User talk:Easycut2005

Hello to eveyone in this forum!

I have been reading your posts for a while now, and you helped me a lot to make my choice in buying a new laser engraver. It is a Redsail RS6090C, a bit bigger in size than the ones discussed here, but it runs on the same system than the smaller machines from Redsail. To put it ahead: There was a bit of a trouble in the beginning, but now it works well, and I am completely statisfied whith what I got for my money. So here is the story:

To make my choice, I contacted all chinese companies I could find. The replies of Redsail seemed to be most promising, mainly because they were friendly, quick, and written in good english, without random words put togehter like it was the case with the other companies. Special thanks to Amanda for replying so quick and kindly for all my emails (about 40 by now)

The machine was shipped to Austria through Hamburg. Shipping to Hamburg was arranged by Redsail, further transport was supposed to be done by their "forward agent", a german cargo company. Redsail told me, the forward agent would call me when the machine arrived in hamburg. Well, there seemed to be a bit of misunderstanding, because the cargo company called me on day 35, asking me what the hell was going on. It turned out that shipping was much faster than Redsail told me, and the crate was at their depot for 2 weeks already, and it was me who should have called them for further instructions. Okay, no big deal, the rest of the transport worked out better, customs were done in Vienna without problems, and I finally recieved the machine 2 months (!) after ordering.

It took me almost a day to unpack and install the machine, I double-checked everthing just to make sure. This is when I came to the real problem, I could not get the laser to work. Head movement worked, I could use the software to control the machine, the only thing that did not work was the laser. It turned out, it was the high voltage supply`s fault. After some trying, I accidently found a way to make it work: With the machine off, I made the software turn on the laser signal, and then I switched the machine on. (I guess this was due to the bad logic IC in the power supply, which did not accept the 4,5 volt laser signal as a stable "high" signal, only when it was present when switched on) This way the laser made the beam. I knew there was still something wrong, but at least I knew the tube was okay. Well, my happiness did not last for too long, because the second time I did this switch-on trick, the power supply made a big bang, and was dead. Those were some really sad moments, after 2 months of waiting... The guys at redsail sent me a replacement, but I had to send back the broken one. Replacing the power supply took another two weeks. The new one worked as it was intended to be, and finally I could start adjusting the mirrors and get to the fun part.

In general it`s not more and not less than what I expected. Adjusting took me another day, I even had to readjust a displaced mirror by drilling some new holes, but the basics are done, and it seems to be stable, I don't think there will be need for readjusting anything.

I plan to do some additional improvements: - use the workshop's compressor instead of the nosy air pump. - install one common power switch for air assist, ventillation and laser tube - install switches at the end position of the axes to avoid that loud noise the belts make when the head is directed over its limits by software (it is pretty stupid they did not care about this)

so here is my conclusion: this machine is definitely not plug and play, but with some skills you can make it do good work, and when set up properly, its definitely worth the money. Redsail is a trustable company, they have good customer support, and they help you with all your questions. If you want to have fun out of the box, you`ll have a better deal with the europeans or americans. But know there are some guys who payed 1/4 for the same

How to select the China Low cost Laser Engraver
You can find many laser engraver suppliers in the Internet, you don't know how to find a good supplier, maybe you only know the China laser engraver is low cost.

I'm a China laser engraver designer, i can tell you the truth, sorry for my poor English, i only expect i can help you to make a better decision.

You must know some knowledge:

1) The China laser engraver use the Glass Co2 Laser tube instead of the RF Co2 laser tube; 2) The Glass laser tube is very very low cost, the life time is almost 3000-5000 hours; the RF laser tube is very expensive, the true life time is almost 20000 hours. 3) The Glass laser tube must be drived by the high volt power supply; the RF laser tube only drived by the 48V DC supply, so it is reliable than Glass tube. 4) The Glass laser tube is cooled by the circle water; the RF laser tube is cooled by the air. 5) The Maintenance expense of the Glass tube is very low, if the Glass laser tube is broken, you can replace a new one; but the RF laser tube is very expensive, if it is broken, it can be recharged the Co2 Gas, but the cost of recharge is expensive too.

So if you have DIY ability and you want to reduce the cost of your business,you can select the China laser engraver to start your business!!!

There are some rules, you can select the suitable machine for your need.

1) How much laser power i need You can find the supplier say his laser engraver use 40W laser tube, or 60W laser tube, or 80W laser tube, it is only China standard, it isn't same as RF laser tube. But you can find the true watt by the length of the laser tube: Length Peak watt Average watt purpose 70cm <=40W 35W Rubber stamp, wooden gift 100cm <=50W 40W General use,cutting 8mm acrylic board 125cm <=70W 60W General use,cutting 10mm acrylic board 160cm <=85W 80W Cutting 15mm acrylic board

Note: a) The laser power is bigger, the laser dot is bigger, the cost is more expensive. b) The 80W laser tube is only used for cutting, the engraving effect isn't good. i find somebody want to upgrade his Mini laser engraver to 80W laser tube, it is naive c) The laser tube is diffrent, the laser tube power supply(driver) is diffrent.

2) Up and down work plate It is very important, if the engraver hasn't this fuction, it is difficult to engrave the thickness materials.

3) Software compatible This point is very important too, mostly China low cost engraver use the Newdragon or Moshidraw software, this two software are designed for making CHINESE rubber stamp. it isn't compatible with Coreldraw or photoshop. So it is difficult for you to use your old design, only the Redsail Easycut 2.0 software is compatible with coreldraw and photoshop.

4) Firmware function a) Control panel: Some low cost engraver hasn't the control panel, so the function is a little. i think the Direction Button is necessary function. b) Work mode: Some engraver has one work mode: raster mode(scan line by line) I think the laser engraver must has two work mode: engraving and cutting. Because the laser power limitation, the 70CM laser tube only can cut 1-3mm acrylic in one pass, the cutting function is equate to "draw" function. the "draw" function is helpful in vector graph. c) Engraving speed Mostly engraver only has 100-200mm/s engraving speed; some engraver has 400mm/s engraving speed. the fast speed can reduce your cost.

5) Photo graph engraving function If you want to engrave a photo graph, you must follow the step as follows: Scan the photo-save as BMP file-Convert it to gray degree BMP file-convert it to B&W bmp file-Use the laser software to open it and engrave. But mostly China low cost laser engraver can't do this. I only found the Redsail RS3040A can open the color Image file directly, it can reduce the procedure. it use a REDSAIL patent, so it is more expensive than others.

6) Support after sales There is a proverb in Chinese traditional language, "Buy a Cow behind a hill". Some supplier only can sell the machine to you without support. Before you buy the machine, you should search the trademark of this supplier or the Model of the machine in the Google, if you can't find anything about this machine in the Google, you can know how to do. The Internet is virtual world, you can belive it or not, but if you find many distributors sell same kind of engraver in the Internet, i think you can belive this company or products.

Some supplier sell the laser engraver with 999 USD, some supplier sell it with 1999.00 USD, someone sell it with 2999.00 USD; the price is diffrent, the quality is diffrent, the survice is diffrent, don't expect a horse can run fast and the horse eat nothing. everybody want to buy the machine with the lowest price, so you must learn more before your decision.

You can inquire you supplier about this technical question, and check his answer: 1) Lenth of Laser tube 2) Distance of up and down wok plate 3) Control panel 4) Software comatible with coreldaw or photoshop 5) How to engrave the photograph? 6) How about the engraving speed? 7) How to set the cutting mode(draw mode) or raster mode? 8) How can get the service? can you provide a service phone or service email address?

I think after your get the answer from your supplier, you can know which machine is your need.