I appreciate your review. I've been looking into getting a laser from them and this will at least temper my expectations. I would of loved to have more of a breakdown on their resolution. What parts are they sending out? Did they have a fix for the bowed cover?
They are sending me a new water temperature sensor. However, I have also purchased an inline water temp sensor which I will install at some point. It should be more accurate. Thanks to a user suggestion, I flipped the plexiglass cover over and reinstalled. Fit very well and resolved the gaps. I have not sealed it yet, but it fits much better and I believe it must have been installed backwards. I have been using the laser and it has been working very well. I also added an inline exhaust fan which has helped a lot.
I had my K-40 for 4 years before I could make it do more than just scorch paper!! Mirror alignment, bad mirrors, bad focal lens, new Light object air assist nozzle. I actually had to remove the entire mechanical frame work and square it and then re-install and align it to the laser beam. replaced their crappy little claming thing with a larger perf grate. Two weeks ago I was finally able to cut 3mm plywood. I can even do 6mm (1/4inch) plywood albeit very slowly. Now for a larger cutting area.
Well I guess I am luckier then you. After addressing the issues in the first video I have been able to cut 3mm without issue and complete a number of small projects. I did just recently add air assist and a new head, but have not used them enough to comment.
I inherited one of these so I'm just doing research on how to get it going, but I would note that US warranty law is very specific. No manufacturer can void an entire warranty for removing stickers, taking screws out, adding third-party accessories, or just about any of the other reasons manufacturers claim to have rights to do. They can, as OMTech said, refuse to cover parts that you directly modified. They can refuse to cover the front panel if you cut a hole in it for an ammeter, but they can not refuse to cover any other part that you didn't directly modify.
Was just about to purchase , decided to checkout some videos on this item and am I glad I did ,don't want a machine I have to buy spare parts for before I get to do 1st job hahaha
Thanks for the video! I recently got a K40 from a friend who hasn't used it in forever and I'm gathering as much info as I can before setting it up. Would you say the Harbor Freight water pump and the Amazon fan are working well for you? Thanks!
You are welcome! Yes, both replacements are working fine. I also added in inline fan, the "VIVOSUN 4 Inch 195 CFM Inline Duct Ventilation Fan," to help even more since cutting acrylic is so smelly. I have also added a 30mA ammeter. So far, so good with the K40 after the initial issues.
Thanks for your honest review. i too would be very disappointed with what you got, as per the quality ). Support, me, you already fixed it. Probably take my chances and same the money.
Thank you for this review. I was about to order a machine from Omtech based on the "quality control" on the U.S. side. Not being much of a handy man I think I'll pass.
You are welcome. Keep in eye on the FB OMTech Official Laser Group. Things might change. I hope they do, there is a market for someone to Q&A the K40 units. Also, my review is only on the K40, the other more expensive cutters might be better.
Assuming it works with the included software, I would check this page for help scorchworks.com/K40whisperer/k40w_setup.html it is written in python and compiled.
I am still struggling with mine. I really don’t want to ship this back. I have until the end of January. I wish I could find someone here in Las Vegas area that could help me.
@@RichardSchlegel Checkout the K40 and ChineseLaserCutters subreddits on reddit. You might find some additional help there and maybe even close to your location!
Enjoyed your review. How do you feel about the speed of the K40 compared to a) a hobby LED laser and b) to a more powerful OMTech laser, like the 80W model? Do you find yourself constrained by the bed size? Lastly, I couldn't help but notice that you're a ham operator. 73 de AE2KP!
I can't really compare it with others in terms of speed, but I have found the bed size to small for a few projects. Generally, I feel, once I addressed a number of issues, that it is a good "maker" laser cutter. If you are handy it can be a good bargain. 73 de AC9LZ!
@@StuartPatterson Thanks for the answer. Look like I`m going to need something stronger, because I want to cut it in one shot to keep the border smooth and clear. Happy Thanksgiving!
@Joe Perez Happy Thanksgiving to you. You know I am actually happy with the edges. They are very smooth. I keep records on how much power I use on different materials. So, that is what I had written for 3mm acrylic; 3 passes 40% power at 8mm/s. It is possible that others use higher power. I used it on the amateur radio sign video. There might be a close up of the sign.
Me dejó de funcionar el otro día cuando estuve haciendo cosas con ella y la placa mini board y no se dónde va los cables que estaban suelto me podrías mandar la foto dentro de la placa
I suspect you will need to request a new laser point and install it. You might also trace the wire to the power supply and confirm it is getting voltage.
You haven't noticed that the temperature gauge on your laser is always on? That's because it's run by two small watch batteries and they go bad very quickly. Replace them try not to break the cheap plastic to hold them in place. And if you do just cut them piece of thin wood and some electrical tape to replace that plastic piece.
