I’m a Steward for a 40W CO2 laser at our makerspace. We need to purchase a new tube for our machine. Can anyone recommend a good place to buy from? I’d rather pay a decent price for a tube we can trust will be good, than pay the lowest price and get a dud.
Thank you in advance!
(Machine is a 5th Gen Full Spectrum hobby laser.)
If you were happy with the performance of the machine previously is there a reason you wouldn’t go back to Full Spectrum for a tube replacement? They would likely advise you on the best appropriate tube replacement to get you back to original performance.
Yes, you would likely pay a premium over other sources but sounds like you’re okay with that for the peace of mind.
I personally know nothing of Full Spectrum other than their fondness for proprietary solutions and being customer hostile when it comes to some of their practices.
I was hoping people here might have had better experiences with other vendors.
Although there’s definitely some selection bias involved in the many threads about replacement tubes around here, getting “a tube we can trust will be good” from even nominally reputable suppliers who are not USA-based companies seems … not guaranteed.
IMO, in your situation, paying the extra money for a tube from a known-good source will be worthwhile. Their tubes may come from the same overseas factories as the cheaper tubes from the usual suspects, but you’re (presumably) paying for enough QC to reach the “known good” level.