Laser newbie questions

[bgirit]

I am a cnc router guy interested in getting a laser system as well. Something in the 60-100W category. I have done some research but one thing i dont understand. It seems laser tubes are kind of cheap, a few hundred $. But some lasercutter manufacturers sell laser cartridges for $3000-$15000 for non-industrial machines. What exactly does a laser "cartridge" consist of? Is it not primarily the tube? Can I replace a 60W lasertube for a 100W for only a few hundred dollars?

Another question. It seems Chinese machines are way cheaper than say, Universal or Epilaser, but may have much more problems. There are also those in between that seem to sell chinese-made systems but with warranties and support by english speakers (Omnisign for one). I think I will need the support since I havent too much time to spend figuring things out from scratch. Can anyone recommend one of the better Chinese companies with english tech support? Should I even risk those with my minimal experience?
A good discussion of the Chinese vs Western option would be welcome since the price difference is huge.

Thanks,
B

[KTP]

Its pretty simple really. The laser cartridge that you refer to typically contains a compact RF excited sealed CO2 laser. The laser is made primarily of metal and ceramics and is very rugged. Shelf lifetimes can be in excess of 10 years and operation lifetimes in excess of 20,000 hours. Usually the tubes can be refilled and brought back to full power even after this 20,000+ hour life.

Most (all?) of the Chinese made glass CO2 laser tubes are NOT rugged and exhibit a shelf life of less than 1 year from the various reports of users. I am going to guess that they are good for a few thousand hours of operation within that year? They probably could be refilled, but the cost of a refill would far exceed the price of another Chinese made tube.

Note that not all glass laser tubes exhibit this poor shelf life. I have a 50 watt sealed glass laser tube from a Surgilase medical CO2 laser which was made in 1988 and is still outputting 58 watts! Admittedly it only has about 200 hours on it, but it is almost 20 years old!!!

Also consider that the rise and fall times of the RF excited CO2 lasers sometimes are better than the high voltage DC excited glass tube lasers. I guess this would mostly come up in engraving applications as cutting speeds are usually slow. On the flipside, sometimes the beam profile from a glass tube laser can be a bit better than that of the RF excited laser.

Does this help at all?

[JimMacNab]

Hi Bgirit,
When you deside to buy a laser be very carefull who you buy it from. There are a lot of good sellers out there and a hand full of sellers who just sell the machine and give no support. When you find a machine you like come on here and ask about the seller and his support. Best of luck
Jim

[goddessofchaos]

I second that B! I am totally new to this medium and read as much as possible on this forum and also Sawmill Creek. People here have been extremely helpful! For me cost was the biggest consideration and I almost bought from someone reselling Chinese lasers but offering 2 year warranty and service. I live in Hawaii! There will be NO service unless I pay for it! His machines cost 3 times what I paid for my Chinese laser which included a spare tube and shipping. And I have had great pre-sales support and fair post sale (but the agent is visiting China right now so answers aren't quite as quick) He tries to get answers for me whenever he doesn't know the answer himself. And so far in trial runs I have been totally delighted with this machine! The software manual is where the problem is because it is only really half the manual covering how to do simple vector lines and shapes but it fails to explain any of the settings or how they correlate with the laser. Once I figure it for myself I shall work on upgrading the software manual. Not sure if they will come through, but I was promised replacement parts when needed in exchange. Time will tell on that one, but if I am doing it for myself, I am happy to share here since I have really received so much excellent support. I am learning that those of us who have bought Chinese lasers are pioneers and there is a lot of poor press on the machines themselves, but I (perhaps luckily) received my machine in good condition and bought an extra laser tube just in case. It seems to be a well built machine albeit noisy in use but I think I can fix that. Some kind of mickey mouse things like using a bucket of water and an aquarium pump to cool the tube (and I am using blue ice packs) but it works and that is the bottom line! No way I could even try this out with Epilog or Universal and if something goes bad I can get another machine for less than the American resellers are charging. I guess it all depends on your needs and end use. For me I hope to augment retirement income without having to work long or hard hours. I am having too much fun in life! And I must say this "toy" is more fun than I ever anticipated! I want to try everything!

Jacqui, Goddess of Chaos, GSOLFOT

[lamicron]

Hi Bgirit, I can tell you about my machine , Zhongtai 90x60 60watts, good english spoken agent(very important) So you can get fienest answer. price for 120x90 80 watts about $4.300. Other brand with good coments here in the forum is hxlaser, the price close to $4.100. The third one I have heard of is wk laser . All this machines require some work to get to work, I hope chinnesse laser manufacturers start to think english and send complete manuals and installation info. PLEASE NO MORE CHINNESSE CARACTERS!!!! No one speak chinesse over here!!!!
But with all the complains you can get 3 chinesse machines for the price of one epilog or universal . And you can buy chinesse machine with american laser ... better price also..!
If you need emails of the companies I can send...
Luis