Fresh out of the box and have concerns - temporarily solved

Hi All

I am a noobie and need to get some advice please. I got a K40 today from a courier and purchased the machine from eBay here in Australia.

On unpacking I noticed even though the box had a rip that no major issues but a couple of slight dings and scratches in the outer covers which is not a major concern but you always wonder what is going to be on the inside.The hose some squashing - not worried.

3 things I noticed and would appreciate any feedback / advice:

1 - the water tubes from the CO2 laser had water in them but were not plugged - is this normal or has it been tested / returned to supplier and then I got a second hand unit?

2 - there is a wider ribbon cable laying in the bottom next to the lhs of the gantry - where does this go to? there is no light in the back but guessing this is for control of the motors / sensor. Can someone confirm and maybe add some photos if possible as it has printed text on one side and blank on the other so guessing it maybe critical.

3 - my MAJOR concern is the lhs motor mount does not look standard and the laser reflector bracket kicks off so guessing this has had a knock on install at the factory. Can some confirm that this is not normal and any advice please.

any help would be very much appreciated while I am trying to remain calm …mmmmmm

ps was going to add a few photos but since being my first post I am not sure how to add them.

cheers

sorry, I worked out the photos - these show the cable and the what I believe a bent motor mount…

Uploading: IMG_1646.JPG…

I just took a look at mine. That ribbon cable is probably the one that goes into the underside of the stepper motor at the left; the one you have pictured with the questionable belt alignment. For that belt, you might need to disassemble the whole crossbar to fix it. Basically, these things are cheap because they use substandard parts, and sometimes they don’t test much (if at all). The water in the tubes is possibly a good sign, if only because it means they probably tested the laser tube. They clearly did not test the motors, or they bumped the ribbon cable, or maybe it was just so loose it came out during shipping.

I don’t know your level of skill at troubleshooting such things. If you are not comfortable with attempting to fix these issues, then you might want to see if you can return it. Unfortunately, that probably means you’d lose the money spent on return shipping, which is not insignificant.

If it was me, I’d try fixing it first. You can get a lot of help with that here! :smiley::+1:

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Yikes, I have real concerns about that bent mount. Unless you think you can handle straightening it out I would contact the seller.

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thanks guys for the reply.

I removed a small sensor bracket / motor coms etc and found the plug that the ribbon came out of and I think the cable can only go one way - metal side of the cable to the pins…

as for the motor mount, man this is bent, so contacted the seller on ebay and his response was “don’t put a return claim in as it will affect my rating” and then said go to you local shop and get parts and he will give me $100 back. Not going to find this part locally plus I think the gantry has a slight bend as well probably from the pressure, so must of been dropped or something before install.

as for the water there is a label saying tested and rated at 39W so I suppose this is a good thing. I checked ebay and no other k40’s available at the moment, everything gone so maybe the drama over in China / Hong Kong is affecting machine supply. So if I return it I have nothing or 100% price increase…

I could just go do a openbuild upgrade but just stinks, what would you guys do?

I dont think that motor mount can be found anywhere and I doubt you can straighten it.
The likely hood the gantry assy is bent HIGH.
I would ask the seller for a new gantry assy or you will ask for a refund.

4 Likes

yes the gantry looks bent.

am waiting on a reply from the ebay seller for replacement parts or refund of $200 which is half of the gantry frame upgrade from these guys in Sweden. It looks like it is good and would give me a larger process area - but can’t find much on their v1 design

https://k40laser.se/k40-parts/k40-spare-upgrade-parts/gantry-laser-head/k40-expansion-diy-kit/

K40laser.se is owned by @HP_Persson who is a long time member of this community. He offers good products. Haven’t seen that gantry before, looks nice.

1 Like

thanks, great to know, looks like the ebay seller is going for the $200 refund option which will pay for half the gantry etc upgrade…

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Mmm I had not seen this either… looks interesting.
@HP_Persson

well it has been a little while and been designing a bracket to replace the bent one and made 2 options available at Shapeways if anyone ever needs one.

still waiting on a reply from HP_Peterson as gone quiet - hope there are no concerns. But at least I can get the K40 finally running.

The bracket is 3d printed in solid nylon and has extra bracing to minimise some mild flex from the gantry belt that moves the laser head.

@HP_Persson

HP has gone missing and not returning messages