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Order placed for my new 1600 x 900mm Laser Cutter
Just placed the order for a new 1600mm x 900mm laser, should be with us on Friday.
Will post our results as soon as we’ve had a play with it.
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60 Replies
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Is that for your slow payers Kevin… 🙁
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Do you exsphect me to tok?? 😳
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Do you exsphect me to tok??
No, Mr. Fenton, I expect you to make signs…
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Something like:
“No Mr. Bond I expect you to die waiting with interest been threatening a laser for a long time.
Best of luck!” -
Cutting something with a bright light, never ceases to amaze me!
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I was amazed by the demo.
What was more incredible was the fact that I found my way there in the first place, a long old drive up to that there north! -
Had a play with the new machine today, and it was really simple to use!
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Great job Kevin, looks the dogs. Bet you spend all weekend playing with it.
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Looks great who did you buy the machine from Kevin?
CNC and laser are on our wish list. -
Got it from HPC Laser up in Halifax, a really helpful bunch of guys.
And yes David, looking like I’m going to be doing to doing my mad professor impression over the weekend!
After a day on it, I can see it maybe forcing us to buy a CNC due to the limitations of material it can cut, fret cutting composite & foam can’t be done on a laser, but on the plus side, it can cut 10mm acrylic up to 1600 x 900 like butter
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Got it from HPC Laser up in Halifax, a really helpful bunch of guys.
Excellent choice! As you probably know, anything PVC is a no-no.
HPC Laser is on my highly recommended list. I have had 8 from them, and still have 6 of them. 4x1290s and 2x6090s. It’s the backbone of the business. We also have a Trotec Speedy 300, but that was bought for engraving mostly. -
Really glad to hear that Phil, got quite a few jobs lined up for it next week, looking forward to getting it earning
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I am a bit green here 😉
Pleased all good, Enjoy! -
Kevin, it would be great to see some of the jobs you have completed on your new toy. Any photos?
I’m also looking into purchasing one from HPC, but I am a little hesitant as to what they can really do.
Basically, I’m scared to take the plunge thus far! 😀 -
HTC Laser-cut examples:
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Getting to grips with it now even though we’re under pressure to complete all of the projects we’ve started. A few more pictures to follow once we’ve installed. I would recommend HPC, buy the laser & don’t look back. I honestly see a massive increase in the amount of acrylic we use next year, zero design time, just playing around with led illumination now. Making signs has got fun again
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quote Kevin Mahoney:Getting to grips with it now even though we’re under pressure to complete all of the projects we’ve started. A few more pictures to follow once we’ve installed. I would recommend HPC, buy the laser & don’t look back. I honestly see a massive increase in the amount of acrylic we use next year, zero design time, just playing around with led illumination now. Making signs has got fun again
Great work Kevin. Appreciate your time to show some photos. I think early in the new year I’ll be purchasing one. Have a price from Hpc and also a company called Mantech. Now I gotta compare and get the ball rolling. 🙂
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I’ve had it for about 3 or 4 weeks or so now, & just counting the jobs its done, I’ve already invoiced out over two thirds of the purchase price of the machine even though we are very inexperienced in using it. Wish I’d bought one years ago. I must say though, dealing with suppliers of acrylic is a bit of an eye opener. Placed 4 orders with various suppliers so far, been left for days with my thumb up my backside with all of them, looks like its a bit of a cartel with some of them being secretly owned by another. Shocking service.
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quote Kevin Mahoney:I’ve had it for about 3 or 4 weeks or so now, & just counting the jobs its done, I’ve already invoiced out over two thirds of the purchase price of the machine even though we are very inexperienced in using it. Wish I’d bought one years ago. I must say though, dealing with suppliers of acrylic is a bit of an eye opener. Placed 4 orders with various suppliers so far, been left for days with my thumb up my backside with all of them, looks like its a bit of a cartel with some of them being secretly owned by another. Shocking service.
Kevin what laser strength did u go for. The standard 80watt or higher?
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Just the standard 80, its meeting all expectations so far & can be upgraded later if required, £4-500 is all the replacements cost
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quote Kevin Mahoney:Just the standard 80, its meeting all expectations so far & can be upgraded later if required, £4-500 is all the replacements cost
Spot on Kevin. Ill keep you posted how I get on. Have been looking at the same size machine from Mantech in the UK. So I’ll see how prices compare.
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quote Kevin Mahoney:I’ve had it for about 3 or 4 weeks or so now, & just counting the jobs its done, I’ve already invoiced out over two thirds of the purchase price of the machine even though we are very inexperienced in using it. Wish I’d bought one years ago. I must say though, dealing with suppliers of acrylic is a bit of an eye opener. Placed 4 orders with various suppliers so far, been left for days with my thumb up my backside with all of them, looks like its a bit of a cartel with some of them being secretly owned by another. Shocking service.
Thats a surprise, Amari seem to have had a few supply problems recently, Irpen can be a pain in the arse depending who you speak to, but I use Bay Plastics (My local Perspex distributor) who deliver next day with the sheets cut to size.
