Chinese Lasers

[paulC]

Well I have been thinking about purchasing a laser for quite some time now.
Initially I was looking at starting with one of the cheap lasers to get started with.
After watching the issues that others have had with these cheap lasers I have found a few things out about these cheap machines.
It appears the laser manufactures in China are a bit like the clone PC builders we have seen here for many years.
They simply purchase the parts and assemble them. The resulting machine is dependant on the quality of the parts they source from the larger parts manufacturers.
So most of the so called manufactures are producing machines that are almost identical. Something that appears to be borne out with the support issues I've seen people have ( Same problems, different companies and components that looks identical).
Post sales support seems to be the most critical factor in differentiating the companies.
The chinese will go out of their way to meet a perceived market. This can be to the detriment of a quality product. They may recomend that you purchase a better model but if you choose to buy the cheap one they will happily provide the lemon you requested. Its your choice after all as far as they are concerned. There are not the same laws to protect the customer in China so they are not concerned that they may have to refund the customer. And at the end of the day they can justify to themselves that it was your choice to purchase a cheap product when they offered better.

With this in mind I have decided to risk all and try to purchase a better quality machine.

I did some comparison of machines and price with the dealers that have featured in other posts.
I have decided to place my order with Xu Haixiang known here as hkxy.

[paulC]

HKXY is just a small guy that has two fitters working for him.
He has developed the laser building as a sideline to his model aircraft business.
Or the Model aircraft are a sideline to his laser business. I'm not sure which.
He makes aircraft model and uses lasers for this.
He's been building lasers for 10 years.

The price I have been quoted by him compares favorably with similar machines from other manufacturers.
He has been busy trying to warn members about the cheap lasers and that there are a lot of cheats out there. So I'm giving him a chance to prove himself.
This laser project is a hugh gamble for me. I hope to start a business using it.

[paulC]

HKXY builds to order. He does not have prebuilt stock items available.
The machine I have asked him to build is:
L16090-60W: with Elevator table and Honeycomb surface.
This is a 60 Watt laser with 600mm x 900mm working area.
He tells me it will have all safety features including
Emergency stop.
Interlocks
limit switches
Water flow monitor.
Fire alarm.
Red alignment laser.

He has given be a build time of 45 days however he says this is the maximum time and it may be ready much earlier.
I am arranging shipping myself. I have a friend that reqularly imports goods from China and I'm getting him to arrange shipping and customs clearance.

I'll keep you posted on our progress.
Paul

[greybeard]

Good luck with the project Paul.
You should certainly be thanked by others for posting your experience as it unfolds. A lot of info is posted here, much being lost in translation, but a clear step by step report will be good to read, and it will form a useful public service to all contemplating a simillar step.
I would be looking at going the self build route, based on importing just a tube, so your info will give me a bench mark to compare possible costs.
John

[txcowdog]

CNCAdmin did a self build with import tubes and is now having problems with the original tube and the spares he bought. Unfortunately the guy he bought the tubes from gave him the finger when asked to stand behind his tubes.

[greybeard]

Ooh nasty, and painful too.

[hkxy]

Hello,paulC
I will abide by our agreement.

[coleong]

I feel you should order some spare parts together with the machine.

It would be much safer to pack for example a laser tube together with the machine. Since the weight is heavy, during transportation there is no chance that the spare part will roll from side to side and or rough handling by the courier if send in by courier.

Of course the above is only true if the packing is done properly and the handling is not done by apes.

[Craig3010]

I feel you should order some spare parts together with the machine.

My thoughts exactly! And make sure you can find someone in advance here that can do maintenance on it. It would also be a good idea to visit some of their other customers here and see how their machines are working out before you take the huge risk.

[CNCadmin]

CNCAdmin did a self build with import tubes and is now having problems with the original tube and the spares he bought. Unfortunately the guy he bought the tubes from gave him the finger when asked to stand behind his tubes.

Yep, unbelievable, and I have bought a few tubes from him, and was told they have a 1 yr warranty. Steve Luo be weary.

We have good news since our engineers have a solution in changing a new
type of electrode which may decrease the electric discharge.

He admits that they have a problem, but won't stand buy it.

[coleong]

On the maintenance of these machines specifically for belt driven models, the maintenance is easy, just:-

1. check and adjust belt tension
2. clean mirror and lens, replace when it is patches starts to appear on the surface
3. check beam alignment and adjust if necessary
4. check water quality and replace when necessary

If you are good with your hands the above is not a problem at all.

On the electronics side you cannot do much except to clean up the PCB when dust accumulate on the surface.

Lastly check the cooling fans and clean when necessary

I feel it best to install a flow sensor on the water cooling circuit if it is not install in the first place (to prevent damage to the laser tube).
Can somebody recommend me where to buy a low cost flow sensor.

[fractaledge3]

Hello,

Take a look to my post :
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...852#post231852
Also I think it is better if you can masseur the output coupler temperature than water flow, because in my case the cooling ring at the output coupler was separated from the tube end.