Did you get the Ortur and if yes where did you purchase it from if you don’t mind me asking?
I ordered one from Gearbest who are refusing to cancel it even though they said they would. They waited 48 hours then marked it as shipped and then said it could no longer be cancelled. They also give a delivery estimate of 10th Sept … that’s ongoing. So when it turns up I’ll have a Ortur Master 2 for sale if anyone in the UK is interested PM me. That’s what I get for dicking around.
I’m also very curious as what you make of it when you set it up. My JTech arrived yesterday and hoping to get that setup this weekend
Edit: I just subscribed to your youtube channel by the way
Took only 25 min to assemble, and I impressed (as an engineer) with the kit and the overall design. Now having said that I haven’t powered it on yet…busy baking bread for the Pot Luck…
IMO: JTech Way…I mean WAY overpriced…
And Thanks…
EDIT (ADD): Someday, I’ll also mount the 4th axis on the Ortur’s Y-Axis for the round stuff. Looks VERY easy to do.
Maybe I’ll keep both and do a comparison, that might be interesting (if not a tad expensive), and I think you are right in your thinking of JTech prices given the proliferation of these things now. Its probably a matter of time before they have to reassess that.
Giving you all the respect you deserve, just to clarify this, are you saying that you can simply package an identical list of components from China and sell that for “way” less than a turnkey product from JTech? Don’t you think they are adding some value?
Hey Tex…relax. Of course there is value added in their product. Brackets, software licenses, the engineering that make it all work… I was not addressing that aspect.
What I got was a 5.5W laser, machine frame, GRBL controller, Laser controller, wiring harness power supply…with a 16x16 working footprint…for under $300…(Also made in China)
EDIT: (ADD) I have wanted add JTech laser to my Shapeoko, since day one…4+ years…but as a manufacturing expert and married to an import/export expert…(and having lived in China)…I know prices of manufacturing…and hardware…I have been waiting for their prices to reflect the laser price trend…but nope…they haven’t come down like the rest of the world…sure is a tiny niche market…but overpriced is overpriced, so I jumped ship and went with Ortur. Is it as good as their 7 watt laser ($1,500.00 cough cough)? Time will tell.
Aside from the other stuff that you mentioned, what software license are you talking about? To be honest with ya’all, I like Julien’s designs much more than the brackets included with the jTech laser. And jTech laser’s are for sure over priced. I can get a decent Laser diode with 10 Watt of laser power and 1000 hours of diode’s life for one third of what jTech charges for their 7 Watt unit.
But what about the ones that burn out really quick? Is that ever a problem with Chinese stuff? I suppose you have the resources to pump out a mounting and wiring system, too.
Shapeoko3 All-in-One Laser and Mounting Kit Bundle Less than $750 not $1500.
People here aren’t complaining that JTech doesn’t provide value, they’re complaining that it’s overpriced. These are different things. I think we all agree that JTech provides things that you don’t get buying from a Chinese seller, the question is whether it’s worth the several hundred-dollar price difference.
The 3D printed components are a couple of hours work and some filament, so say $100 if you do it yourself. The Chinese laser module is around $100, so $200 total. Even if we assume a cheap Chinese laser module lasts 1/3rd the time (which I doubt, they’re not that bad), we’ve got a $400 total purchase price if we do it ourselves, at worst.
What extra value does JTech provide for $350-550 dollars, or 2x-3x the price?
I get the impression you’re drastically undervaluing the Chinese products. They’re not as garbage and unreliable as you think.
Your personal impression would be wrong, and you’re putting words into my post that I didn’t write.
You’ve told us why you spend your personal time, material and effort to reduce your cost on something like the JTech. Of course, you haven’t itemized every single thing that you have to do, but most of us can imagine what that would be having put a Shapeoko together.
For me, I actually think that $350 to $400 over your cost for the Chinese stuff would be worth it, because I have not invested in 3D printers, etc. I think, at best, I would just break even going your DIY method.
No, I’m not. I think, again, you’re misreading malintent where there none exists.
That’s perfectly fine, in which case I’d say you might not be undervaluing the Chinese stuff but rather, you’re overvaluing JTech relative to the rest of us. I think for a lot of us, adding/designing improvements to the machine is part of the fun, so designing a part to hold the laser isn’t a big deal, certainly not a big enough deal to justify $350 on a single 3D-printed part.
Plus, you might not have invested in 3D printers but anyone adding a laser to a Shapeoko has another kind of manufacturing process available
I think you must have misunderstood something. I’m just saying that you don’t need to get into 3D printing to make the mount. If you’re adding a laser to a Shapeoko, you already have a Shapeoko and can use the Shapeoko to make a mount for the laser. No need to own a 3D printer to do it.
They provide a QR (Bar) Code to a DropBox download website
Super easy to assemble. Watched the video, and put it together…less than 30 min. PS Video on the download would NOT play. Tried downloading them from Win and Mac, same result, but a quick google search located a video.
Software: Easily Installed the GRBLLaser (Windows ONLY) file (did NOT install the drivers,) plugged in the machine and it found it! I can’t tell you how nice of a feeling that was…
Opened GRBL Laser, moved the machine around, imported a photo and made a nice BLACK photo…See you need to know HOW to use the laser to use the software…Errr…Chicken and the Egg. Kept playing around with the power and speed setting until I got a less ashy, but crappy photo of my dog…Oh…different wood burns differently…oh, boy this is going to be a long road. The software is VERY limited as to what it does well…operated the machine, but it’s not a very good at creating fancy Graphics which i needed to drive the machine (IF you are not going to download photos to print),
3b) Looked for some GRBLLaser (Software) tutorials and found none… But I do (NOW) understand the difference between an Image and Cut graphic. I jumped into Carbide Create and made a Circle Diamond Square (CDS) CUT file (SVG). Placed some 5/8 thick FOAM in the machine and ran the CDS…ran it 6 passes…it cut through in 4…(See photo_. They are (about) 1.050" (Laser melt). Pleased with the results…I can see a LOT of foam cut things coming up…so pretty.
3c) I ran the same successful foam cut file on a sheet of paper (I think it doesn’t like white paper)…but it wouldn’t cut through … even after 12 passes…(Anybody??)
Did some research and it looks like LightBurn is a nice piece of software…Downloaded it, watch a few tutorials…and I like it…don’t like the $40 price…(I’ll get over it) (See Photo)
Gripe…I was hoping and praying that LaserBurn would know the machine…all its setting and would remove that learning curve…But I don’t see it. I STILL need to set all the power and speeds for a giant learning curve…what works with what wood with which photo…there is no set it and forget it button. Meaning I see that I will need to make several items to figure out HOW to laser it…and then laser the final part…
Am I missing something in GRBLLaser or LightBurn regarding the set it and forget it topic?
Other things I’ve learned: Does NOTHING on Bare Aluminum…a little on Anodized aluminum…going to try some Mustard and Stainless Steel tomorrow… (google it)
For $165.00 I got a 20 Watt rated output laser unit over a year ago, wires were included. I’ve used it over 200 times, some projects took over an hour to finish. The unit still going as it did on day one. It is rated for 1000 hours of operation before burning out.
And who wants to use light Scribe? Try K40 Whisperer, I’m sure you will be very satisfied… You can also try Laser GRBL.
