Tips for buying used GCC Spirit ?

[KPBadger]

Hello Everyone.

I have the opportunity to buy a 'lightly used' GCC Laserpro Spirit GE 40W.

i've been looking for ages to find a decent used Servo/RF tube machine for some time now, to double up with my chinese 6090.
( which incidentally is nearly 3 years old and still works hard, no problems )
Machines like Epilog / Gcc / Universal seem so rarely appear on the second hand market in good condition here in UK that i am very keen to go for it.


Are there any particular things i should be looking out for on this model ?
(Spirit GE 40W)
Are there any known technical issues with these?
As i say, it appears to be very lightly used and is in very good clean condition so im hopeful that it's not a Donkey - but since its at the other end of the country ive only seen photos. will take it for a test drive before doing the deal though.



Thanks for any input.


Regards
KPB

[Rodney Gold]

I have 3 spirits and 3 explorers , the spirits are great machines , nothing much goes wrong , your biggest expenses will be:

1) Tube
2) Lenses and mirrors
3) motherboard
4) Servo motor (99% of the time it will be an X motor)

I would get a history on the tube , mail the serial no to GCC and to Synrad. If it has a coherent tube , I would pass,
I would hire or borrow a power meter and if the tube is not delivering at least it's rated wattage at the source or extremely close to it , I would be circumspect as it could end up costing you big money for a new tube. The tubes always delivered a good few watts over their rating when new , if it is now 10% down on its rating or worse , it wont be good news.
What is the asking price?

[KPBadger]

Rodney, thanks for this.

yes i know the serial no. so i have sent off an email to GCC to get the original tube specification. hopefully find out soon.

are the tubes generally marked if i open up the back panel to have a look see?
Coherent tubes to be avoided, full stop ?

( ive never seen an RF tube in the flesh - my experience is only with DC glass tubes )



unfortunately I dont think i will be able to get my hands on a power meter in time, so perhaps you could tell me a typical power setting to 'just' cut 3mm Acryl, and i will test it that way - not very scientific i know, but it will tell me if the machine is goosed or not! but i wouldnt be able to measure 10% decrease like this.

- "The story" is a sign company bought it from new as a replacement for a previous GCC which caught fire when unattended - since then they have only used lightly for occasional acryl cutting. no engraving. thus im assuming the motors have not been worked hard. Since their business has moved progressively toward vinyl printing the laser is redundant hence sale. Like i say thats the story - no reason to dispute. the machine looks clean. their workshop looks clean.

Looks like an unheated space though - would exposure to winter temperatures ( south of England ) affect these tubes if the machine is lying idle?

the asking price is 6,000 GBP and includes rotary axis , compressor, heavy looking Air filter unit. i believe this is about 1/2 original purchase price.

from keeping an eye on 2nd hand sales for the past couple of years this seems reasonable ( assuming good working order )

thoughts?


kind regards, and thanks for your valuable experience.
KPB

[KPBadger]

See the serial plate .
have fwd the details to GCC to see if they can retrieve the history.


hopefully not a dodgy one!

[Rodney Gold]

Cold etc wont damage the tube , the tube is at the bottom of the machine in a covered well , its a metal box with fins , has a date stamp and serial no on it , send both to Synrad. It's most likely a 48 series , GCC gave up on Coherent after a lot of reliability and QC problems with the tubes , if it's a coherent PASS FULL STOP. 6k or , maybe if you squeeze hard , is a great price for a little used good cond machine with all the bits and bobs, I would willingly pay that.
My non GE 30w spirits settings would most likely not apply to your machine , 5mm pex = 5% speed at 100% power at 500ppi.
Run the machine at 100% power for at least 1/2 an hour cutting lots of stuff , if the machine starts running out of steam , then you might have a tube issue.
My spirits work 8 hrs a day , mixed engraving at 100% speed and lots of cutting , they have been ultra reliable for 4+ years. IMO you can't go wrong.

[KPBadger]

A nice lady from GCC Netherlands has confirmed that the machine is 2007 with Synrad Firestar, and sold by Grafityp in UK.

im glad its not a bogus one!

Thanks all for you help with this.
the generosity of knowledge and experience here is amazing.


kind regards
KPB