Chinese lasers and the learning curve
Seems like everything I do requires a learning curve close to my increasing age. You'd think I'd learn by now! Had a dxf file to work from that had 40K plus data points and everything didn't like it. It would have been much easier if it had been a cnc machine as the software I use handles big files very easily. I finally dropped it into Corel X3 and hand traced all the major details needed which after stripping out the cad portion made it about 2,000 data points. Went from 2 hrs to 8 minutes per piece which is more to my liking. So far I am very impressed with the build quality of the Rabbit laser 6090SE. Cabinet is industrial with minor fit / finish issues. All the electronics are off the shelf step-servo (Chinese) with standard style rails. There are little "fixes" that if you are at all electronic / mechanical minded are no big deal. I'll wait and see how the spare laser tube that came busted plays out or how long this one that is working will last before greatly reduced power.
I'll be running it pretty much 12 hrs day for the next week getting a job finished but it will get a rest after that. It will be a good workout for it.
Bob, thanks for the advise and certainly you were correct on many issues. For those of you looking at Chinese laser units I would suggest going with someone who is either a US based rep or a company who is in the US and redistributing them. Also buy a spare tube now instead of when you must have it.
For now a thumbs up on the Rabbit Laser company.
Pete :cool: cheap sunglasses suggested!
Status of my first real job on the laer
Rabbit Laser
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/smilies/banana.gif I just completed a project with the Rabbit HX6090SE where we ran about 300 11.5 X 9.5 (inch) http://www.cnczone.com/forums/images/smilies/tired.gif ACRYLITE FF (CORRECTED PROUCT NAME) panels used for table centerpiece decorations. The image was the local university's new hospital building and logo in 3/16 acrylic. Each table had three panels on a triangular base with LED edgle lighting and a center cylinder vase of orchids with LED lighting below. It looked phenominal and I am happy to say the client was very pleased. As the event producer I typically farm a lot of these elements out however all my vendors who attempted this job could not deliver at this level or at the price point.
Frank has delivered to a good level on this machine and I would rate the experience an 80 out of 100. I am use to production level equipment that is made to run 24X7. This machine is not that level but I also didn't pay for that level. The software is a bit dodgey but with patience even the lasercut50 software I had to use was workable. The current drivers do not support CorelX3 period. I only have X3 and Corel 10 so I had to use the enclosed software which is easy to use but relies on Illustrator 7 file formats (for my job) It will import AI 8.0 but complains to do so. It does NOT import text in Illustrator so that is a real pain. I hope CorelX3 support is forthcoming soon. Bob indicated that I should save to PLT format and it works better importing into lasercut.
Overall the sales support is great and Frank certainly is here to make a reputation for himself and the company. THANKS FRANK!
Software support really isn't there and even though Frank will address these questions to the engineers in China there is a giant gap in support at that level. If you are running a shop that requires telephone / email technical support then you are better off buying American products and getting a maintenance contract. If you are like me with even a modest level of computer experience and can patiently debug the machine over time then you can't go wrong with the company based on the single machine I have purchased. I am happy and I'll keep posting experiences as we go along.
I would hope we can all share in this forum our combined experiences. These are not servo driven high tolerance machines but for the money are worthy of looking at as additional revenue streams.
Pete :)