Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

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Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby wmgeorge » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:40 am

Wondering if the Full Spectrum 5th generation hobby laser is the way to go? Getting frustrated trying to find parts and answers from Venders, finding out that ordering from China is a cr@p shoot and who wants to pay $300 - $400 for shipping?

The Full Spectrum laser looks pretty darn nice and its pre-built for not much more that trying to gather all the parts from sources who may or may not have in stock? I have not looked closely at the software yet but its US written. Comments??
Retired guy, Central Iowa US. Master Electrician Hobby Machine and Metal Fab Shop.
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Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby Chankster » Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:07 pm

Havent heard anything about the most recent generation. However, we have a couple guys at our hackerspace that also have (non 5th gen) FSE lasers and have stated they prefer the buildlog design.
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Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby TLHarrell » Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:22 pm

I have a 5th Gen from FSL. Happy to help out with any questions you may have about the unit, either here, via email, or even live on Skype.

You will find online a lot of mixed reviews about the company, the lasers, their support, etc. First and foremost, these guys are software engineers. Their software is, from everything I've seen online, unmatched. It is also constantly updated with new features and bug fixes. Where they excel on software, their customer service sometimes is found lacking. The 5th Gen is a hobby level unit. It is basically sold with very little support. If it shows up dead, they help get it fixed or replace it. Beyond the basics, they encourage you to use their forum for support if you have any other problems. Taken for what it is, the 5th Gen is a solid little unit and a great value at the price, with the only caveat that the support for it sometimes can be frustrating once out of the initial warranty period. They do sell a longer term support service as well, which is standard on their professional level machines. Most issues you run into, if you have fairly basic electronic and mechanical aptitude, are easily solved by searching the forums or asking for some help from the user base.

Prior to the 5th Gen, their lasers were all custom refits of Chinese lasers with their Retina Engrave card/software added in. I was considering building my own as well, but settled on these after seeing them at the Maker Faire several years back and doing a lot of additional research on various forums including here, CNCZone, etc. I started with a 4th Gen machine, which I heavily modified. I've been pretty active on FSL's forums, and was contacted last year to become a company representative. With that, I also bought a 5th Gen laser and a rotary attachment for demonstrations. I do get a small commission if you mention in ordering that I sent you to them, so if you decide to get one, please let them know of the referral.

I like the 5th Gen, and mine is still totally stock. Haven't seen the need to do anything to it. It's over a year old and still going strong. I've only had a few minor issues with it:
1. There was an issue with the display/controller board getting confused and stopping in the middle of engraving. Solution was to rewrap the wire connection on the front of the tube. This is something you should learn to do anyway as you'll be doing two of them when you replace a tube.
2. Y-axis shaft has a coupler in the middle. The screws on it sheared, allowing the Y-axis to get out of square with the X-axis. Made for some odd looking circles. I recognized as a mechanical problem and found the gantry racking by pushing by hand. Found the busted screw on the coupler when I tired to tighten it. Took the other screw out and was able to snap it with my fingers. Must have been a bad batch. A quick email to FSL got a new set of couplers headed to me and I was back up in a couple days.
3. Started getting an odd wobble in the Y-axis when cutting at higher speeds after turning a corner from Y to X. Found that the wheels on the gantry carriage had some slop to them. Disassembled the carriage and cleaned everything well, and discovered that the axle for the wheels was slightly too long, allowing some side play. Ground a few thou off the ends of the axles and reassembled. No further issue.

It is a hobby level machine. It's not totally perfect, but for the price it's very reasonable.
40w Full Spectrum Engineering 5th Gen Hobby 20"x12" w/ Rotary Engraver
South San Francisco Bay Area - Sales and Support Representative for Full Spectrum Engineering
408-47-LASER - Skype: whitelightlaser-thomas - Facebook: White Light Laser
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Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby wmgeorge » Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:36 pm

Will they sell the controller board and software alone for a build or is that just for FS customer replacements?
Retired guy, Central Iowa US. Master Electrician Hobby Machine and Metal Fab Shop.
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Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby Chankster » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:04 pm

http://fslaser.com/retinaengrave-usb-card

Generally, in the past the didn't really fully support DIY users. Not sure if that stance has changed with the recent version.
"This is not my sig", it said. - I looked at it suspiciously; Who's sig was it, then?
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Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby TLHarrell » Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:53 pm

They have the controller listed on their site as a standalone purchase. One would assume they could purchase it and do a fully DIY implementation. When it comes down to setting up their unit you'll run into difficulty though as the settings are not documented, many settings are not easily man readable. As stated before, if you're outside of the envelope of buying their laser and staying within their defined support structure, you're going to have issues. I've talked with Henry at FSL and they're just not really interested in supporting the DIY market at all. I really think they should at least provide documentation and some small level of support, but they're happy playing with software improvements and shipping lasers at this time. I'm working on trying to get them to release the documentation, but haven't gotten very far with that.
40w Full Spectrum Engineering 5th Gen Hobby 20"x12" w/ Rotary Engraver
South San Francisco Bay Area - Sales and Support Representative for Full Spectrum Engineering
408-47-LASER - Skype: whitelightlaser-thomas - Facebook: White Light Laser
TLHarrell
 
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Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby wmgeorge » Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:47 pm

Thanks TL, I may go that route as my wife has lined up another "Honey Do" job for me, a kitchen remodel I was going to build my own a 2.X but time and shop space will now be dedicated to yet another project. I downloaded the owners manual and it does not appear to have a powered Z table.
Retired guy, Central Iowa US. Master Electrician Hobby Machine and Metal Fab Shop.
wmgeorge
 
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Feb 26, 2014 2:41 pm

Re: Full spectrum 5th Generation Laser

Postby TLHarrell » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:26 pm

You are correct. No powered Z table. The focus adjustment is by means of a thumbscrew and sliding mechanism on the laser head. Benefit is that you can drop the bottom out of the machine and place taller parts in it, and optionally use the rotary attachment. I've currently got my machine bottom sitting on the table, the machine propped up on a couple pieces of 2x4 (1.5" lift) and the cutting grid sitting on blocks. I'm engraving on a part that is 19" wide and 26" long. Won't fit in the laser otherwise. It seems a little hokey at first, but it opens up some options that a fully enclosed machine like the 4th Gen doesn't allow.
40w Full Spectrum Engineering 5th Gen Hobby 20"x12" w/ Rotary Engraver
South San Francisco Bay Area - Sales and Support Representative for Full Spectrum Engineering
408-47-LASER - Skype: whitelightlaser-thomas - Facebook: White Light Laser
TLHarrell
 
Posts: 419
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:30 pm
Location: Morgan Hill, CA


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