Great! The OMTech K40 is a tempting entry-level laser cutter, but its cheap price comes with significant drawbacks. While it's fine for simple hobby projects, the build quality is flimsy, requiring constant tweaking and adjustments. The software is clunky and unreliable, leading to frustration and wasted materials.
Sounds like the difference between ebay china and omtech is a warranty... if that warranty is as high kwality as the inspection done by omtech on that machine... I'm thinking the main difference is price...
That is my opinion also. They did ship a replacement part very quick and the OMTech was honest and helpful, but it was not inspected like I had thought.
Dude you are getting a Co2 laser for a fraction of a Glowforge! Any and I mean any Chinese products require a few trade off in exchange for getting the product dirt cheap! All my printers required upgrades and repairs but were even with that were still as good or better than a Prusa!
Of course, did you watch the video? I assumed OMTech were do some level of quality control. Otherwise I would have order it from someone else and saved over $100.00. I paid more because I wrongly believes they where inspecting the machines.
it s unacceptable that OMTech charge premium for "quality control" and send you broken item. It s like they charge you 100 dollar + for a paint job. Better of buying 400 dollar unit and buy replacement if something was ship not working.
There are numerous openings in the case for air flow, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Other machines I have seen do not have a poor fitting clear plexiglass lid for air flow, but who knows maybe you are right.
heres the truth that company is just a reseller they buy bulk get a major discount then turn around up sell the price to you your only benefit it don't take 1.5 months from china to get maybe 7 days max.. they are not inspected theres countless forums on these types of machines that say your basically just buying a gantry the tubes are garbage mirrors and fan and water pump... so if you buy one youll be buying a new fan new water pump a new tube the tubes last not long if you run it a long time expect 3 months max of use so with that said your 400 dollar machine after turns out to be 1000 dollars so dont buy them go with one thats 5k a 5k machine is dialed in uses good non chinese tubes and power supplies also there's a forum that gets rid of the controller they don't do gcode youll notice he uses a custom program that came with it g code wont work so others have put in Arduinos and custom boards. so iof you want a good laser cutter spend more than 400 dollars for the diy or just mess around sure but if you want to sell stuff making from it it will be a nightmare also the power supplies fail alot on them.. and american company? i doubt it its prolly a chinese company that bought a brick and mortor warehouse either in la or in newyork.. and just ships them there then redistributes them to save you time..
I like the follow up. OMTECH seems like a good route to go. Thank you
Thank you!
I like your style. Just got my OMTech k40 and the quality has improved substantially. Still a couple of issues but mostly fixed.
Thanks! Glad to hear they are getting better!
God I hope it's fixed. I'm sending my Ortur 2 Pro S2 back and looking to get this one for $300 more!
Thanks for the useful feed back and heads up
Glad it helped. I still have my K40 and use it once in a while depending on the project I am working on.
I appreciate your review. I've been looking into getting a laser from them and this will at least temper my expectations. I would of loved to have more of a breakdown on their resolution. What parts are they sending out? Did they have a fix for the bowed cover?
They are sending me a new water temperature sensor. However, I have also purchased an inline water temp sensor which I will install at some point. It should be more accurate. Thanks to a user suggestion, I flipped the plexiglass cover over and reinstalled. Fit very well and resolved the gaps. I have not sealed it yet, but it fits much better and I believe it must have been installed backwards. I have been using the laser and it has been working very well. I also added an inline exhaust fan which has helped a lot.
@@StuartPatterson thank you for the update!
I had my K-40 for 4 years before I could make it do more than just scorch paper!! Mirror alignment, bad mirrors, bad focal lens, new Light object air assist nozzle. I actually had to remove the entire mechanical frame work and square it and then re-install and align it to the laser beam. replaced their crappy little claming thing with a larger perf grate. Two weeks ago I was finally able to cut 3mm plywood. I can even do 6mm (1/4inch) plywood albeit very slowly. Now for a larger cutting area.
Well I guess I am luckier then you. After addressing the issues in the first video I have been able to cut 3mm without issue and complete a number of small projects. I did just recently add air assist and a new head, but have not used them enough to comment.
I inherited one of these so I'm just doing research on how to get it going, but I would note that US warranty law is very specific. No manufacturer can void an entire warranty for removing stickers, taking screws out, adding third-party accessories, or just about any of the other reasons manufacturers claim to have rights to do. They can, as OMTech said, refuse to cover parts that you directly modified. They can refuse to cover the front panel if you cut a hole in it for an ammeter, but they can not refuse to cover any other part that you didn't directly modify.
Good to know! Thanks! I should do a follow-up. My K40 is working fine without any issues, however I don't use it much. Only for prototyping.
