Laserpro ecplorer 100W

[lasernewb]

I just bought a used 100 W Laserpro explorer. the machine was bought in 2003 and the seller gave me all of the records for the machine, he told me that it is giving out 80 watts and the laser tube is in need of a replacement. I had the machine serviced a couple of days ago by laserpro and it turns out that the machine is indeed giving out 77 W at the source, and 70 at the rail.
The guy said that the tube will be in need of a replacement soon but I'm really satisfied with the machine as it is now.

My quetion is, will the tube fail anytime soon because it's 8-9 years old or will it keep loosing power over time?? Also, the rail, lense and bearings have been changed. The only things that haven't been changed since purchase of the mahcine are the tube and the motor. can you please advise me about what I should change on the machine?

Thanks

[PhillyDee]

Use it first. If its all fine, then nothing. But purchase a spare tube in anticipation.

[lasernewb]

I've used it for 2 projects now and it wroks very good. The thing I'm worried about is the tube, the guy from laser pro told me that the tube has a shelf life of 5-10 years. If what the service guy said is true then I'd have inky a year left from my tube, right? Does the tube suddenly just stop working or does it wear out over time?

[PhillyDee]

If it is a CO2 tube (more than likely) then they generally have a lifetime of 1500 hours or so. The shelf life is when its sitting unused. They do wear out, and they can also just go. Make sure the cooling has ZERO air bubbles in it.

Thats my understanding anyway. I could be mistaken!

[Rodney Gold]

It is a sealed Co2 Rf tube , it will lose power over time , but not lose it suddenly unless you have a RF board failure or something else catastrophic. Not sure if it is a Rofin sinar, synrad or coherent tube as GCC used all of these at one time or another. A new or reconditioned tube for this machine will be VERY expensive.. It might not be worthwhile replacing if it can't be repaired "cheaply" , I estimate at least $5-7000. GCC - who make the laserpro can give you more advice on either swapping our or reconditioning the tube if it comes to that. To get it back to 100% might only require a recharge
At any rate , the sealed RF tubes can last a long time and if its still going strong , well it can go for many more years like that..most of the RF tubes can last for 20 000+ hours.

[Litografa]

My personal advice to you is BUY NOW spare X/Y motors, autofocus/autofocus cable, belts, lens and 2,3,4 mirrors. Keep this parts always on your stock.

[cinematic2]

Originally Posted by PhillyDee If it is a CO2 tube (more than likely) then they generally have a lifetime of 1500 hours or so.

PhillyDee, what you are talking about?
Laserpro explorer is not a chinese sh...t. It has RF laser inside not glass CW laser.
Rf lasers has even 45000 hour life (Synards)

[PhillyDee]

I misread it! Managed to search a completely different company on google . . . No idea how that happened !

[lasernewb]

thanks everybody! I've decided to keep the machine as is until I have the cash to buy another tube when it starts outputting below 50 W. The machine really is better than what I expected it to be like, so far so good.

I just noticed the typo on my title--*Explorer

Thanks again