Import Laser

The intent of this page is to document the process of buying and importing a Chinese laser.

Choosing a Laser

Originally, we looked into building a laser with off the shelf rails and optics. After researching some of the Chinese vendor options it turned out cheaper to go that route. Once we had it here we have the ability to fix and support it ourselves so that opened up more options for us.

Size	1200mm x 900mm	This is a common size for Chinese lasers and is a large step up for us.
Power	100w	Need to confirm the vendor will send a RECI W4 and not a lower laser labeled as 100W. Want to try the SPT TR100 when the original fails.
Parts	Off the shelf	All parts need to be standard off the shelf parts so we can replace them easily when needed.
Z-table	Yes	Need enough travel to engrave tall objects.
Controller	N/A	Doesn't matter. We are replacing it.

We identified a list of vendors that have been around a while and had a community around them. This increased our chances of having a successful delivery or a vendor who would fix any problems that arose during delivery. We sent out to get quotes and then narrowed it down to the following:

G.Weike	LC1390
Redsail	CM1290
Shenhui	SH-G1290

All three came in at around $3500-$3800 shipped by sea to our local city. All three I believe would have been good choices but ultimately we chose the G.Weike LC1390 for $3500+$300 shipped by sea.