Trotec Speedy 300 from 2007, worth it?

[Paul Diaz]

hello to all,

this is my forst post here but have been a lurker for a long time, my compliments on the great community you have here.

I´m in the marker for a Laser and have been looking at the chinese ones, but now came along the option to get a 30W Trotec Speedy 300 from 2007, asking price is 8000€

I´m going to take a look at it later today, what i´d like to ask you guy´s is what do i need to watch out for, and if it is worth it.

I´m based in portugal and i will be doing cutting and engraving mainly on acrylic and mdf up to 3mm.

Any advice is welcome,

Paulo Dias

[Bill George]

hello to all,

this is my forst post here but have been a lurker for a long time, my compliments on the great community you have here.

I´m in the marker for a Laser and have been looking at the chinese ones, but now came along the option to get a 30W Trotec Speedy 300 from 2007, asking price is 8000€

I´m going to take a look at it later today, what i´d like to ask you guy´s is what do i need to watch out for, and if it is worth it.

I´m based in portugal and i will be doing cutting and engraving mainly on acrylic and mdf up to 3mm.

Any advice is welcome,

Paulo Dias

So in USD that's about $8880, for a 8 year old machine, and its only 30 watts? If it was at least 50 watts you could take advantage of the Trotec's speed. And at that age I would also figure on a tube rebuild or recharge. I would let the Trotec experts chime in but I'd say its well overpriced.

[Paul Diaz]

the possible tube rebuild or replacement is a big worry, not sure if the tube also degrades on a machine that has not been working (this one has been stopped for atleast a year)

[Scott Shepherd]

In my opinion, you are at the end of the life on the tube. Being that it's probably a Coherent tube, and that I don't think they sell those tubes any longer, you're looking at an expensive fix. Somewhere around here, I have a file that has a graph of the average life of a tube. I think it was about 6-7 years and then the failure rate took a serious curve. Knowing that, the tube might last 5 more years, but just from statistics, it's at the end of it's life. Since I don't think they support that tube any longer, I think that means it has to be sent to the Coherent factory (or other manufacturer) for rebuild, which might cost you $3,000 or so, plus shipping to your country.

At $8800 USD and adding the strong possibility of having to spend $3,000 in the next year or so, along with the fact it's a VERY low power laser for these days, I'd personally pass on it.

Your opinion may vary, but I wouldn't spend my money on it at this point in time.

[Ross Moshinsky]

Take the price of a new, comparable new machine. Deduct the price of a new tube, new belts/bearings/ect, 1-2 servo/stepper motors, & new mainboard. That's more or less the price you should target.

[Mike Null]

I think it's too high in price. It's due for a new tube and bearings--both expensive. At 30 watts I'd say it's one I would pass on.

[Keith Winter]

I'd pass as everyone else said. I second the end of life for the tube is near + at only 30w you cannot take advantage of any of the Speedy 300's speed. Need 60w preferably 80w to take advantage of the speed in many projects. Steve is right, that's a different type of tube than they currently use as well, presenting even more hurdles.

hello to all,

this is my forst post here but have been a lurker for a long time, my compliments on the great community you have here.

I´m in the marker for a Laser and have been looking at the chinese ones, but now came along the option to get a 30W Trotec Speedy 300 from 2007, asking price is 8000€

I´m going to take a look at it later today, what i´d like to ask you guy´s is what do i need to watch out for, and if it is worth it.

I´m based in portugal and i will be doing cutting and engraving mainly on acrylic and mdf up to 3mm.

Any advice is welcome,

Paulo Dias

[Paul Diaz]

Allright guy´s,

thank you for all the opinions, i will speak to Trotec today about the history of the machine.

The alternative i have in this corner of the world is a chinese 5030 40W for 4700€ with only 500x300 mm

The temptation to get a trotec for a starting business instead of a chinese is great.

I´ll see if i can get it for a lower cost / think on it some more.

[Bryan Jater]

Is that a direct purchase from another company or a second hand machine from a Trotec subsidiary or dealer? If it is not coming from Trotec then get me the serial number and I will see if I can find its history for you.

[Paul Diaz]

The machine is from a private company, this is the info panel from the machine, not sure if the serial number is in here though.

fotografia.jpg

Meanwhile i went to the local trotec dealer called "Nande" in Portugal, and was told that the machine had a full overhaul including a new laser tube 6 months ago, this improves things a bit, also i personally tested 5mm MDF on the machine and it cut with a single pass, wich adds some credibility.

I was also told by them that the machine can be upgraded with a higher power laser tube, both the original one and the new iridium ones.

I allways take these statements with a grain of salt though.

[Scott Shepherd]

I was also told by them that the machine can be upgraded with a higher power laser tube, both the original one and the new iridium ones.

I allways take these statements with a grain of salt though.

I suspect anything is possible, but to do that would mean a new power supply and the new, higher powered tube which I'm sure would be quite expensive.

[Mike Null]

The new tube may carry a warranty so that's worth checking.

Upgrading to more power is a salesman's pitch. It can be done---sometimes but it is always very expensive, even to increase by just 15 watts. You will quickly conclude that a new machine is a better option than an upgrade.

You may also discover that the dimension of the tube is larger and just can't be made to fit without excessive expense.

But it is looking more promising now that you know some of the history of the machine. (the serial number is consistent with mine which was purchased just a little earlier)

[Wilbur Harris]

You might offer less than the asking price as well if you believe the machine has merit. I don't like to crawfish after I make an offer so be careful if you're the same.

[Scott Shepherd]

Mike, weren't there some settings that the older machines didn't have access to, in regards to fine tuning the engraving? I remember something along those lines and some older tubes had some areas in the settings grayed out or something?

I'd also find out if it's capable of running Job Control X. Right now, it's most likely running v9. It would be nice to not have to start your lasering with legacy software.

[Mike Null]

Steve,

It's ok for a complete firmware and JC update. Mine started out with JC7.

JC10 does have features that weren't previously available.