Has anybody tried lenses from american torch tip?

[westland]

We had a rep stop in, and like many salespeople, he tells me that his products are as good or better than the rest and that the pricing is competitive. Has anybody had any experience with lenses from http://www.americantorchtip.com/?

Jamie

[CNCZILLA]

Hello, i don't know what brand laser you have but i can tell you this, it is probably best to pay the extra expense and get OEM. I can speek form experience with arguably the best laser out there, Trumpf, that there specs for lenses and optics are different and generally much higher quality. We tried American Torch once and i can only advise based on my experience which is STAY AWAY. Water and optics are paramount for lasers and it is usually best not to sacrafice quality for money in those areas. I have been to Advanced training for Trumpf and Fanuc and both will tell you the same, there are a lot of copycats but there standards just aren;t as high. The company called II-VI (or Two Six ) is who we used and who i would recommend although you are probably already aware of them. By the way what water do you use. There was a big discussion several years ago on this subject between laser builders on what is best. Most recommend Deionized water and this is probably the industry standard an works ok but there is a better way. For an investment of around $2500 you can have an RO water system by Culligan installed. RO water does not promote algae or bacteria growth nearly as much as deionized. Here is the beauty of it. The system is fed by your incoming plant water supply and creates the RO water which means you have an endless supply of water and after the initial investment thats it, the rest is gravy. The company i used to work for at one time was Trumpf's largest customer in the world and we incorperated this system for all our lasers so i can tell you this system is tried and true. Hope this helps. It would be well worth the investment regaurdless of the brand laser.

[westland]

The machine is a Trumpf, and I currently use II-VI for my lenses. I have no complaints and really don't want to switch.

I do use DI water when I do a water change. I get rent a DI tank from Culligans for the day and hook it up to our regular water supply.

Thanks for the input, that's what I was looking for.

Jamie

[Laserfix]

I received an e-mail from ATTC some time ago offering a “core credit” for returned lenses. This says to me that the lenses that they are providing might be refurbished. I’ve had a few lenses fail over time, and it’s always cost a great deal of money to get cleaned up. I concur with CNCZILLA regarding II-VI lenses, they are very good and I have never had any trouble. I’m not comfortable putting used optics in my machine at all! I believe that you usually get what you pay for…

[westland]

They told me about buying my old lenses. II-VI will also regrind lenses, though I've never used one. I agree with the used lense concern. I've never had a lense fail, I've decommissioned lenses when I thought that might be a problem. The rep was going to provide me with some samples and pricing (I assume the samples will be nozzles).

Jamie

[bklompy]

We have not bought lenses from them we have stayed with II-VI we buy all our optics for all 3 mitsubishi machines and have had little trouble
we have bought there nozzles we have even tried the black lens's but found they were not worth the price and the fact they make the hene disappear

[westland]

Thanks for the feedback. I won't end up trying anything from them. The prices on the nozzles were $.06 cheaper (not worth switching) and their lenses were a bit more than what I'm paying now.

Jamie

[mach1dleet1]

whats ya'll thoughts on this? i get away w/ 2days and a niterun or 2. but im 1 8-12hr shift. trumpf says u should clean it at least every 8hrs. and maybe more if you cut alot w/ shop air. i cut a alot of everything w/ everything each day. ive used that last chance topil(or whatever) cleaner once in 3 years. didnt seem to work. figure if its that bad u need to use that stuff the lens aint worth messing w/. i clean w/ acetone from lowes or wherever. was told i should use pharasutical grade but never got any and dont know the difference since ive never had it. i use vinagar a couple times a week. some people frown on vinagar. others say acetone wont remove the oil film from air cutting. my protocall is acetone once vinagar twice then acetone twice to remove vinagar residue. i use vinagar twice cause first time the pad looks a lil dirty and second time i see nothing on the pad. had comment before that that discoloration on pad could be the lens. but the second time i see nothing so dont know if i buy in on that theory. i dont always use vinagar when cleaning just when i suspect the lens could be oiley. also this lens cleaning depends on how clean air compressor air comming into the machine is. thats a tough and pricey leason to learn!

[mach1dleet1]

i wont use aftermarket ceramic tips after repeatedly having bad cuts cause the nozzle un screwwed or the threads inside started spinning or i suspect the gas preassure was leaking down. i was advised on that after second guessing myself for months at random times and replacing tip quite a few times only to screw up again and have to get my parts timesaved to remove the damn burr!

[mach1dleet1]

i flush the system w/ city water. saves money and havent had any issues w/ build up or corrosion on the probes. depends on your water quality. also i drain and use the same filters for the flush then change the filters when i put the good water in. saves money there too.