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Not used Amari much to be fair to them, it wasn’t them or Irpen that dropped the ball. Irpen did as they promised & delivered on time. Only problem with the Irpen cast acrylic is that the dense white 10mm tends to go a little bit brown on the laser, as opposed to genuine Perspex which cuts really clean & white
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I think we may have hit the limit as to how small we can cut on this machine!
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Any smaller and you won’t be able to see it!
I’m still debating on these laser machines, Kevin.
Hate the fact it can’t cut Foamex or Dibond. -
Agree it is a pain, but the cost of the machine considered, worth every penny so far.
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quote Kevin Mahoney:Agree it is a pain, but the cost of the machine considered, worth every penny so far.
Kevin.. Forgot to ask. Is there any mess coming from the machine cutting acrylic etc. Ie airborne dust etc. I’d hate to have lots of dust floating about my print areas.?
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Not a speck of dust, just an oily residue on the base of the bed. Powerful smell though, even with the extractor on
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quote Kevin Mahoney:Not a speck of dust, just an oily residue on the base of the bed. Powerful smell though, even with the extractor on
Kevin. Took the plunge and ordered the co2 laser machine. I have a few questions if you don’t mind.
How do you fix the acrylic letters to sign trays or flat dibond panels. Do you screw from reverse side or bond with a certain glue or tape etc?
Have you any other photos from previous jobs you’ve used the laser for I’d love to see 🙂
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quote Wayne Maxwell:Kevin. Took the plunge and ordered the co2 laser machine. I have a few questions if you don’t mind.
How do you fix the acrylic letters to sign trays or flat Dibond panels. Do you screw from the reverse side or bond with a certain glue or tape etc?
Have you any other photos from previous jobs you’ve used the laser for I’d love to see 🙂
Hi Wayne, congratulations on the new kit, I’m sure you’ll enjoy using it. Did you go with HPC in the end? We use a black foam tape with a dark green liner for fixing acrylic (or locators but don’t really like those) & buy it from Cherwell but it’s available everywhere.
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quote Kevin Mahoney:quote Wayne Maxwell:
Hi Wayne, congratulations on the new kit, I’m sure you’ll enjoy using it. Did you go with HPC in the end? We use a black foam tape with a dark green liner for fixing acrylic (or locators but don’t really like those) & buy it from Cherwell but it is available everywhere.Nice work Kevin… 👍 Ordered the machine from Mantech. 900x1300mm bed size. Looking forward to it… I know it’s nothing new in terms of technology but I’m actually interested to see what I can create.
Have you tried laying printed laminated vinyl onto the acrylic then cutting letters to shape or do you cut out vinyl and lay on single letters? Would the laser burn and damage printed vinyl?
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Vinyl has pvc in it mate, will very quickly ruin your machine (as in rusting away in minutes) & give off a rather unhealthy chlorine gas. Do your vinyl work after the laser cutting is finished, although I haven’t seen this happen with my own eyes, I won’t brave it & try
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quote Kevin Mahoney:Vinyl has pvc in it mate, will very quickly ruin your machine (as in rusting away in minutes) & give off a rather unhealthy chlorine gas. Do your vinyl work after the laser cutting is finished, although I haven’t seen this happen with my own eyes, I won’t brave it & try
Fair enough Kevin.. Appreciate the advice.. Let’s not be trying that then 🙂
Mainly I’ll be using it to replace outsourcing cnc foamex cut letters. I’ll switch to Acrylic instead. Acrylic will give me a lot more colour choices also.
I’ll keep you posted how things pan out.. I’d just like to say thanks for your time and advice it’s much appreciated. [emoji106]
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Pleasure Wayne, I bought it for exactly the same reason to be honest. The 10mm acrylic flush mounted has a much more premium look than 3mm or 5mm on locators in my view, you get much better internal corners than cnc
(At least any I’ve had done anyway)
As the 10mm is only available in black, white & clear, we have been experimenting with spraying them with acrylic paint. That is looking quite promising.
Do you mind me asking what your machine ended up costing? -
quote Kevin Mahoney:Pleasure Wayne, I bought it for exactly the same reason to be honest. The 10mm acrylic flush mounted has a much more premium look than 3mm or 5mm on locators in my view, you get much better internal corners than cnc
(At least any I’ve had done anyway)
As the 10mm is only available in black, white & clear, we have been experimenting with spraying them with acrylic paint. That is looking quite promising.
Do you mind me asking what your machine ended up costing?That be good to see photos how the spraying turns out. Price over 7K.
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I’m going to have a go at making some built up lettering as soon as I get a few hours off, just playing around with ideas for forming the returns, might try it with a heat press
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quote Kevin Mahoney:I’m going to have a go at making some built up lettering as soon as I get a few hours off, just playing around with ideas for forming the returns, might try it with a heat press
Hi Kevin hope your well. Finally got my new Laser Machine (to be honest I’m that busy with signage I’ve only switched it on once). I have a job flat dibond panel with 10mm thick acrylic letters. Any advice on how to bond these to the dibond that won’t fall off outside its for a shop front. Kind regards
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Hi Wayne, I use a 1” black foam tape with a green liner for that. Cherwell sell it but I think it’s available everywhere. Started any fires yet?
