Trotec Speedy 400 flexx Review: One Year In

About a year ago, I got delivery of a brand new Trotec Speedy 400 flexx for my new company, CNCROi.com. Here is my review of it thus far (I did my 6 month follow-up HERE)… and here’s a video 3.5 years in.

Problems with my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx

After one year of continuous use… NONE!

Regrets about my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx

I really have the best all-around machine I can think of with this laser, although my shop has evolved quite a bit since this photo above (have a recent one in book), what hasn’t is my admiration for such an awesome machine and what it can do. I do have one regret though, maybe two.

The first, that I only have a 110 watt CO2 machine, I really wished I would have sprung for the 130 watts… not because I needed it – I can still cut through 3/4 inch laminate with this machine – it’s because each time I realize I have 110 watts, I also realize that I don’t have 130 watts. It’s like buying a car and not going for the best engine.

Somewhat related, though financially, I just couldn’t make that big a jump, I wished I would have gotten a 50 watt fiber tube instead of a 30 watt. The CO2 upgrade would have been a rounding error on the bill but the fiber, that was just too steep a leap for me and to be honest, my next step up from this would be a Galvo anyhow so that makes me feel better.

If you buy a CNC machine, max everything out that you can afford to… and then some. I have a gas kit which is AWESOME with a vacuum table and 2 HP extraction out back. What does this combination allow me to do? I literally clean my flexx lens once a month whether it needs it or not. I’m pushing and shooting air so fast in this machine that it has no chance to stick to anything, including the lens! In that department, I wished I bought a bigger air compressor, my 20 gallon, though valiant as I would have given-up long ago, is probably the next thing I push out the door and get replaced with an 60 or 80 gallon.

Regarding extraction, I have one 2 HP hooked-up to both the vacuum table and the back of the machine (overhead). I wished I bought 2 x 2 HP extractions, so one pipe going only for the vacuum and the other only for the top. Sometimes you don’t need the vacuum table sucking and other times, the overhead… and sometimes, you want both going but with more power. That would solve that problem. I want a tornado funnel in my machine sucking everything out ASAP!

Rotary Kit and Professional Cutting Table

I have a professional cutting table and a rotary kit for my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx, neither of which I’ve used yet. There is one project that I could have used it for but it was quicker for me to just make a static jig as the fiber engraving on the titanium was well with tolerance of my fiber lens. I think this is mostly my fault as I haven’t done any videos to bring-up demand for what the rotary kit offers customers, the fact is, my customers always had flat stuff… so the conversation never came-up where a rotary kit would be required.

I don’t regret having it though, I’ll do a few projects using it shortly as I have the combo unit with both the wheels and cones. As for the professional cutting table, the flat vacuum and grid table are just so great that I haven’t had an application where the professional cutting table would have added anything else to the project.

It’s like my flexx lens, I have two, if one breaks, I have a backup in addition to a fiber specific lens (another MUST HAVE!). If I need to do a quick turnaround project requiring a rotary kit, I have it in stock without having to make calls to try to get one in the shop ASAP. That’s peace of mind! Same with the professional cutting table, these are things that you need when you NEED them, having them there builds confidence that you can pretty much handle anything coming through the door.

Long CO2 lens

The fiber specific lens I have for my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx is fantastic, I really love the extra space away from the object I can achieve with it, that being said, I haven’t had an application that can benefit from the same overhead tolerance using anything beyond the flexx lens I currently have. Yes, I have bumped into jigs and parts due to lack of tolerance but nothing I couldn’t resolve using flat metal plates.

Like the fiber lens, I do see myself acquiring a long CO2 lens in the future, the need just isn’t urgent and they are quick to get if needed. The customer service of Trotec Canada has been fantastic.

Future upgrades

CNCROi.com is running strong, many good clients as we only do business with the best ones out there. The biggest “need” for me depends on what direction my customers go, I would love to be able to cut my own metal plates using a plasma in-house for quick runs and prototyping before moving production to an industrial laser. I would love to get an industrial bandsaw and it goes without saying a full-sheet router to round things off.

The purchase of my Trotec Speedy 400 flexx has bar none, been the best investment I could have made opening-up shop and I look forward to being in the market for more Trotec Laser equipment in the future. I really couldn’t see my shop running any other type of machine from the start, it’s a fantastic engraver, cutter and annealer… it covers so many bases that, in my case, the name flexx to me means ultimate flexibility in customer demands.

Whereas the Trotec Speedy 500 is a cutter that can engrave, the Trotec Speedy 400 (300, 100, rayjet) are engravers that can cut… and they do both jobs very well!