Check the dimensions first, and plan ahead
We are in the middle of a heatwave - make sure you have the right cooling equipment, because at 35C these tubes lose lifespan
We cut Mylar, and are looking at doing laser Ply and laser MDF. Before you go ahead and purchase, speak to Francis about your requirements. He will have the Dropswell team try out ANY materials you send. Better yet, they will do it with you if you visit.
DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING. I assumed I could use one of the programs I had taught myself over six months, watching YouTube and testing offline - but when it hooked up to the laser, everything changed. Sometimes Windows doesn't like to play with new toys, or the software doesn't play nice (LaserDRW + Corel) - so you have to have a contingency. CorelDraw and CorelLaser are now my new friends. Factor in the software to your price as you only get the trial version...
Make sure your favourite software can convert images to CorelLaser friendly files, and you can do high resolution images. 300dpi is a minimum here
Any problems we had were dealt with instantly, and ignoring the delivery cock-up, this has been the best experience we've had with a company when buying new equipment. Considering the price tag, I expected it, but was still surprised I actually got it. Too many companies are lackluster once money changes hands these days. I recommend Dropswell with complete confidence, and I'm sure when I do a follow up in a month or so, all will be well.
We went with Dropswell in part based of you and a couple of other's good review of them and initially they were great which you'd expect for the price; they're standard machines made in the same factory as most Chinese lasers but you pay for the testing and customer support. I chatted to a guy called Ben on the phone, via email and eventually face to face for a good couple of hours when I went to inspect the machine.
Unfortunately it seems things went downhill from there and, after I paid, I was unable to get hold of Ben again (I was subsequently told he had left the company so it seems it the type of place that burns through staff given there wasn't someone called Francis) and had to deal with someone who only very reluctantly replied to emails and phone calls.
Suffice to say the machine arrived broken, untested and the replacement for the broken tube (it wasn't even packed correctly!) that was evidently a 90W tube instead of a 100W one which they refused to replace. We're still fighting to get the thing working and I'll write a proper review later but, as this is one of the few reviews for the company out there, I just wanted to give people a heads up that things seem to have changed with the company which is a real shame!
Last edited by JayC; 03-30-2018 at 07:43 PM.
Reason: Edited for formating
Dropswell!! what a joke they are.
I bought a 900x600 from them. it arrived 3 days later than they said it would. It was delivered with only 3 slats that an oversized honeycomb bed sat on top of them. The red dot pointer installed in the tube never worked, so i contacted the tube manufacturer and the told me it needed calibrating, something i was not will to do. When i rang up to complain i spoke to BEN! yes ben is back after threatening to return the laser he agreed to send me the 22 missing slats, which he did. The laser worked fine for 24 hours then it wouldn't cut 3mm mdf. I rang him again and he said that i have overpowered the laser and it would need a visit from an engineer to put right. He wanted me to pay £350 for the inspection. I told him to go and jerk himself. After sending him numerous emails he never answered any. So i packed it back into its crate and arranged for it to be picked up via a courier. I then raised a dispute with my credit card company and got my £7000 back. I paid £140 to return it to them and they had the cheak to email me and ask me for some money so they could clean the laser and resell it.
Worst company i have ever dealt with.....
My father in law bought a 6040 100w from Dropswell few years back and the corellaser software won't open and is giving me an error message saying 'Coreldraw ver 11 is not installed' all of a sudden....
I have emailed them and had no response so do you guys know if they are still in business? or have any of you come across this issue and managed to fix it?
I have tried using K40 whisperer ( which is compatible with a m2 nano board) to operate and the speeds and power don't work the same as Corellaser did, and i'm so used to Corellaser that i might have to abandon the machine if i can't fix the issue.
Dropswell 6040 CO2 Laser
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