Steve thank you for this, i have had mine for 5 months and couldn’t get a good cut or engrave so it was collecting dust. You took me back to basics and will work from there. Thanks for the video.
Hi Steve, Thank you for this video lesson. Your timing is perfect, I just received an 80watt 2428 omtech just before Christmas and just got all my exhaust setup and electric supplies in place. Just started to set up the machine with a chiller. I appreciate the tip and trick with bleeding out the air, just going to turn the chiller on and hopefully no issues. Just new to lasers, especially Co2, so I'm at the bottom of the learning curve. Look forward to learning more and an exciting journey. 😊 Happy New Year, all the best to you and your family. Andrew🎉
That sounds like a nice machine! You can also add just a small drop of dawn dish soap to the water and it will help reduce the surface tension that holds the air bubbles in place. A last resort is to loosen the tube mounts and rotate the tube so the air wants to travel upwards and out. But you want to make sure that you don't move it out of alignment, or you'll be doing a mirror alignment right away.
Thanks Ryan! This one does seem like a good value for the price. There are not a lot of extras on this one, but I'll be playing to see what I can add to upgrade it over time. I think the shop air setup will be the first thing I do.
Great information. Want to add a co2 to my arsenal. I really have enjoyed your tinkercad videos. I could use a lesson on measuring for a fiber to line up jig holes. Specifically looking to make a long wedge with a small shallow valley on top in the center. I use it to push up on a tumbler to level. I made one but it took so many tries it only works for up to 20 oz. I need to make another to hold up a Stanley. You would laugh to see how I made it. Gots to be an easier way. Thanks.
Hey Steve. Another quality video and information. Timely too as I’m researching lasers. Do you have any experience with thunder and can comment at all as to how the omtech would compare from a build, component quality ? Trying to determine the real world difference that might justify the big cost leap. Thanks
Thanks for watching and for the kind words. I don't have direct experience with Thunder but I have a couple friends that either have them or have used them in other shops. They do like them so I think you would be happy with them but as you said, it's a price jump. I wish I could say for sure that the jump-up is worth it. I started out on an eBay laser with basically no after-sales support, and it was a learning experience. So I'm not afraid of having to dig into a machine to tweak it or even fix it. Others might not be that happy to troubleshoot electronics and various mechanical things. I will say that this Omtech unit is built much better than my original eBay laser.
That looks interesting. Seems to be in the same general size range as the Hurricane and P2 but a little cheaper but adding in the chiller brings it into the hurricane range although I like the depth and it does appear you could put a little bigger items in it. Could you put a 13”x13” cutting board in there to engrave?
Yes you can fit an item that is 22" wide between the bed lifting screws. With the passthrough slots you can fit an even longer board in, you are just limited to the 12x20" working area at a time. 13"x13" would fit inside without using the passthrough.
I am getting a CO2 eventually! Gotta decide and bite that bullett. I want the Roly MK too, I have it, the honeycomb, IR module and something else in the cart. Just gotta hit that button, LOL!
Both were very similar. I need to play around more with the speeds and power to get a nice smooth edge. But either one would do well for cutting clear acrylic. This one might be easier to hack to add shop air for fine tuning that aspect.
Check out the Omtech Maker 25 here: omtechlaser.com/products/50w-co2-laser-engraver-cutter-usb-5b3r-us?sca_ref=7482947.XSq1dP9iI2&
Steve thank you for this, i have had mine for 5 months and couldn’t get a good cut or engrave so it was collecting dust. You took me back to basics and will work from there. Thanks for the video.
I hope you can get it sorted out. I'll try to put out a few more videos on specific setup tips that might help as well.
I emailed you
Love learning about co2 lasers! Thanks you for all the great videos!!!
I'm glad people are learning more about them. They are a different animal from the diode lasers so I try to make sure people know what to expect.
Hi Steve, Thank you for this video lesson. Your timing is perfect, I just received an 80watt 2428 omtech just before Christmas and just got all my exhaust setup and electric supplies in place. Just started to set up the machine with a chiller. I appreciate the tip and trick with bleeding out the air, just going to turn the chiller on and hopefully no issues. Just new to lasers, especially Co2, so I'm at the bottom of the learning curve. Look forward to learning more and an exciting journey. 😊 Happy New Year, all the best to you and your family. Andrew🎉
That sounds like a nice machine! You can also add just a small drop of dawn dish soap to the water and it will help reduce the surface tension that holds the air bubbles in place. A last resort is to loosen the tube mounts and rotate the tube so the air wants to travel upwards and out. But you want to make sure that you don't move it out of alignment, or you'll be doing a mirror alignment right away.
Good job Steve. The Ohmtechs are a pretty good value.
Thanks Ryan! This one does seem like a good value for the price. There are not a lot of extras on this one, but I'll be playing to see what I can add to upgrade it over time. I think the shop air setup will be the first thing I do.
Great information. Want to add a co2 to my arsenal. I really have enjoyed your tinkercad videos. I could use a lesson on measuring for a fiber to line up jig holes. Specifically looking to make a long wedge with a small shallow valley on top in the center. I use it to push up on a tumbler to level. I made one but it took so many tries it only works for up to 20 oz. I need to make another to hold up a Stanley. You would laugh to see how I made it. Gots to be an easier way. Thanks.
I like the pass through feature
It does add some workability for longer items.
Thanks Top Video 👍👏
Thanks for watching!
Hey Steve. Another quality video and information. Timely too as I’m researching lasers. Do you have any experience with thunder and can comment at all as to how the omtech would compare from a build, component quality ? Trying to determine the real world difference that might justify the big cost leap. Thanks
Thanks for watching and for the kind words. I don't have direct experience with Thunder but I have a couple friends that either have them or have used them in other shops. They do like them so I think you would be happy with them but as you said, it's a price jump. I wish I could say for sure that the jump-up is worth it. I started out on an eBay laser with basically no after-sales support, and it was a learning experience. So I'm not afraid of having to dig into a machine to tweak it or even fix it. Others might not be that happy to troubleshoot electronics and various mechanical things. I will say that this Omtech unit is built much better than my original eBay laser.
That looks interesting. Seems to be in the same general size range as the Hurricane and P2 but a little cheaper but adding in the chiller brings it into the hurricane range although I like the depth and it does appear you could put a little bigger items in it. Could you put a 13”x13” cutting board in there to engrave?
Yes you can fit an item that is 22" wide between the bed lifting screws. With the passthrough slots you can fit an even longer board in, you are just limited to the 12x20" working area at a time. 13"x13" would fit inside without using the passthrough.
Do you happen to have some kind of plan online for the stand you built for it?
I am getting a CO2 eventually! Gotta decide and bite that bullett. I want the Roly MK too, I have it, the honeycomb, IR module and something else in the cart. Just gotta hit that button, LOL!
Lot's of fun tools out there. Hopefully my information can help with the decisions! :)
Hello, thank you for the video, can I find out how long it will take you to overcome this machine
I’m not sure what you mean by overcome this machine.
How well does this cut clear acrylic compared to the Monport Reno that you reviewed? Better? worse? equal?
Both were very similar. I need to play around more with the speeds and power to get a nice smooth edge. But either one would do well for cutting clear acrylic. This one might be easier to hack to add shop air for fine tuning that aspect.