Laser price woes

[Rodne Gold]

I have bought 8 co2 lasers and a fiber from China (yarde feng from shenhui and then when he moved , from liaocheng longtai) and they have all exceeded my expectations in both service and support..all still running.

Was going to go for a 1-2kw fiber cutter , 2mx3m but decided that it wasnt really my market and material handling would be an issue ..depending on source pricing was $60-80k
My 20w fiber cost me $5k door to door via airfreight..does what it says on the tin and more


I also import 2 x 40 ft containers a year from China , trophies , medals , plaques , crystal , acrylic sheet , engraving laminates and so on..once again..top quality products , service etc all beyond reproach .. been doing so for the last 7-8 years and never a glitch..in fact my chinese suppliers have despatched goods without payment being received..thats how much they trust me..

[Dave Sheldrake]

The problem with fibers is they are complex when stuff goes wrong and by far the biggest expense is post if you need a spare such as a ballscrew that gets bent or such like, a right hand side BScrew for mine weighs 45lb and is 8 feet long`it's also not at all unusual for the bigger machines to arrive bowed (that's a nightmare to fix)

If you go fiber, go big, 1.0kw to 2.5kw minimum and 4kw if possible, prices for the smaller ones are coming down and the market will end up going the same way (it did with the big CO2's years ago)

Metal cutting is expensive in gas and spares (as well as sheet materials) I don't do anywhere near as much as I used to yet I often still have £20k tied up in sheet stock here along with similar amounts in machine spares.

[Michael Henriksen]

Dave, do you fibers have ball screws on all axis? Many of the Chinese ones use rack and pinion on the Y, even some of the 1325 size ones I'm considering.

I agree that bigger is better if we are talking job shop. However my main motivation for buying a laser has changed now I'm moving to Denmark. I might take on the odd cutting job depending on what it is, but my main use will be development and manufacturing of my own products. They are unique and have a high enough markup to justify a fiber laser purchase. Making prototypes would be a nightmare if I had to pay someone else to do the cutting for me both in terms of cost and time. If I ever get into a position where I would need something made in high volume I would then farm it out rather than cut it myself.

I would not have to keep much sheet material in stock. A major stockholder is only 30mins drive away and since I would mostly use thin sheets, handling is not much of an issue. Gas supplier is also a short drive away.

I fully agree that fiber lasers will be more prolific in the not too distant future. That's why I focus on own design products as my primary source of income.

Anyway, to get back on topic I still think quotes are a bit all over the place but then the same seem to be the case for western made machines if you consider how much they are able to offer as trade fair discount. Perhaps I just need to improve my haggling skills. In terms of warranty, most offer 3 years on the machine, 2 years on the source.

[Dave Sheldrake]

terms of warranty, most offer 3 years on the machine, 2 years on the source.

To be honest, both are equally worthless, I've yet to find a manufacturer over there that won't try to wiggle out of the warranty when it comes to expensive components The resonator is 80% of the machine price on a Fiber and they simply make up excuses as to why they won't replace them

Yea, all of mine are ball screw, it's a LOT more reliable and accurate on smaller machines, Rack is good, until they wear, then they are a pain, ball screw is easily adjustable

Price depends on date, Chinese sales staff are commission based, the nearer to the end of the sales month the more prices vary, if they are down on numbers they will lower prices to get the sales they need. Don't be under the illusion that you ever get to speak to middle management via email, they are all just titles to make it seem like they are managers. Only way to get to middle management is by visiting personally.

The sales staff have their factory price, from that they decide what markup they want, last time I was there a $2,200 laser was $1,650 sales girl price and any warranty claims usually in part come from the commission hence why getting any kind of decent warranty is difficult.
They have to make $XXX a month, once they hit that they have more leeway to work with you on prices

[Michael Henriksen]

Do you know if the warranty situation is better on nLight or IPG compared to Raycus? I assume the assemblers have a factory warranty to fall back on?

I'm considering if the new 1390 fiber machines coming out would be a good option for me. They have ballscrews. It's a bit of an odd size in relation to metal sheet sizes though.

I'm well aware of the hierarchy in Chinese companies having worked for one. The managers were only brought in for special occasions where high-ups from the customer would be present.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Do you know if the warranty situation is better on nLight or IPG compared to Raycus? I assume the assemblers have a factory warranty to fall back on?

The irony is the assembler will often make a warranty claim and get a new tube, then charge you for the replacement

I'm considering if the new 1390 fiber machines coming out would be a good option for me. They have ballscrews. It's a bit of an odd size in relation to metal sheet sizes though.

Could be useful, I was considering one for small part work with a 1kw source but at the minute time is killing me...I simply don't get any working 18 hour days one of the assemblies I make has a set of small spring clips on it, I have to make 10,000 of the dam things a month, a small fiber would be ideal for those rather than tying up other machines but it's making time to sort it all out is the pain

Top drawer nesting software is a must when you work non standard sheet sizes, other than the Japanese machine dedicated stuff like MitsuNest the best I found is Vectrics Aspire, save saves a lot of money over time, you don't have edge detection on the cheaper fibers but with a 10mm boundary that's not really a problem anyways

Being honest, consider ALL Chinese warranties to be worthless and you won't be far off