think i’m ready to dive in and pick one of these bad boys up.
i know they’re available on amazon and ebay, and the pics all look the same, but is there reason to order from one vendor or another?
some of them on ebay are only $311, where the same looking one is on amazon for over $400. i’d gladly put that extra $100 towards some of the upgrades if they’re all the same product at the end of the day.
any insight would be great. thanks!
Really and truly it’s hard to say as there are so many distributors of these machines. Look at seller reviews and judge by that. Make sure you are also comparing price with shipping.
As well get the analog version with the mA meter, that way it is one less thing to modify once you get it.
Yep. Definitely looking for the analog controls (I’ve seen recommendations on that one).
And I guess through eBay/PayPal you have protection if anything goes wrong anyway right?
You also can return easily with Amazon prime.
OrionMotorTech is a seller that many people have had good experiences with. The name pops up often when people are asking for recommendations. They may not be the least expensive, but they have a good customer service record.
Two good things, one it is shipped from a US location and second, free shipping.
Cloudray also sell a K40, it is more expensive but I’d be much more confident with the components from them being A grade and the tube actually being 40watt.
Did you buy one of these? They look mostly like a standard K40 to me.
I didn’t buy one, but after talking with Russ Sadler to get some advice on purchasing a larger machine for a friend, he recommends strongly staying away from Ebay and even Amazon as they’re mainly re-sellers of B Grade rejects and if possible going straight to manufacturer.
Going that route means you have to handle the shipping from port etc, yourself but that wasn’t a problem for my friend as it was for a commercial setup.
He went with a large CNC in the end but the prices and spec he got direct from manufacturer was very impressive.
75-90W 600*900 machine with all bells and whistles for $3k shipped to port.
I know we got a little off topic but just trying to pass on info.
The real problem is that some of the “manufacturers” are just resellers too. Unfortunately it’s all a 50-50 chance whether you get a machine that is reliable or one that is a piece of junk. Both of my eBay lasers actually proved to be very reliable. I’m am just one of the lucky ones. With the manufacturer in another country, it’s always problematic if you get reliable customer service or not. You can also say that you get what you pay for, but just look at the issues with the Glowforge lasers. Just my two cents worth.
Does anyone know who actually manufactures the K40?
There are probably dozens of factories that are all producing them. The design keeps being copied by various manufacturing facilities in China.
What design … 
The original design was the Full Spectrum MLE-40. It was a little better than what the K40 ended up being, but not by much. But the MLE-40 sold for 3 or 4 thousand, and the K40 was sub $1000.
Interesting I thought that the K40 was the original design and the FS unit was the improved version?
In my opinion, it still better to go for EBay on the cheapest analog model (largely available around the world by local reseller), and top up with good quality mirror and lens. After transport you will need alignment anyway.
A modified K40 is still the cheapest way to get a usable laser cutter for about 500 USD. (K40+board+optics).