Was just about to purchase , decided to checkout some videos on this item and am I glad I did ,don't want a machine I have to buy spare parts for before I get to do 1st job hahaha
Understood. Glad you found my video! You should also watch my second video which is an update: czcams.com/video/1AzjRZ9TDRk/video.html
Thank you, Stuart, for your video. For future refence, Isopropyl Alcohol (IPL) lifts hot glue like a boss.
Thank you! Yes, I have learned that fact since pulling it off my hand! One of those tips you need for the maker life. Thanks again!
Thanks for the video! I recently got a K40 from a friend who hasn't used it in forever and I'm gathering as much info as I can before setting it up. Would you say the Harbor Freight water pump and the Amazon fan are working well for you? Thanks!
You are welcome! Yes, both replacements are working fine. I also added in inline fan, the
"VIVOSUN 4 Inch 195 CFM Inline Duct Ventilation Fan," to help even more since cutting acrylic is so smelly. I have also added a 30mA ammeter. So far, so good with the K40 after the initial issues.
@@StuartPatterson Thanks for the quick reply! Glad to hear it's working well for you. I'll look into those upgrades.
Thank you for your honesty, you just saved me a few dollars difference for a false verification by this company !
Your welcome!
Thanks for your honest review. i too would be very disappointed with what you got, as per the quality ). Support, me, you already fixed it. Probably take my chances and same the money.
Thanks!
nice video ty
Thank you!
Thank you for this review. I was about to order a machine from Omtech based on the "quality control" on the U.S. side. Not being much of a handy man I think I'll pass.
You are welcome. Keep in eye on the FB OMTech Official Laser Group. Things might change. I hope they do, there is a market for someone to Q&A the K40 units. Also, my review is only on the K40, the other more expensive cutters might be better.
I bought a k40 but I can't get it to work with k40 whisperer. I also installed Inkscape. Any advise?
Assuming it works with the included software, I would check this page for help scorchworks.com/K40whisperer/k40w_setup.html it is written in python and compiled.
thanks! I wish you would have shown how you did everything. Like how much of the glue you removed from the mirrors, etc.
Yeah, that would have been a good idea. I was pretty frustrated and was not even thinking about recording, but I agree it would have been nice! Sorry.
@@StuartPatterson TY! It was very informative.
I am still struggling with mine. I really don’t want to ship this back. I have until the end of January. I wish I could find someone here in Las Vegas area that could help me.
@@RichardSchlegel Checkout the K40 and ChineseLaserCutters subreddits on reddit. You might find some additional help there and maybe even close to your location!
@@StuartPatterson great idea! Thank you.
Enjoyed your review. How do you feel about the speed of the K40 compared to a) a hobby LED laser and b) to a more powerful OMTech laser, like the 80W model? Do you find yourself constrained by the bed size? Lastly, I couldn't help but notice that you're a ham operator. 73 de AE2KP!
I can't really compare it with others in terms of speed, but I have found the bed size to small for a few projects. Generally, I feel, once I addressed a number of issues, that it is a good "maker" laser cutter. If you are handy it can be a good bargain. 73 de AC9LZ!
@@StuartPatterson I enjoyed the review as well, have one on order now and waiting. Ham oper. here too 73 KG4TXP
@@joeadams1236 73 Joe.... enjoy!
Which safety googles did you choose for this machine ? 🤔
I didn't. If you have a recommendation let me know.
Thanks for the info. I only want to buy one to cut 3mm acrylic in different shapes. You test already this kind of material?
Yes. I have cut 3mm acrylic with it, but it does require multiple passes.
@@StuartPatterson Thanks for the answer. Look like I`m going to need something stronger, because I want to cut it in one shot to keep the border smooth and clear. Happy Thanksgiving!
@Joe Perez Happy Thanksgiving to you. You know I am actually happy with the edges. They are very smooth. I keep records on how much power I use on different materials. So, that is what I had written for 3mm acrylic; 3 passes 40% power at 8mm/s. It is possible that others use higher power. I used it on the amateur radio sign video. There might be a close up of the sign.
@@StuartPatterson Ok...Thanks for the info. You save me a lot of time. Take care.
Me dejó de funcionar el otro día cuando estuve haciendo cosas con ella y la placa mini board y no se dónde va los cables que estaban suelto me podrías mandar la foto dentro de la placa
Happy to help, but I don't speak Spanish. Sorry. I did translate it, but you did not provide a way for me to send you a photo of the board.
I just bougth this machine, but the pointer is not working,do you know how to.fix it?
I suspect you will need to request a new laser point and install it. You might also trace the wire to the power supply and confirm it is getting voltage.
Upside down canned air also removes hot glue super well
Thanks for the tip!
Well, realy nicely spent 80 bugs more... Bravo OMTech!
They did provide me with a refund for the pump and fan.
