Hello, Im looking for opinions on an older (1989) Amada 667II 1500W Laser. I have a opportunity to purchase one in good condition for around $40K. Could this be a good deal for the money? Or should I stay away? Any input will be appreciated. Thanks, Ken H.
You might get more responses at alt.lasers
Beware worn leadscrews, optic mounts/joints. I worked in a shop with an old
2kw Helios (5' x 10' x 1/2 steel capacity) and on really thin material it ran fine most of the time. on 1/4" and up the wear in the leadscrew assemblies conspired against us. I did some part programming for it trying to fix the problems at the corners/axis reversal points. The problem was inconsistency in the linear feed speed and slight zig-zagging. More often than not incomplete penetration resulted and the shielding gas ejecting the excess molten metal up toward the objective lens.In the end it cost *much* more than it made for us.
Objective optics for it, the ones that blow up from thermal runaway if you get contamination on them (from ejected cut material) cost about $500 each iirc. The above mentioned wear and consequent problems during the cut caused destruction of at least one objective optic every two weeks. Infrared optics of that size and quality don't come from edmund scientific surplus.
This fiasco was one of the contributors to the shop going under.
If you haven't been around industrial lasers (or cnc plasma cutters for that matter), they can be very dirty. Even with a high volume filtered exhaust hood that emptied outside the building, a year of operation found a tan soot of sorts on *every* surface in the shop, including the front offices where I worked.
For lots of reasons, I would rather have a plasma machine. If you care to hear why I'll elaborate but I have to go to a birthday party.
StaticsJason
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