TLARWise Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Does anyone have a laser cutter in their school? We are looking in to getting one and would be interested in anyones comments, experiences, etc in using/supporting them and if there is anything I should be aware of. Please be sure to include the model of machine you use. Currently we are looking at the Techsoft and Denford models, does anyone have any alternatives that would be worthing looking in to aswell?
3s-gtech Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I have a recommendation - avoid any of the 'cheap' Chinese ones that can't operate as printers. Absolute nightmare, ours has to interprate all cutting jobs through a proprietary piece of software. I'm sincerely hoping I can use Solustan Linkmotion to work around this, otherwise it's time to look at replacements. The Techsoft ones seem pretty good, but pricey!
Oaktech Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 we have a techsoft one, the predecessor to the A2+ and it's quite frankly outstanding. easy to use, quick-ish, powerful enough, cuts a wide range of materials (but not metal sadly) (given i used to support one of these when i worked in industry)
6Foot2 Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 We have a laser cutter. Not sure of the make/model until I get back on-site tomorrow. It is looked after by the Technology Technician. Since setting it up we haven't been called to help with problems. I will supply more detail when I can.
plexer Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 We have had a versalaser vl200 for 5+ years and it's so simple to use never had a problem. Ben
rad Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 We have a TechSoft one I think, its blue and cream. It is linked up to a laptop that has 2D design and serves as the only communication device to it. The Laser cutter is great and is used regualarly. If you want more info as to the exact model I can get it tomorrow. Ours is 3 years old and is maintained by the Tech Technician. I only got involved recently as we changed the laptop over, apart from that, its not normally a problem.
Edu-IT Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 We have one. It's red and grey. That's as much as I can tell you about it! If you want me to find out more then let me know.
sonofsanta Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 No idea what model we have offhand - DT look after it - but I know they use 2D design with it, and that it's brilliant and they love it. Just don't try and cut shiny things on it, one of the teachers has ruined more than one laser doing that!
EvLPhenom Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 We have a 180-290- Spirit 60W Laser cutter and tbh its great. Never had a problem with it until we swapped the computer it was connected to and that was fixed with an updated USB driver rather than the original parallel driver it was using. Although it is mainly looked after by the DT Technician. If I remember correctly it was purchased from Technology supplies and their tech support was very helpful when I couldn't find the updated driver. Spirit 60W Laser Package - 180-290 | Technology Supplies Ltd
Oaktech Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 We have one. It's red and grey. That's as much as I can tell you about it! If you want me to find out more then let me know. that'll be a denford VLS then!
6Foot2 Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 I have our cutter details now: Make: Universal Laser Systems Model: PLS 660 Further information: It is blue [that is all I have: Sorry]
TechMonkey Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 We have one. It's red and grey. That's as much as I can tell you about it! If you want me to find out more then let me know. No help but I read that as red and angry. I was trying to work out how you have an angry laser cutter and thought maybe you had a bad experience you wanted to share. Obviously I'm just projecting.
brad82 Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 We have a lot of CAM kit in the technology department (the use of it is another rant all together though). We have a LaserPro Explorer II and it gets hammered by the Year 11s attempting to finish their GCSE final project in time.. Its an absolute headache to set up, but once its working Techsoft 2D Design (V2) and it work like an absolute treat! We use it to do a lot of in-house engraving too, the vast majority of the door signs are done on our cutter and all staff have key fobs with their staff codes on which we did with the machine.. Plus I love the smell it makes (probably not good to be sniffing the fumes of it but it gets me through the day!)
tomgrindle Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Ours is a Hobarts, dont know a model sorry. Good piece of kit. It operates as a printer and the designs are made and outputted using TechSoft 2D Design.
frankq Posted February 7, 2012 Posted February 7, 2012 We have a Denford 3000 and we use Denford 2d laser design software with it. Denford came out and trained staff who were going to use it and are always available on the phone should we have a problem
jenking Posted February 7, 2012 Posted February 7, 2012 We use a HPC LAser cutter, fantastic machine. We have also never had a problem, so worth Checking out. We praticaly use ours none stop. I keep meaning to have ago at engraving our macbooks. laser engraving machines laser cutting machines, HPC laser LTD
SteveB_NI Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Can anyone give me a bit of a hand with this issue I'm having... I've got a Spirit laser cutter, but unfortunately I'm having problems printing from 2d Design. The printer is connected via USB & is recognised ok - when I print to it the job disappears from the list of print jobs, but the LCD on the lasercutter still displays "Empty file". Am I missing a step here?! Thanks!
Oaktech Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 whenever we have had this problem it has been a turn off of the PC, a turn off of the laser cutter, a turn on of the laser cutter, then a turn on of the PC that has fixed it. The only difference being that ours is paralell connected.
rad Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Can anyone give me a bit of a hand with this issue I'm having... I've got a Spirit laser cutter, but unfortunately I'm having problems printing from 2d Design. The printer is connected via USB & is recognised ok - when I print to it the job disappears from the list of print jobs, but the LCD on the lasercutter still displays "Empty file". Am I missing a step here?! Thanks! We have had this with a new laptop. Try as her @Oakteck but also try installing onto a different USB port. A combination of things made our Laser cutter work
PhiliptArnawskyj Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Hi matey, I use the same machine but ours Is serial. The machine we have sometimes needs to be reset by the power. The machine also has to be ready in the control panel. You have to make sure the machine is not paused and ready to use. I've had it before with ours that the driver is not pointing to the correct port ie USB instead of serial in the case of ours. Best bet try the machine on a standalone machine. But it should be simple as print then it starts. Hope that helps. I'm not an ict buff I'm a technology teacher
dgsmith Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Its an absolute headache to set up.. We have the same machine, but just need to install it as a printer and it works fine.. What part of your setup is a headache?
PhiliptArnawskyj Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Hey hey, I'm a teacher in a Walsall school And use a laser pro mercury 25w machine. It's fab, with it being 6 years old and still on it's first laser tube the machine is still going strong. The thing is that the cheap water cooled china machines are ok I suppose but from a maintenance point of view your better with an rf co2 laser machine. They have a longer laser tube life and a more reliable cooling system. For example a water cooled laser cutter (china) usually have a tube life of 1500 - 3000 hours depending on power settings. These then have to be changed as the power the tube delivers then gets reduced due to the tubes wear and tear. You also have to consider the water cooler. I've been to a friends school with on of these and it's a fish pump in a bucket of water. From a teacher point of view this is bad and prone to issues. Laser pro tend to use synrad rf co2 tubes and they claim to have a life of 40,000 hours life. But check what tube is in. Now the laser pro machines are expensive but wow amazing and reliable we paid £12k for ours I believe but it's not needed a penny spent on it in the 6 years we've had it. An estimation on the laser tube hours ours has to be around 5000 hours. From time to time the mirrors need cleaning and the honeycomb bed vacuuming. Hope that helps but if you need any more info on our machine ask. Ps speak to the uk laser pro agent they are cheaper than technology supplies. Phil
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