@@StuartPatterson Cool, at least something ;) Keeping fingers crossed in your next projects bro :)
@@libor-vitek thank you!
Work wifi o cable?
It uses a usb cable.
You haven't noticed that the temperature gauge on your laser is always on? That's because it's run by two small watch batteries and they go bad very quickly. Replace them try not to break the cheap plastic to hold them in place. And if you do just cut them piece of thin wood and some electrical tape to replace that plastic piece.
Yes, I know it is always on. What makes you think I didn’t notice it?
@@StuartPatterson because you didn't mention it in your video. I didn't notice are until the batteries when dead in both of them.
Ah, ok. I misunderstood. Yes, that is a good point!
Great! The OMTech K40 is a tempting entry-level laser cutter, but its cheap price comes with significant drawbacks. While it's fine for simple hobby projects, the build quality is flimsy, requiring constant tweaking and adjustments. The software is clunky and unreliable, leading to frustration and wasted materials.
Agreed. Thanks for the feedback. I plan on doing additional videos of the enhancements I have made.
Sounds like the difference between ebay china and omtech is a warranty... if that warranty is as high kwality as the inspection done by omtech on that machine... I'm thinking the main difference is price...
That is my opinion also. They did ship a replacement part very quick and the OMTech was honest and helpful, but it was not inspected like I had thought.
is this site still running?
Yes. I’ve been very busy since my last video and have not had much free time. Sorry.
@@StuartPatterson hi, sorry, I just wasn`t sure with the large time gap between posts
I`m going to have a mooch around with the idea of building my own franken40 - well 60 actually withe a 60x60mm cut/engrave area
No worries. Sounds like a cool project!
Thanks for your review. Please take care of your eyes, 40watts of laser power is dangerous!
Good point! Thanks for the safety tip!
Where's your sense of adventure?
Dude you are getting a Co2 laser for a fraction of a Glowforge! Any and I mean any Chinese products require a few trade off in exchange for getting the product dirt cheap! All my printers required upgrades and repairs but were even with that were still as good or better than a Prusa!
Of course, did you watch the video? I assumed OMTech were do some level of quality control. Otherwise I would have order it from someone else and saved over $100.00. I paid more because I wrongly believes they where inspecting the machines.
it s unacceptable that OMTech charge premium for "quality control" and send you broken item. It s like they charge you 100 dollar + for a paint job. Better of buying 400 dollar unit and buy replacement if something was ship not working.
Agreed. On a positive note, OMTech was quick to send the replacement part and was available when I called with the issues. Support.
wow lol. well that's not a good look for OMtech. I was considering their K40s but def dont want to deal with this type of stuff right out the gate.
Yeah, well maybe they are doing more now. You could always call and ask. My machine works great, but as shown it was a slow start!
The glass is supposed to be that way. It allows fresh air to draw while the exhaust is running.
There are numerous openings in the case for air flow, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Other machines I have seen do not have a poor fitting clear plexiglass lid for air flow, but who knows maybe you are right.
Nope. If I buy something I expect it to work or they send me a replacement.
Yup, I can relate.
A pump should never run dry!
Agreed. However it was already broken.
Is the water pump supposed to be connected with the hose AND submerged ito the bucket of water?
@@danielramos803 Yes, 1 hose on the pump, 1 hose as a return into the bucket and the pump submerged in the bucket.
@@danielramos803 Yup
heres the truth that company is just a reseller they buy bulk get a major discount then turn around up sell the price to you your only benefit it don't take 1.5 months from china to get maybe 7 days max.. they are not inspected theres countless forums on these types of machines that say your basically just buying a gantry the tubes are garbage mirrors and fan and water pump... so if you buy one youll be buying a new fan new water pump a new tube the tubes last not long if you run it a long time expect 3 months max of use so with that said your 400 dollar machine after turns out to be 1000 dollars so dont buy them go with one thats 5k a 5k machine is dialed in uses good non chinese tubes and power supplies also there's a forum that gets rid of the controller they don't do gcode youll notice he uses a custom program that came with it g code wont work so others have put in Arduinos and custom boards. so iof you want a good laser cutter spend more than 400 dollars for the diy or just mess around sure but if you want to sell stuff making from it it will be a nightmare also the power supplies fail alot on them.. and american company? i doubt it its prolly a chinese company that bought a brick and mortor warehouse either in la or in newyork.. and just ships them there then redistributes them to save you time..
only a third of this machine is good. the other 2/3rds it are bad and ugly.
Mine has been working pretty well since I addressed the issues.
The warranty is worthless. It's a cheap machine after all. Go crazy with mods. You'll have a better machine in the end.
I have been! Thanks!
You talk too slow. This vid should be half as long. But thanks for the info
Sorry. I’ll try and keep that in mind for future videos.
can always adjust the playback speed of the video :D