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quote Kevin Mahoney:Hi Wayne, I use a 1” black foam tape with a green liner for that. Cherwell sell it but I think it’s available everywhere. Started any fires yet?
Kevin no fires haha. Let’s hope I don’t full stop. Have only cut thin acrylic so far. Next job will be 10mm opal acrylic letters. I’ll let you know if anything goes up in smoke [emoji16]
Do you trust the tape enough to use on shop front letters etc. I’m always scared off the what if factor.. But I don’t like the thought of screwing from behind the dibond intonthe acrylic incase of cracking the letters. -
I’ve not had any problems to date, used it for years. Being a foam tape, there’s a lot more give in it to cope with the composite expanding and contracting in weather changes, & I’ve got stuff on facia signs still there after 10 years. Screwing into acrylic would terrify me to be honest, some acrylic goes very brittle after a Winter outside.
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quote Kevin Mahoney:I’ve not had any problems to date, used it for years. Being a foam tape, there’s a lot more give in it to cope with the composite expanding and contracting in weather changes, & I’ve got stuff on facia signs still there after 10 years. Screwing into acrylic would terrify me to be honest, some acrylic goes very brittle after a Winter outside.Thanks Kevin I’ll get in and order some. Again thanks a lot for your advice it’s greatly appreciated. Wayne [emoji106]
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Kevin my first sign with letter cut on my laser machine. Used that tape you recommended. Seems to be holding well 👍
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Great stuff mate, did you get it from Cherwell?
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Yes Cherwell. Think I’ll stock up on it now 👍
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How do you think it compares to using stand off locators Wayne?
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I think the tape is great Kevin I’d actually prefer to use tape than standoffs when possible. Just hope it’s holds up for a few years 🙏😁 Kevin please see attached photo of laser cut 4mm mdf. Have you came across this almost shadow like marking after any jobs.?
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Not seen that before, have you asked HPC?
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I would look at the focus lens alignment….looks like the beam is splitting into two.
Hope that helps.
John
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As John says, the laser beam is hitting the nose cone most likely. Its an alignment issue.
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Thanks for the advice guys. Just have the machine a short time so I’ll have to do get the manual out and try to fix. In the meantime will this cause any problems if I continue to cut any materials?
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A loss of power (and therefore speed), and it will cause the head to heat up. Ring HPC and ask them to advise 🙂 Their technical guys can help out. They know me pretty well lol. There are videos on youtube for beam alignment, but the likelyhood is, you just need to adjust the head screws to realign the final mirror. I would still check the full alignment.
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Spec sheet attached:
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Hi Phil,
As owner of both brands, HPC and Trotec. Why Trotec are so expensive? Are the offering something HPC are not offering?
What will be your advice? I’m considering Kevin’s model.
Thanks
Hi Kevin
What do you think of your LS1690 PRO Laser (I’m considering this model) purchase a year later. Was it the right choice? Size wise too?
What is your view on Trotec and the price difference to HPC? This past Friday I was talking initially with Trotec Switzerland, I was glad I was sitting on my office chair when she told me the price. Wow.
Is it worth it? What do you gain with owning a Trotec?
Thanks
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Not used the Trotec so can’t comment on its worth to be fair. With regards to the HPC laser that I bought, no major problems to report with it, wish I’d bought it years ago
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Thanks Kevin
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Hi Pane I have 3 Trotecs and 2 HPC lasers. Two types of work on a laser, engraving or cutting.
Trotecs are very fast and accurate for engraving work so if you engrave door plates for example (and in big numbers) a Trotec will earn you much more money because it will engrave approx 6 times faster than the HPC machine. For cutting work a Trotec is virtually the same speed as the HPC (same laser power tube) so if your work is mainly cutting with the odd bit of engraving HPC is the best return on your money.
My work is manily engraving I estimate that I would need 18 HPC machines to knock out the same amount of work as my 3 Trotecs. I Have added the HPC’s for cutting work and to free up more time so the Trotecs can engrave more volume.
Both machines are worth their money, in my business engraved product is worth more money than cut product. Every man and his dog has a laser that can cut at a commercial speed. As Phil Davies does, when the volumes get too much for one cutting machine he ads another.
Good luck HPC produce a good cutting machine with customer support to match. Like anything, the price only makes a difference if you havent got the work for the machine or the wrong type of work to make it pay.
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Thank you Steff,
This is a great post. Really appreciate it!
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Good morning all,
I’m thinking I shall stick to the 80W option, LS1690 model?
I like power, but I dont want to lose the detail for engraving.
I dont like the idea of having two machines – One small for engraving and big 150W for cutting only.
Any input is much appreciated. Please join the talk.
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Does a Trotec ( and Epilog) not use an RF tube rather than the much cheaper glass tubes used in Chinese lasers?
Look at the tube replacement cost for a Trotec tube.
Glass tubes have a maximum engraving head speed of 1000mm/s, RF tubes can go to 4300mm/s and have a higher quality output even at that speed as per Steff’s experience
John
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Hi John,
Thank you for your message.
Trotec is not an option for me.
I’m looking into model LS1690 PRO Laser, from HPC Lasers in Halifax.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by Pane Talev.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by
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