Rabbit Rl-40-640 vs.FSL Gen 5?

[Dan Hintz]

For the same price, do you buy a ... laser with a wonderful operating system and questionable (perhaps non-existent) support?

Buy a Trotec and get both

[Jerome Stanek]

Buy a Trotec and get both

He said the same price.

[Bert Kemp]

I think Dan was going to shell out the difference, so it would be the same price for the OP

[Paul Phillips]

The Rabbit is delivered by a trucking company, hopefully with a lift gate truck. The specs say the shipping weight is 750 pounds.
Once it is dropped off in the driveway, one better have a forklift or several big friends with hand trucks.
And it better not be on a sloped driveway.
Once it is picked up and set on perhaps a piano dolly or two, it can be rolled up to the house or maybe into the garage.
This is going to be a major task if stairs are involved. It can be quite dangerous.
The Rabbit is more than 30 inches wide and that means that it is not going through a standard interior door without dis-assembly.
The Rabbit site has instructions about this.
Even though the Rabbit comes on castors, it will be a major job to move it somewhere else outside the space that it is in.
You sure ain't going to just take it to school to show the kids.
Seven hundred pounds going up and down stairs can be a major task, especially if it is on wheels.
It could even be fatal.
Moving it may be a job for professional riggers.
Dennis

FWIW, I don't own a Rabbit but I thought the disparity in weight was huge so I looked it up, and since there seems to be some strong feelings involved here and we're trying to bring clarity to the many assumptions and opinions about this, the Rabbit website actually says

• "Crated weight with accessories: ~750 pounds" -not just the machine alone, and also,
• "Frame can come apart so that this laser machine can be moved through a small doorway." So the fact that it comes with it's own rolling cart is what adds some of the weight as well. Hope this helps.

[Jerome Stanek]

I think Dan was going to shell out the difference, so it would be the same price for the OP

May be he will sell his to him for $4,000 That is where it comes in

[Dennis Watson]

Shoot I made a floor in the bottom cabinet to store materials.

[Dave Sheldrake]

I'm sat next to a UK supplied HX1290 (my home playing machine) otherwise known in the US as the RL1290 I believe.

It's been kicked, abused, had no real maintenance, it's been moved twice (on my own) in a 3.5 ton truck, tipped over, left out in the rain (unprotected for 7 weeks!) had a 180 watt tube spannered in to it among other horrors to name just a few

It still runs as accurately as the day I purchased it 5 years ago.

On to Ray Scott, what can I say...when you deal with Ray you are not dealing with the student or a hopeful...you are dealing with the professor, I've never known him not to have an answer or unable to get an answer in a VERY short time (hours at most) not forgetting he's one of the two nicest guys in the industry (The other one being Chris Jacobs at HPC over here)

The machines are refined but built like bunker busters and strength / rigidity in this game are essential if you don't want to be tweaking alignment every other day.

cheers

Dave

[Andrew Holloway]

Here is my experience with FSL. For the record I have had no experience with Rabbit or any other 'Chinese' laser company.
I bought a 5th Gen Hobby laser in January 2014 and it arrived about a week after I paid (I am in Australia), all in perfect working order. They even sent me free 2.5" and 1.5" lens' which was a nice bonus.
I had initial troubles with alignment (I had never used a laser before). Support emails were replied to usually within 20 mins, an hour at most. Always helpful and polite - even when I asked stupid questions.
Since then I have never had to realign the mirrors - yes, I check them every now and again. I have moved it a few times too.
At one point the main electronics board stopped working. 1 phone call to FSL and then I shipped it to them. They received, tested, repaired and shipped out all same day. Repair was covered under warranty but I did pay shipping both ways.
I have never used any Chinese laser software so I can't really compare it to anything but, I was always VERY impressed by the software on the FSL. It did everything I wanted it to. It was easy to learn and it never broke.
My tube lasted about 7 months, but I did run it a LOT. As people have said, all Chinese machines over rate their tubes by about 25%. My 40W tested at 29W about a month after I got it.

I can't speak for all the people that FSL have done wrong by, all I can say is they have always done right by me.

[Dave Sheldrake]

all Chinese machines over rate their tubes by about 25%

The responsible dealers don't, why people feel the need to call a 600mm tube a 40 watt when it's not possible to do eludes me, why not just be honest and say "Up to 40 watts" rating a tube by it's strike power is plain dishonest.

It only seems to affect the small machines though and both those in the US and China, what annoys me is the buyer is paying to get 40 watts...NOT a tube that cannot reach 40 watts and is provided by the maker as a 30 watt. It's part of the reason the machines are cheap, a 30 watt tube costs half or less of what a normal 800mm 40 watt does!

cheers

Dave

[Bert Kemp]

Here is my experience with FSL. For the record I have had no experience with Rabbit or any other 'Chinese' laser company.
I bought a 5th Gen Hobby laser in January 2014 and it arrived about a week after I paid (I am in Australia), all in perfect working order. They even sent me free 2.5" and 1.5" lens' which was a nice bonus.
I had initial troubles with alignment (I had never used a laser before). Support emails were replied to usually within 20 mins, an hour at most. Always helpful and polite - even when I asked stupid questions.
Since then I have never had to realign the mirrors - yes, I check them every now and again. I have moved it a few times too.
At one point the main electronics board stopped working. 1 phone call to FSL and then I shipped it to them. They received, tested, repaired and shipped out all same day. Repair was covered under warranty but I did pay shipping both ways.
I have never used any Chinese laser software so I can't really compare it to anything but, I was always VERY impressed by the software on the FSL. It did everything I wanted it to. It was easy to learn and it never broke.
My tube lasted about 7 months, but I did run it a LOT. As people have said, all Chinese machines over rate their tubes by about 25%. My 40W tested at 29W about a month after I got it.

I can't speak for all the people that FSL have done wrong by, all I can say is they have always done right by me.

I notice you only list a Trotec in your signature, is it not worth listing the fsl or did you get rid of it.

[Andrew Holloway]

I notice you only list a Trotec in your signature, is it not worth listing the fsl or did you get rid of it.

I do still have it but it will be gone as soon as I can find a buyer.

[Bert Kemp]

good luck finding a buyer, mines bet collecting dust for a while now.

[Bert Kemp]

Just an update. Carol and Kim loaded my laser in the back of my little Nissan P/U. They wrapped it in shrink wrap, yes they used a lift to get it in my truck.Machine was not crated. I hauled it from Ohio to AZ 3 days on the road 2 days pouring rain, and two flat tires on my trailer.I mention that because when the trailer tires blew the truck was jerked real hard, I feared for my laser. When I got home I backed the truck up to my stairs going to my deck and front door. Myself and a friend got it off the back of the truck up the stairs onto the deck.( yes it was a struggle hey I'm 64 bad back and knees him 57 same lol ) Rolled it across the deck bump bump bump on the spaces between deck boards, lifted it up over the door threshold, rolled it across the living room to its place hooked it up and that was it, just started using it, no alinement was needed. Still going strong 3 mo later no machine problems just operator errors Machine weighs about 350# un crated and rolls very easy even on a rug and bumpy deck.
Oh we never heard from the OP again made 2 post he gets a 100 answers, we never found out if or what he bought and how he likes it.

[Bill George]

Its too bad FSL won't market the control software they wrote. Dennis that was a very good review.

[Bert Kemp]

Who's Dennis

Its too bad FSL won't market the control software they wrote. Dennis that was a very good review.

I think FSL did at one time sell their software but no body wanted the machine just the software so they stopped selling the software, if you wanted it you had to buy the machine.