Give us some feedback when you get it in. We NEVER GET FEEDBACK.
I picked up my 6x12 in Sept/October, but I'm just at the point of using it. I made my first cuts in the past few days. I'm super excited, and certainly have a lot to learn. Regarding feedback...here are a few things that crossed my mind when setting mine up.
1) I felt an adjustable water level was the only feature offered by a competitor, which the Starlab table didn't have. I added 55 gallon plastic drums under my table, for an adjustable water height/ability to drain my table. It would have been AWESOME if the lower crossbars would have allowed a 55 gallon drum to fit between the crossbar, and the top support rail.
I ended up lifting my table to get the barrels under there. I'll probably end up cutting a section out of the lower support beam, and welding some flanges in there so the section can be bolted in/out for barrel removal. In the photos it looks like the barrel will slide in there...but trust me, it wont. ha
It would also have been handy for the drain bung/pipe nipple to be shorter (the shortest possible threaded nipple). I can run PVC up to a short nipple, but having a long nipple means my ball valve is at/below water level when the barrels are full. I didn't want to deal with cutting the nipple off/shorter, and trying to re-thread it.
2) While discussing the water drain...I used a dremel to create a small shelf/recess on the top of the drain bung. I placed a small sink drain/strainer into this recessed shelf, and silicone-d it in place. It works well to keep larger debris out of the barrels, and in the top of the tank. Easy to pull out and silicone a new one in, if I need to do so. Of course, I realize this means only fine particulates/sludge will be reaching the water barrels, and settling in them...I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there. LOL
3) The existing ground bolts (tapped through water table side) seemed like a bad idea. I didn't want the water to fill up above these holes/bolts. I welded the existing holes closed, and added a tab off the water table to attach the work lead/ground.
4) I think I'd like to have the option of running the water all the way to the backside of my material. With the slats being the same height as the table sides, I can't do this (without risking overflow, anyway). It may be nice to see if the customer wants the slats to be flush with the water table sides, or have the slats cut shorter, so the water can rise all the way to the top of the slats, without reaching the top of the water table. When I cut new slats, I'll probably cut them a bit shorter for this reason.
5) Possibly offer a CD/folder on the computer, with a backup of the installed software parameters/files. That way, if someone happens to fubar their Mach setup while trying to install the HyT upgrade, they can simply copy/paste all the original setup files into the Mach directory.
Mach will then be just as it was when it left your shop! Of course, any normal person would realize they should make a backup of these folders before dicking with them...but...a backup CD/folder would sure help some idiot who does NOT back up before making changes! lol
6) Videos. It was awesome to meet with you at your shop, Matt, and have you go over the table with me. You are extremely knowledgeable, personable, and just a shit ton of fun to meet. That being said...I was running on about 3 hours of sleep when I picked up the table, and that was several months ago. Though your training covered everything necessary, my comprehension at the time was...lacking. Even for someone who would be on top of their game, it's a lot of material to cover.
I've found a competitors training video set to be VERY helpful. I've downloaded/saved to my computer all the Arclight training videos from Youtube. Mach, Sheetcam, Inkscape, index cutting, etc. Over the past few days, I've been watching these videos while following along on my machine. These videos are like attending a Mach/Sheetcam seminar. VERY helpful to have at home.
7) Computer wouldn't boot if I had a flash drive in the USB port. I went into the computer BIOS, and changed the boot sequence so that it's booting from the HD first, and not trying to boot from the USB (or CD) drive.
Though I've just started using it, I'm extremely pleased with my Bulltear/Starlab table, and my choice of vendor. It was a blast to meet you/visit your shop. Seeing your facility, and your capabilities (how many VMC's were around that place? And the big gantry CNC mill? The plethora of precisely milled parts for your various product lines) made me feel VERY confident in the quality of the table, and the fact that it is an engineered, precisely machined unit. I've found several people who are putting their Bulltear/Starlab tables to great (and profitable) use, and I'm trying to learn from them (_Ogre on PS, for example...he may be here too). I feel that the table will be able to do anything I ask of it, and the limiting factor will be my knowledge base.
After stumbling across a recent BurnTables thread, I'm EXTREMELY grateful to have the table quality, and support that comes with a Starlab/Bulltear unit. I think the table is top-notch. I thought the price was very reasonable, particularly considering the things that come 'standard' with the table...Ohmic sensing, magnetic torch mount, water table, mounting spots on Z axis for auxiliary items (scribe, engraver, etc).
Enough for now. Time to get back to cutting, and learning the table. I've been unhappy with the quality on some small arcs and circles on a part I've been cutting (_Ogre's laser crosshair mount, to which I added a clamp for the Supereyes 005 camera for Scananything). I guess it's time to try my hand at creating some cut rules, and see if I can measure actual cut height to see if voltages need adjusted.
