Redsail M500

[SHADOW042]

Hello and greetings

Im looking at buying a Redsail m500 unit and looking for feedback on it
Either the good and the bad

So far Ive been emailing back and forth with Redsail and they have been very helpful and I believe the machine will do what I want as I'm engraving glass

But any feedback would be good including things to check if I order one of there machine and when I unpack it
I have gone with the chinese unit because of price, new bis and not alot of cash at the mo

Shadow

[MacGyver]

See this thread:
Low cost laser Engraver
There are some comments in there about RedSail machines, some good, some bad.

[SHADOW042]

Hi thx for the info but I had already looked at most of those posts

I was wondering if anyone actually had a m500 redsail model and if so , did you have any problems with them or what to watch for when recieving it in its crate

many thx for your input Macgyver


Shadow

[pjharmer]

Hi I received my M500 on tuesday, I purchased it thru CTRFutures in England, Neil Pritchard is very knowledgeable about the systems he sells and all the help you need is just a phone call away.
After unpacking which is very secure, assembly is very straightforward as CTR commission all their machines straight from the boat, the mirrors are all aligned, electrics checked and a full set of test cuts and engraving are carried out before the machine is delivered, they then send an engineer or Neil himself to commission the machine and give you full instructions on the use and maintenance of your system.
I have been playing around getting familiar with the machine, I have cut card, acrylic, and plywood with no problem, I have also engraved glass, card, wood, granite tile and ceramic white tile which I filled with permanent marker and it looks great. From my early tests this machine is doing exactly what it says on the tin. I purchased the digital water chiller as this can extend the life of the tube, also I got Photograv software and did a side by side test and the difference is well worth the cost of the software.
All in all I feel that the cost of purchasing from CTRFutures means that all the headaches that you read about on this forum are done away with, some of the stories are of people who have had their machines for up to 6 months and still have not got them running. I had my machine up and running in under 2 hours.
Good luck with your purchase.

Phill Harmer

[SHADOW042]

Thx mate
I wish i could use them but im having to wing it here in australia

Theres only one guy here that resales and the markup is beyond a joke in my opinion
I dont mind paying for the extra service but thats just 2 much and its better for me to buy direct from redsail and then just sort out my own problems if i blow it up and have to buy another its still well cheaper then buying it here

So i just looking at making sure i get started and dont blow a power supply or such
I have experience with machine and it doesnt scare me at all but one can always overlook something LOL
Im expecting to have to modify thing like my rotation device but that and easy job and dont think there will be much problems as such

Many thx for the input mate

Shadow

[mexico.redsail]

i will be happy to asist you if you run into problems, the worst case is that you get a broken tube (very unlikly) or that the mirrors are not alligned (Very likely).

but any way i will be happy to assist you and say hi to Leo for me

Thanks

Eduardo

[eshko22]

I just got my M500 a few days ago. I am still learning the machine, but I can tell that everythig went well. I`m a first timer in these type of machines and had no trouble instaling the tube and some other parts as well with a little guidance for the tech support.

If you need any kind of test just ask, if I can I will do it and tell.

Best regards,
Eshko.

[alliespapa]

Hi folks, I hope my posting is not too late to help some of you. I purchased a Redsail M500 about 1 year ago. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!! Thought I was saving some money but ended up with a useless machine. It arrived with MANY assembly problems that Redsail refered to as "shipping damage". This "shipping damage" included scratched mirrors, loose belts, incorrect wiring, trash inside, misaligned axis, and much more. I spent weeks e-mailing problems to Redsail and getting needed information but there were so many problems it seemed to never end. I purchased the machine with an extra laser tube. Both tubes were shot in less than two months. They replaced one but I had to pay $200 shipping. They would not honor the warranty on the second bad tube. The machine arrived with no operating instructions so I was not aware that the cooling water had to be kept under 72F degrees. This important information arrived the the replacement tube. The third tube cracked when simply attaching the high voltage wire. You might think I'm some dumb guy who can't attach a wire. NOT SO. I was an electronics repairman in the Air Force and know my stuff. Also, the "EasyCut 5.0" software is crap. Despite the advertised specs., it works only with 2 bit bitmaps which must be extensively edited in PhotoShop or CorelDraw to get a recognizable image. To get a good image you need PhotoGraV at a cost of $300. I'm now shopping for an after market laser tube. If I didn't have so much time and money invested I would just take it to the land fill.

[shant lepere]

Can Mr. Phill Harmer help me I have read his quote and would be grateful if i could get the contact of Mr. Neil of CTR Futures so that I can get some information and quote for this machine

Shant

[TheWorkshopGuy]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here but I just ordered the M500. I live near Toronto Canada. I would be very interested in networking with ANYONE on here that owns the same machine. I've never used one of these before personally but my friend owns an Epilog.. (way out of my price range though) I'd certainly appreciate any pointers that you can give me.
Thank you
David

[hippotek]

We just purchased a M500 and I have two major problems:

1. I cannot get the solder to make ANY contact to the electrodes. It just drips of no matter how long I try to heat up the contact points

2. I installed Dongle and Lasercut 5.3 but when I open Lasercut all I get is a pop-up window saying "Right" and the software crashes... (using Vista)

[joss4u]

Do you think this is a good machine M500? I'm planning to buy one