Looking to buy a "New Laser" need some help

[Barneylaser]

We are in the process of looking to purchase a "New Laser" We have looked at all the "Big guns" Such as Bystronic, Mazack, Cincinnati, Trumpf, Strippit/LVD, Prima/Finn and Amada. I think we have narrowed it down to either Strippit/LVD or Prima/Finn. My main question is about Prima...Does anyone have any experience with A Prima SYNCRONO or just a Prima in general. How is their service? Availability of parts Ect... You all know if you ask the "Sales people" There service is always the best and they all have every part you would ever need on hand at all times. My other question is Prima uses a DC resonator and Strippit/LVD uses a RF resonator (does anyone see a problem with this?) or does this really matter?

 

[cuttingedgelaser]

I am a very big fan of Trumpf and after making some changes to the parameters you can cut thicker, faster and with better edge quality. I know first hand what Trumpf lasers are capable of doing. Here is a picture of some 1.25" carbon cut on a Trumpf 5k laser.

 

[krugtech]

One of the biggest problems I see is manufacturer service departments putting parts/service profit above keeping you in production. I've always considered this defective thinking. Production is sacred, it's where the money comes from.

Do you know how frustrating it is to be down needing a simple part that could be overnighted, only to be told that for "safety" reasons you cannot purchase that part. Now what should have been less than a single days down time and a few hundred $ in parts is now a few days down while you wait for a tech and then the expense of a tech.

This whole parts/service/binding/restriction business is of questionable legality. The thing is, it's like Bernie Madoff's scheme. Sure, it may be illegal but its worth it (in the short run)as the gains outweigh the risks. Most of the people who think like this can't think past the next quarterly report therefore they don't see a problem. They don't want to think about the second 1/4 as they just raped it to fix the 1st 1/4.

No restriction on parts. No restriction on basic passwords to reset basic service timers. Get it in writing drawn up by your lawyer and make sure the correct company officials sign it and notarizing it would also be a good idea.

When my customers call me, I get them up and running, generating money asap. Then they have money to give to me and they don't mind giving it to me at all. What my customers like about me is I do the right thing without having to have 27 signed documents defining what exactly "the right thing" is and then spend all kinds of time negotiating this when my customer simply needs his machine fixed. Business seems to be picking up for most of my customers, some in a hectic way. The last thing they want to hear is b**l s**t when they call for help. Many of these customers are a little week right now and they'll remember who put their foot on their necks and who helped them when they get strong again.

DC vs RF- it doesn't matter as much as it used to, but the newer solid state multi channel RF generators do make the RF machines more attractive. I'm not sure if the strippit is multi channel. On the other hand, the Prima uses a resonator that's easy to service and built well. I like Bystronic but I'd take the prima over the strippit.

"Get it in writing"- it used to be words to live by. When did we all start trusting salesmen again? time to break some balls and keep em honest. They wont do it by themselves.



Chris Krug

http://krugtech.com/

 

[jetrep]

I think everyone can be of more help if you can give us some more information.

What materials will you be cutting and what thicknesses?

What do you like about the strippit/LVD and the Prima/Finn?

 

[Barneylaser]

First and foremost I appreciate your feed back and opinions:
We currently have some equipment from Strippit and I have had very little problems with their equipment. If I have had any problems they were taken care of either over the phone or a tech has come in with in a day and didn't leave until the problem was fixed.(Which in my opinion says a lot for a company) A down machine is lost money and extra stress from not meeting demanding customers. As for the machine we are looking at the 4kw Axel.
As for the Prima we are looking at the (4kw Syncrono) for the speed. As of now we are running mostly Aluminum .250 and under we also do some Steel and Stainless 11ga(.119) and under. Most of our work are smaller parts (6"x6") which is where the Syncrono seems to shine and has made it a very attractive machine for us. A majority of our work is .125 and under. I know this is where a fiber laser seems to fit in but the technology seems to be a bit to new to make the commitment for a fiber machine (especially since this is our first laser) and Prima claims it can cut faster or comparatively to the fiber with the Syncrono. With that said; I believe I have answered the posed questions so far and I appreciate the feed back.... Keep it coming
Thanks,
Barney

 

[jetrep]

It sounds like Strippit gives great service. It isn't uncommon for a company to have a separate team for laser service so I would look into what their availability would be like if that is the case.

I would have all of the vendors cut some of your actual parts (not just one, maybe a whole blank) and compare how the machines perform. Their fine tuned demos are rarely a close reflection of production feed rates. They spend a good amount of time fine tuning both the program and the cutting conditions so that they can leave that head close to the material and not worry about parts tipping up. You also don't get to see the cut quality after those high speed demos.

With those materials you'll be cutting with nitrogen which is a major cost factor so take that into consideration when looking at overall operating costs.

It is too early to tell what the real story is on the fiber lasers...they sound pretty good on paper though!