First Timer setting up new CO2 laser (60 watt delivered)

Oddly I did find a decent source on Etsy for 1/8 inch….I will have to go look who it was. As for 1/4 inch I have tried from multiple places but all have had too many glue pockets for me to use reliably.
Possible the seller on Etsy who I purchased the 1/8 from has better 1/4 but I gave up and went back to 1/4 luan from Lowe’s as it was more reliable and cheaper.

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So far I have found my local Home Depot/Lowes to have inconsistent suppliers of anything at all. What I buy at one is not available next week so I’ll try another store and get a bad product. I find this across all stores and types of wood. I guess this is part of the “artisanal” portion of laser cutting and engraving that everyone talks about!

I found a place online where shipping is not too cost prohibitive. Once I’m setup etc and have tested the product, I’ll link out to it.

Thanks for the reply!

Unfortunately the seller is not the one who does the actual delivery of the product. That is up to whoever gets the contract in your area. When mine was delivered, the delivery company was very good about communicating when they would show up and what it is they were responsible for.

As for the unit coming from China instead of California, thank the covid disaster for that. Everything that used to be commonly shipped and stored is not getting the TLC it once did.

Stay positive! If you want to see a real disaster on shipping a laser from China, check the thread from Sasquatch. He paid a lot for his and got very little satisfaction!

Once you have all your headaches resolved, you’ll have a lot of fun with your new laser.

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I think it makes a real nice addition to your living room. :slight_smile:

Sorry to hear about the delivery problems. I purchased mine from OMTech, got hung up in customs for a week or so. They did call and make arrangements for delivery. It was UPS that handled it, put it right where I wanted it. Of course, not a second story apartment.

I doubt that anyone even looked at the box. I don’t think you could buy plywood that cheap in the US and I don’t think you could have uncreated, tested and returned it to it’s create without the pieces falling apart.

However it did work, unlike my 5202. I was inside mine and there’s not much to them. So wouldn’t sweat the dent. You should fire it up and ensure it is working. I run distilled water in mine with 1 drop of aquarium algaecide. You can hook you 5202 up to your machine and ditch that cheap water flow detector they have, I wired mine right into the existing wires from the switch. It’s in one of the pictures I posted on this thread.

Does the lps have a digital current meter on it?

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To me, either way is that they confirmed multiple times that they would in fact schedule a delivery and it would not be delivered before contact. I had to literally race home from 200 miles away to see this thing sitting in the rain. I’m fairly sure they know about the carrier. Either way this part of my thread is to let potential people know the reality.

Also, all support went through their main channels and was clearly handled by Chinese support. They couldn’t even answer basic questions. I knew it might be that way so I’m not mad, it’s just a warning to those that think it’ll be handled by US support and have actual answers.

To be fair, final decision was my SO’s. I warned her of the size of the upgraded unit vs the other and she freaked out a bit even though I mocked it up in carboard for a visual before purchase. She wants to turn our bedroom into an office/laser room. We don’t get many visitors so we decided to earn extra money with this in order to save and buy a house (wish me luck).

I’ve seen better worksmanship from 2 drunks guys in an alley. It’s not like I was expecting some decent wood to practice with, especially after reading reviews/stories etc, but it was dinged as heck, screws snapped off from the shipping etc. At least the unit itself wasn’t damaged as far as I can tell.

What is this? I have a lot of sorting and creating to do before I even dare plug it in. Waiting on some HEPA filters before I create the fume extractor etc.

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Mine came with a power supply with a digital ma meter on it. You have to open the electronics bay to read it :frowning:

30 ma meters are cheap and easy to put in…

I didn’t order mine from UPS, but they dropped it off…

I’m sure you’ll have a great time with it…

Take care :slight_smile:

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I have an Ammeter on the way. Going to take my time on setup and have limited time as is. Will share docs for Fume box etc.

Thanks for the help and encouragement!

