Ortur Updates
In late February I posted an article regarding quality issues I was having with my new Ortur Laser Master 3 LE. After opening a support ticket, Ortur agreed to send me some parts to repair my problem. After nearly 3 weeks I finally received an email me from them that said “Sorry For The Delay”. A shipping link was provided. Ortur Updates are never good news.
Now 4 days later the parcel is still kicking around inside China.
I guess if there is a point to be made here it is this. If this were your only production laser you’d be down over a month waiting on parts. I am a HUGE advocate for owning at least 2 desktop diode lasers. And once again here I am kicking Ortur products.
It didn’t used to be that way. Ortur got off to such a great start. The Ortur Laser Master 2 was such a great little desktop laser. Yeah, they had a grounding issue but they worked to resolve it. I owned 2 of those lasers and both were great machines. But they haven’t evolved from that point.
Firmware Updates
Recently Ortur has released firmware updates for some of their lasers. Of note the Ortur Laser Master 3 mentions the following fixes:
- Fix problem of being unable to update via USB – file too big
- Removes mDNS service
mDNS is essentially an exploitable protocol. Its proper name is Multicast DNS and there is plenty of information out there about it on the internet. In addition to this I have written in the past about their software containing a wide open FTP server, and a wide open TELNET server. Neither protocol has any password and operates on standard ports. My advice is to not run your lasers on wifi unless you are on a hardware firewall with access to ports 22 (FTP), 23 (TELNET), and 5353 (mDNS) blocked.
More On Firmware
Firmware issue release notes on the LM3 LE, the Laser Master 2 Pro S2, and the Aufero 2 mention a skewing issue. This is not mentioned on the LM3 although I have seen multiple complaints of skewing on the LM3 on their Facebook group. My guess is it was included in the firmware update and the release notes weren’t written correctly.
Essentially, some users were experiencing engravings that weren’t coming out straight and were skewed. The problem has persisted for some time.
Wrap Up
While I’m happy to see the skewing issue addressed I have to say that there seem to be persistent problems both with quality control and in the software developers departments at Ortur. Their app and their wifi offerings are gigantic security holes. You couldn’t pay me to use that app.
Couple this with the poor quality control I’ve experienced on my LM3 and LM3 LE lasers and I simply can’t recommend anyone purchase them.
Oddly enough I still think the Aufero Laser 2 is a great laser. Call me crazy but their entry level Aufero 2 is the best thing going over there. If you want a 2nd machine for backup the Aufero 2 is the perfect choice for economy. For some reason I can’t explain it is also the only one of their lasers that has adequate pass through clearance as well. I 3d printed some 10mm risers for mine and the clearance is amazing. The LM3 LE has horrific, enormous legs that prevent front to back pass through, and the only thing worse than it is the LM3 where the engineers seemingly had a contest to see who could put the X motor as low as possible to the ground. Couple that with $80 riser legs that rival the Eiffel Tower in open lattice construction.
And the last thing I will mention is the protective lens cover. If it cracks, you are done. It should be an easily removable and consumable item. As it is, if it cracks you’ll be waiting a month for the “Whoops we forgot about you” email.
UPDATE 24 March, 2013
On the evening of 23 March I finally received my parts from Ortur which were supposed to have been shipped quite a while ago.
And not surprisingly……..they sent the wrong stuff. Un-Fucking-Believable. Fuck Ortur. Fuck everything about Ortur. I’ll be selling my Ortur stuff now.