tools & products for restorations

[Jbrooks]

Well the saga continues….. Since the last laser post, the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been playing catch 22 with me. Neither has ever destroyed a laser device before, and can’t decide how. To make things worse I am stuck in the middle. CBP needs a form, FDA does not know who fills it out. Then Good old Washington State EPA requires a license for the recycler. No one knows what is going on. The welder has a water cooler, and a refrigeration system. When I told the FDA the unit contained dihydrogenmonxide DHMO (water H2O) and a HFC 409 and their head exploded. The EPA and FDA spun up and can not decide what to do. CBP treats it like a bad batch of apples but won’t issue some release form to FDA with out a HAZMAT determination. Today I am still waiting for CBP form 4647..

Can this get worse??? Why sure

The manufacturer says they will replace the unit under warranty and has shipped the new one door to odor from the factory. (They exported it before it was approved for entry into the USA). That is good if they really did. I finally convinced the vendor, the customs detention and failed inspection was on just my machine only, not all of them. They played stupid until the last minute until I sent a threat to have them banned in the USA for non compliance to the CFR, and be put on the no entry list. Nice to be retired navy, and have an Admiral in charge of Radiation health (CDRH). So maybe new machine, dingers crossed
Then I sent the customs forms to AMREX, asking for an insurance refund on the purchase. They went to eBay with a dispute, eBay then held the amount from the vendor. Then eBay rejected the dispute and still have not released the funds. So the Manufacturer will not release the warranty replacement from bond until it clears. 10 calls and emails to AMERX and eBay can not seem to clear the dispute. My account shows no disputes, vendors says still pending.. So I broke the welding unit down into several piles of parts. Laser stuff, power stuff, cooler stuff, computer stuff, preparing for disposal. Several piles all covered by different state recycling laws.

On a more positive note, this machine is amazing, the welds, cleaning, cutting etc are like the videos. It take a couple hours to to figure it out. The chinglish manuals are not easy, but after you have gone over them 4-5 it starts to make sense. It’s just like MiG, except the wire feeder pushes the gun, and the nozzle needs to rough the material being welded, not as a ground but to keep the beam at the weld and not the shop. We only got a few hours on it before I had to brake it down. Welds 0.5mm wide in 18 ga steel, spot welds like a pro, cuts up to 10mm thick, cleans paint, dirt and corrosion with ease. Does heat the metal up some, but no more that a car in the sun in the summer. the YouTube videos ate real, takes some practice but works. Uses Nitrogen to blow on the lenses to keep them clean when cutting . I will try clean dry air when the next one arrives.

enough for now, cross your fingers, I may get through this yet.

[JTR70]

Wishing you a positive out come on this in the new year John. This is a tough one to swallow for sure. On an another note can you post a detailed photo of the spot welds you are able to produce?

[Jbrooks]

Welder saga continues. Good news, the E-mail this morning says the warranty replacement welder is ready to release and delivery. 90% confident its here, until I lay my hands on it I will remain skeptical. Seaman Laser LLC in China says it here in the bond warehouse, a will be delivered shortly. Then I get to start all over again, but with no FDA an its through customs. With 150 emails back an forth with the manufacture over the summer I must say they are very good, but the language barrier was difficult. Once I got the factory to understand that only MY UNIT failed the customs inspection not all of them the fog lifted. Also the customs entry form they sent, to clear US customs entry was not filled out correctly and did not list the required model an part number, ( it just said "LASER WELDER") . That paperwork error was what triggered the incoming entry FDA inspection, that cascaded into a bunch of other regulations and more misery. It was their fault in the beginning. It was advertised with a 5 year warranty, and they say they are making good on it. I remain skeptical.

The FDA and US customs are in a catch 22 on the forms and procedures. Seems they have conflicting requirements. Neither has destroyed one before and can not seem to get all the paperwork together. I did my part, on time, but finding a Washington state license recycle facility that can take refrigerants, electronics, and dihydrogenmonxide (H2O) in the same unit does not exist, and no one wants customs and border protection (CBP) on their property for some reason. Anyway they say next week they will have a plan. FDA and CBP have decided to destroy it here on sight, to avoid the state ecology regulations. That is a good thing,

Anyway I removed the RACUS fiber laser source, from the rest of the welder (photo below). That separated the FDA regulate component from the rest of the State EPA regulated components. That allows the FDA to inspect it, complete a form for customs and certify it destroyed. Now I was very careful while destroying this machine. If they don't take any parts away with them, Justin may have a pending deal in the works. In spite of all the BS an worry it has cause, this is a great welder and it does all the stuff in the YouTube videos just like they show. I was a little skeptical in the beginning but this thing is really cool.


justin…. Your spot weld photos, these were the first few I tried, various power and sweep rate and time settings .left side is top side, right is the bottom. Most are .035 ~ .075 seconds of time longest was 1 second. Power between 20-35 watts. about 4-5” off the metal, point and shoot. Pretty easy.