All of us are behind you… :slight_smile:

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I was honestly unaware that this was a legit support forum. I am used to a more social platform. The support and tips are topnotch here and I for one really appreciate it. Almost as much as I appreciate the google indexing of this site as well as the forum “regulars”. I am currently working around 70 hours a week but we’ve hired a few so hopefully will be able to learn and help on the forum for newcomers.

I hate the concept, idea and fact that there are “Karens” and I feel like one. Omtech reached out with the complaint and initially offered $60 but has now upped it to $150.

In any business, you under promise and overdeliver. I have been let down at every step of the way so far. If they do not meet expectations, please be honest and let them know. In the end if it inconveniences you? You should be compensated for promises they make but don’t deliver on. If I don’t deliver then I don’t get paid. It’ll be the same when I ship products.

What I am saying is that it’s worth the effort.

Sounds like OMTech can be a nightmare to deal with. Makes me feel better about spending more for a Thunder Laser Nova laser as I experienced almost no problems at all and the few that I did have were easy to deal with.

BTW, Occooch Hardwoods in Wiscons sells decent quality BB plywood and various hardwood plywoods. If you need bigger sheets or closer sources try Googling for “baltic birch plywood near me” or “hardwood near me” and sift through the hits for quality dealers.

That’s a nice looking mid level laser.

I’ve been there and done that. I still go to them and inspect the wood. Still getting Home Depot level quality from most.

My OMTech 50 watt had a botched laser head install with 2 of the 3 cap screws holding the head on. I noticed that when I got it, and never touched the head for anything but changing the lens. Then one day- a year after I got it [Last July] the head moved because the cap screws were so loose. I contacted OMTech and asked for a warranty replacement of the head since it was so poorly attached in manufacture. Took a month, and shipped from China, but I got the new head and have it installed and sturdy now.

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Have you checked out my youtube? got a bunch about this and vs a aeon mira

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I got my OMT “50W” in January this year and it’s been a bunch of fun. Tried the supplied roller and discovered as Jack did that it is useless due to the knurled aluminum rollers having zero traction on pretty much anything. Further, after an unsuccessful attempt at altering, came to the realization that it cannot be disassembled due to all of the shafts being press-fit into the bearings. Attempting to drift the shafts out just led to warped rollers. Finally gave in and bought a better rotary, though still not without some design flaws. Corrected with a couple of idler pulleys and silicone O-rings to grip cylindrical stuff.
The only serious flaw/issue is that it seems the bearings driving the Y-axis are trashed, confirmed today with an attempt at adressing backlash. Will make a separate post in a new topic later today regarding the bearings.

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When you make you post or elsewhere… I’m in the market and have looked at them for a while along with following all the issues of people trying to make them work.

I’d like to hear your advise for someone a purchase.

Had mine since mid April. Mines had a couple of minor mods

Be looking for you post :slight_smile:

Are you looking for a rotary? So far I’m happy with this one. It will even fit the 36oz RTIC bottle.


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Hard to tell from the photos, but it appears to have a lever to stabilize the subject. That’s what was missing from both the useless old rotary, and my new, much better rotary. FWIW, the forward and reverse acceleration, almost regardless of the rate, tend to shift or pop the item out. I’ve been engraving “continuous” designs on 3" wood dowels to roll patterns on clay for ceramic projects. Getting all tuned-in to a millimeter or two has been interesting. EVERY parameter matters!..

Trick how you got the full color RTIC logo done on a laser… :slight_smile:

Yes that seems to be the issue and is why I’ve looked pretty much at the chuck type rotaries. I have my lens tubes and acrylic tube I’d like to engrave and a few mugs.

Something needs to hold the work on the device even as you spin it and you have to deal with the physics.

Thanks… :dizzy_face:

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Finally have some time to work on setting up laser. The filter box isn’t my best but it’ll do.

I made sure to leave some room for a standalone HEPA filter although I most likely won’t need it.

I’ll add photos as I set them up.



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