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Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.?

PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:00 pm
by GiriPod
I clicked on the main buildlog page add banner for Automation Techonology Inc to check it out.

Has anyone purchased anything from them? Any insight would be gratefully received.

I'm tempted by the 40W engraver, which is only $679. Seems a good price to use as parts for a 2.x build and gives me a working systems as a start point.

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:56 pm
by Enraged
they are the ones selling the ORDbot kits

As for the laser, it seems like a decent price but the work area is quite small (12in x 8 in).

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:27 pm
by alexred
I believe the consensus is that the DC-KIII laser engraver is junk as it comes from China. You can get the same machine for a few dollars cheaper on ebay. Several people have upgraded them, but be prepared for a lot of work. Fullspectrumengineering also starts with this machine as a base and upgrades the components.

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:29 pm
by bdring
I have purchased from them for years. They used to be called Keling. They are a few miles from me so sometimes I pick up the parts and save the shipping.

John Keling is the owner and we have become friends over the years. He always has my parts ready to go, but it usually takes more than an hour to get out of there because we talk and compare notes.

I have done affiliate selling for him for years through links on my site. Recently we decided to collaborate a little more. He is sponsoring the site with an ad on the home page and he is now selling ORD Bots. We may do more in the future.

I cannot vouch for that laser. I have never seen one in use. It is the same laser you see a lot of places. Several people have used it as a donor machine for 2.x lasers. The controller and software are not the same as the higher end controllers he and LightObject sells.

He has a huge inventory of stepper motors. Those DSP stepper drivers are really nice. I think they are better than Geckos. The motors are silent at rest and don't even jump when you turn them on. They just silently lock. It is pretty cool.

Fullspectrumengineering uses a different machine and now has their own design that is assembled in the US.

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:01 pm
by GiriPod
Thanks for the quick responses!

I'm still pondering whether to buy everything from 'scratch' or start with this machine as a doner for a 2.x machine. Just looking at the price of laser, laser PSU and optics, it gets me pretty close. I'd only use the controller initially to get the 2.x up and running then probably move use the LO 2012 DSP.

My friend and I purchased a FS hobby 40W with Retina Engrave nearly 2 years ago and is still working fine after a rocky start with stability of the driver software. I"ve also used a Epilog Mini Helix quite a bit when I was a member of the Portland Techshop.

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:05 pm
by TLHarrell
I was considering the possibility of gutting out my FSE 40w as a donor. I think after lurking at this site for a while I've learned enough that I'd probably start the mechanicals and electronics from scratch. I'd have a much more solid machine as a result. Only thing I'm considering from the FSE is the Retina card. I could keep that as I've gotten really used to it, and sell the rest.

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 10:21 pm
by Liberty4Ever
I bought a Hadron ORD Bot kit from the first batch offered by Automation Technologies. The Hadron is new enough that I expected their first batch to have glitches and delays, but I was pleasantly surprised. The kit shipped very soon after their initial estimated ship date, and while I haven't assembled the kit yet, the component quality looks very good. The entire process was hassle free and exceeded my expectations. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from Automation Technologies again.

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:04 pm
by automationtech
here is a video, pls check it. It works ok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... P8b-PLBQG0

Re: Anybody purchased items from Automation Techonology Inc.

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 2:01 am
by lasersafe1
As one that has taken this step as my first laser, gone through trying to upgrade only to give up after I found a used ULS-25 to rebuild, I would recommend against it. The parts you would scavenge from the machine to put into a 2.x are not worth it. The laser power supply in my unit was junk. The tube was very low quality. The stepper drivers were not suitable for an upgrade. The only thing you can scavenge is the tube and mirrors and mirror holders. Start fresh with a 2.x kit and buy a good tube and power supply. Get the stepper drivers from Keling.