Looking for some input Cloudray vs Reci Laser 150w Tube both have a 12 month warranty.
I know you get what you pay for just don’t understand why the CR tube is so much cheaper.
Has anybody had good luck with a CR tube or just stay with the Reci tube.
Thanks
Rudy
as you say, you get what you pay for.
the CR tube is not bad for the money, but they are not Reci or Yongli tubes.
With CR the lenses and mirrors are standard, that means the tube has a rather large beam expansion, which influences the diameter of the beam at the lens, so the DOF deep of focus deviates strongly across the X axis.
I have a 35W CR with beam expander, a 4mm beam becomes a 10mm beam that is only 1mm larger over the entire X axis, without beam expanders it is 3.5mm.
WOW what a difference.
Thank You
Rudy
Hi @gatlin63,
The bottom line is the gold catalyst . The expensive tubes use ample amount , the inexpensive tubes use less gold catalyst. That’s why the tubes don’t last as long.
One outlasts the other. Here’s why:
In CO2 lasers, the laser gas mix inside the tube degrades over time. The CO2 turns into CO. Back in the early days for lasers, the lasers constantly used gas and sealed off lasers were not possible. All of this changed when the gold catalyst was invented by John Macken. Here’s a link to the patent:
Patent US4756000 - Discharge driven gold catalyst with application to a CO2 laser
The CO bonds with the gold and then is converted back to CO2 and is released. The gas and the gold catalyst eventually degrade but lasts hundreds of times longer than without the gold. This allowed sealed off lasers to be possible and made desk top laser cutting much more economical. The gold is the pink color that you can see coated to the glass tube.
Sasquatch
Thank you very interesting read. Lots of information.
Rudy
I have a CR 50w tube in my laser and a year on it’s still giving the same power or at least as much as I can tell, as when new. It isn’t in an industrial setting, but it gets used very regularly. I would definitely buy again.
Hope that helps
David