FDA approved Epilog Laser engraver for 2.5KUS!

No, I’m not kidding, according to Alibaba, there is a brand new FDA approved Epilog Laser engraver for sale for 2 500-5 300$US ready for you right now! You get an Epilog CNC laser that’s “full scale” for less than the price of an Epilog Zing! Confused? I hope not.

I’m not going to go into the specs as seriously, I wouldn’t touch this with a ten foot pole even if they were accurate but the FDA part had me confused, apparently, the FDA DOES regulate lasers too… beyond food and drugs. I had to go to China to discover this fact which a verified after visiting FDA’s Wikipedia page.

If you are a long time reader of CNCKing.com, you’ll know I bought a Trotec Speedy 400 flexx, before Trotec came out with that machine, it was the Trotec Speedy 300 that was my top choice. I wonder… can I get a Trotec Speedy 300 from China too?

Yep, no problem, actually, Alibaba is LOADED with Epilog and Trotec CNC laser engravers and cutters… here’s another one that caught my eyes.

Oh yeah, other manufacturers are well represented as well, here’s a Universal Laser that’s a bargain!

And a Gravograph CNC laser too… less than 10K with a Rotary! Wow!

Inside Baseball

I realize this is VERY MUCH inside baseball for most readers of this blog, Epilog Lasers in the industry are known as the blue machines while Trotec Lasers are the red ones. They serve different markets with different machines at different price points. Same goes with Gravographs, Universal Lasers, GCC Lasers, Kern Lasers… each has their specialty. You cannot compare a Trotec Laser to a Universal anymore than you can a ShopBot CNC router to a Thermwood.

The point I’m trying to make is that when you buy a CNC laser that, right off the bat, tries to sell itself as a machine that it clearly is NOT, you are not only getting what you paid for, but you are killing your business before it even starts.

The reasons I bought my Trotec Laser 400 flexx are numerous, read about it HERE. I bought it directly from Trotec Laser, this way, if I have any problems, I have one phone call to make and it’s fixed. Do you know how many problems I’ve had with my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx since I bought it? ZERO. ZILCH. NOTHING. NADDA. It works as good one year later as it did the first time I took it out of the crate! I’d expect nothing less, same goes with my ShopBot Desktop. NO problems after years and traveling half way around the world and back.

… but it’s cheap!

Yep, I know, that FDA approved Epilog Laser engraver for sale for 2.5KUS would allow you to save a fortune outsourcing your CNC laser jobs, not only that, it would pay for itself on the first job! You can open a whole new market for your business, just straight profits the first week right? WRONG.

Over at CNCROi.com, you’ll see literally HUNDREDS of videos and photographs of my laser doing awesome stuff from annealing stainless steel tags using the 30 watt fiber tube it has to cutting through loads of Formica Laminate. Why? The first is the price, I knew coming INTO the industry after talking to hundreds of CNC shop owners through the years where the manufacturers stood in the grand scheme of things and I knew exactly what I needed to start my business.

I love my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx, it cost far more than the 2.5K$US FDA approved Epilog Laser engraver and it has not only allowed me to complete jobs in record time but without any machine errors relating to alignment issues level surfaces and power curve augmentations… which is more than what I can say about the operator of the machine.

I’ve repeatedly gotten projects, big ones, because my “best customers” accepted the fact that I spent a lot of money on a machine to do their project and didn’t try to cut corners. They wanted to know, within 10 minutes of meeting, what machine I had, where it was from, the cost and so forth.

This is done to verify that I am who I said I am. It’s an industrial proving ground… they know this stuff, as do I, if we speak the same language and both believe in quality machinery, then a deal is a no-brainer. If I told them I bought my Trotec Laser, made in China no less, for 2.5K$US (picture after the Epilog Laser from China), I’d literally be thrown out the shop.

Trying to enter the CNC laser market?

If you are trying to enter the CNC laser market on the cheap, to be honest, don’t. Save your money and go on vacation. What you aren’t buying from China is anything resembling quality, yeah, they have engineers which they’ll send overseas to fix your machine and yes, most likely, you will have to take them up on that offer, but it will cost more than the price of the machine. Your warranty? Worthless.

What does irritate me though are people who buy these machines without realizing that these are not REAL CNC lasers, they aren’t REAL Universal Lasers, REAL Trotec Lasers, REAL Epilog Lasers, REAL Kerns etc… they are nothing but an expensive dust collector in your shop that are as useful as adding wings to a wheel. Pure and simple.

Talking to other CNC business owners, it becomes quite evident that we all agree on a simple fact, if you don’t have money to enter the CNC industry, then you shouldn’t be in it. Your costs START with equipment and continue with marketing, inventory and so forth. Has CNCROi.com made money? Yes, but I’ve also spent a lot of money to make that money too.

Looking back, I could have saved a lot of money getting a Spectrum Laser out of California for 5K$US but the projects I’ve made the most money with would have been impossible with that machine… as well as just about every other laser engraver out there. For me, my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx manufactured in AUSTRIA was the best investment I could have made. Your situation may be different, but don’t try to save by going cheap. You will only end-up buying problems and headaches.

If you want an EPILOG LASER, contact EPILOG LASER, not Alibaba. If you want a TROTEC LASER, contact TROTEC LASER. This is by far the best advice I can give you if you are considering buying a laser or any other piece of equipment. The guys who are successful in business contact the manufacturer directly, not shaddy middle-men who dump their stuff off in the back of pickup trucks and speed away before the Sun rises to greet you.