Laser Tube Alternative???

[jmg]

After doing some Internet reading, and following the posts here fairly closely, it doesn't take long to see that RF lasers (metal) such as made by Synrad and Coherent are excellent choices BUT mega-mega bucks to buy!!

Then I noticed the amount of trouble (and despair) that Chinese lasers (glass tube) are causing. Those involved with Chinese lasers could verify their headaches I'm sure!

I don't seem to hear much in the posts about Parallax Lasers (glass tubes) http://www.parallax-tech.com/services.htm (or have I just missed the posts??)
These lasers are made in the USA. Surely the quality and support would be worth the few extra dollars required to purchase these over the Chinese tubes!?!?

Just as an aside, I have my one-man machine shop up for sale to raise funds so I can get into a laser (can't afford both!). When the time comes for me (Canadian) to buy a laser, it will be all I can do to buy an American made laser.

As they say in flight school, "learn from the mistakes of others because you won't live long enough to learn from all your own mistakes."

so...

A big "Thank You" to all of you who have taken the time to share your experiences, it is most definitely appreciated!!!

Any comments on the Parallax tubes vs. Chinese?

jmg

[smartcut]

Hello !

The question is : what use for my laser ? 24 h on duty / day or just some minutes from time to time.

That gives the price !

My own experience with Chineese products is very positive. I found a Shanghaï factory that is very reliable ... and they always gave me exactly the limits of their tubes. And these limits agree with my experiments.(I work with two CO2 lasers, 10W and 100W. They are doing a very good job).

Unless you are doing industrial CO2 laser processing, I do not know the reason to buy a 40 000 h MTBF tube ! When the tube is over, just change it as a used bulb !

I give you my laser provider : no trouble with them.

http://www.jhlaser.com

All the best !

[jmg]

Hi Smartcut,

Good question!

I was thinking of running it part-time for some extra cash. Not even sure if that's do-able, however, thanks for the link. I've never seen that site before.

A couple of questions if I may...

1) did you purchase from a distributor or from China?
2) if from China, how was the shipping experience?
also, what would you have done if the tube was broken when it arrived?
3) did you purchase the power supply from them also?

Thanks in advance,
jmg

[smartcut]

Hello !

I got the tubes and power supply directly in Shanghai by their factory so I do not know about the shipping. But they sale tubes and CO2 laser systems around the world so I suppose shipping is not a problem. You must ask them. See your Country regulations about customs.

The tubes are built to last 3 months for an industrial use ... but the price is very friendly. So you can get several ! The tubes caracteristics are exactly the one rated. No surprise.

For my 10 W CO2 laser, I built the power supply myself.

The 100W tube power supply is a current adjustable one ... electronic driven ... but I ordered it to JH Laser for a 15 minutes max work at a time. In fact, I seldom make more than a 1 minute shot. (I am doing ceramic products experiments).

So you have to tell them exactly what you intend to take out from the tube and power supply.

You may buy CO2 beam optical devices too.

Do not hesitate to ask any question.

So long.

[CNCadmin]

Do you have any contact info you would like to share?

[smartcut]

Yes ! You can add http://www.jhlaser.com (Shanghaï) to your laser providers list. They are not providing CNC machines but medical lasers (Nd:YAG, CO2, He-Ne) ; And so they buid their own CO2 laser tubes and power supplies until 100 W that can be bought alone.

I use to work with this factory and they are reliable according to my own experience. They can provide CO2 beam optics too.

All the best.

[jmg]

Hi Smartcut,

I'm not able to open the link. Would you mind checking the link spelling? It's probably me, however, that would eliminate one less thing for me to troubleshoot.

Thanks,
jmg

[smartcut]

Hello !

You are right, the link is not working ! Perhaps it is just a momentary failure ... I send them an e-mail (jhlaser@yahoo.com.cn) just to see what happens.

I keep you advised.

All the best.

[smartcut]

Hi !

The link works again !

So long !

[jmg]

Thank you Smartcut. It now works. I appreciate this.

Take care,
jmg

[colinjsnook]

Hi,

I just wanted to comment on your laser tube issues. Parallax is an excellent company and in fact makes an almost identical tube to ours. We infact use the same glass blower. With regards to the Chineese tubes you certainly can't beat the price but a few things to consider, Who are you going to call when it arrives and is damaged? Who are you going to call when you have questions. The old addage of if its to good to be true rings out pretty clear hear. If your just a hobbyist and time is not important then they may be a good choice. If on the other hand you depend on them for a living then I would not use the China tubes. They were so inexpensive that we considered using them in place of our own tubes when they first came on the market. Technical communication was incredibly difficult do to the language barrier and time differences. Ultimately we did not persue it. If you have specific questions you can email me at colin@nlclaser.com or check out our site at nlclaser.com We build our own lasers and sell to OEM's as well as design and build custom machines using our lasers. Hope this is of some help!