I recently came across an ad for a Monport Laser, and it seems like good value for money. I’m interested in the Reno 65 Pro model.
Before making any decisions, I’d really appreciate hearing from people who actually use Monport machines. I’ve seen quite a few YouTube reviews, but sometimes they feel a bit too polished like the creators might be sponsored so I’m hoping for some firsthand feedback from the community.
To give a bit of context, I previously had a frustrating experience with Acmer. My order was delayed for a month, and their customer support kept giving me conflicting information. They couldn’t confirm if the order had even been shipped, despite a promised 7 day delivery window. I’d really like to avoid going through something like that again.
Has anyone here dealt with Monport directly? How was your experience with their customer service, and of course, the machine itself?
This is a desktop, many of us have larger machines, but how they work is very similar.
One of the issues, is the Chinese is great at exaggerating power output.
This is from the Monport site and the Reno 65 series. They state a 65W output. However. the width of the whole machine is only 1000mm as you can see in the advertisement. At the bottom.
I’ve been doing this for only about 5 years and am on tube number 3. I found a chart that estimates the output power of a tube based on length. The actual power is defined by the gas volume, but that’s difficult, so they generally just use the tube length. As you can see a 60W tube is 55mm in diameter an 1200mm in length… I seriously doubt they can shoehorn a 65W tube in a 1000mm cabinet. But you should check.
If you go to the site, they claim a 45W output in a machine only 800mm in width. I had an OMTech China Blue 50W. The tube was only 880mm and produced 43W… I doubt a tube 80mm shorter than my original will produce 45W. Just saying.
I have worked with a few people, mostly with the K40+ they produced. We found three of them that had been shipped to customers with the new motherboard that supports grbl. This new board has a 3.3V cpu in it. They didn’t put a voltage translator on the board so it only produced a PWM of 3.3V at maximum, the lps requires a 5V signal, so they would never reach full power.
They did fix it, but it was pretty frustrating for both them and us as we really expect a properly working electrical system on a new machine. They clearly did not test this.
It looks like a nice machine but it’s a desktop so fixing it might be an issue, just getting in there.
IMHO, I’d never suggest to anyone to buy a Monport.
Thank you for the detailed response, i was not aware of this information about CO2 lasers and you did raised some very valid points.
I have used quite a few diode lasers through the years and i’m considering getting a CO2 laser now.
Monport seemed to have a large working area at a decent price but after the things you mentioned and looking deeper online for customers reviews it might not be the best choice.
Is there a budget friendly CO2 laser with a large working area you would recommend based on your experience ?
It seems what you pay for is working area, so as the working area increases, generally the co2 power increases.
My suggestion would be a low cost Chinese model. I bought a $2k OMTech China Blue over 5 years ago. I purchased it figure out how it works. After a bunch of upgrades that were my own choice, it works fine.
Even without any upgrades they generally work fine as there are plenty of them available.
Russ Sadler built what’s known as the Russ Spec from Cloudray. I could have purchased this one and all the upgrades I have plus some are on this machine.
Don’t remember your pocket book limit, but you can at least look.
Generally any of these that will fit into your location should work fine.
I also bought a Reno65 Pro (the original version), and I have doubts about whether the laser power can reach 65W. I asked Monport’s official technical support, and they replied that this is a specially customized laser tube. They also sent me a video of the laser power test and a data sheet of the laser power test. The maximum power can reach 68W, but they recommend keeping the power below 70% for daily use (which I am sure I know); I also have an industrial 60W CO2 machine, and compared to it, the power can indeed reach 60W
So if you need to replace it you’ll be paying big bucks for a customized tube… If you check for a replacement, what does it cost and how big is it. Not saying they can’t, but I don’t think it’s logical.
Simple enough to find the diameter and length of their tube… I bet you money, it’s a standard 50mm tube diameter.
I don’t know any vendor that is going to produce a tube for a special device.
What makes maximum power is the amount of gas within the tube. If the tube measures a certain size, then it’s output is limited by the gas volume.
I have a 50W, that’s it’s specified work power. I can push it, but it goes over the recommended specifications.
I think they are pissing on your leg and telling you it’s raining. If you can’t run the specified 65W all the time, it isn’t a 65W machine.
If you need 65W, you’d be rather naive to buy a 65W machine that you couldn’t use at 65W.
Limiting it to 70% of 65W gives you a tube/machine that’s really an operable 45W machine.
I really doubt, you’ll use that much power, depending on what you do.
I will reach out to Monport and ask how much a replacement tube would cost.
I think what made me look into this is the price, at the moment the price is 1300 GBP for a 60x40 cm bed size which is not bad at all price wise.
But i have some reservations around customer support, how it works or if this actually delivers what is written in the specs. ( i have seen some negative reviews and that was not very encouraging )
Did you measure the tube physical size, length and diameter? Might be able to find one at a lower cost.
I got my last replacement from Light Object in the pacific NW in the US. The tube is Chinese, but has all the paperwork with it. I’d measure it and check with them. It will at least let you know how customized the tube really is.
I would be very, very careful purchasing this machine. I know on Youtube there are a lot of guys (maybe “shills”) saying good things about the Monoport Reno 65 Pro, but personally it has been nothing short of a nightmare for me. The bed is badly out of level and really doesn’t focus properly. Yes, I checked all the mirros; they’re fine. It’s a poorly constructed machine. And the Air Assist on it is manual only. Turn the know ON or OFF; air assist is NOT controllable through LightBurn with this machine (unless you buy $100 with of components and add it your self). I’m still in negotiations with the company trying to get a replacement for this lemon. Will keep you posted. Cheers.
just gonna throw in my 2 cents, consider monoport and omtech the same, the owners of both companies know another and sometimes parts are all sourced from same factory. that being said omtech doesnt make their own fibers either and If I remember correctly monoport doesnt either, now Co2 they make some components. monoport looks a bit better, but just be careful of extra work that you have to put in, to make the machine run correctly
