Need advice for a new laser cut machine

[tatotiburon]

Hi, i'm running a bussiness in my town with promotionals products, id tags, signs, etc....right now i have a mimaki 3042 but i'm looking for a great laser cut machine for acrylic cut, engraving silicone bands, marking metal items and more aplications...

i don't really know much about this machines, i know the epilog fusion, saw it in a friend's of mine store and i loved it, but you're the experts, is this a good machine or can i find a better option for my needs for a better deal

Thanks for your help

 

[GVP]

You won't go wrong with an Epilog. There are some cheaper Chinese machines out there, but I'm of the opinion, like has been said numerous times here about Vinyl plotters, you get what you pay for.

 

[signmeup]

I bought a Bodor direct from the manufacturer in China. Swiss design, Chinese made. Works great. It's huge though. About 6 feet x 7 feet and 4 feet high. Weighs 1/2 a ton... literally. 100 watt. About 5 grand delivered to my doorstep.

You will want one with less power for engraving. The higher powered tubes don't throttle down as well as a lower powered tube. Cutting area is 51" x 36" but it has a pass through feature so you can slide 4 x 8 sheets through it.

Very helpful company. Just tell them what you want to do and they will spec out a custom machine for you. Here is my machine and the people who built it for me. Customer service has been wonderful. I dealt with "Michelle"

Adrian

 

[Ghost Prophet]

You can't go wrong with Epilog or Kern.

How thick is the acrylic you want to cut? How deep do you want to engrave in silicone and metal? What type of metals do you want to engrave and cut?

All of that information is important when deciding on a laser, as you will have more limitations with a lower wattage laser, and you will find that it takes different types of lasers operating on different wavelengths to cut different metals.

 

[reQ]

Running UNIVERSAL laser. Works great for me.

 

[signmeup]

You can't go wrong with Epilog or Kern.

How thick is the acrylic you want to cut? How deep do you want to engrave in silicone and metal? What type of metals do you want to engrave and cut?

All of that information is important when deciding on a laser, as you will have more limitations with a lower wattage laser, and you will find that it takes different types of lasers operating on different wavelengths to cut different metals.

Just curious... what are you doing with a 400 watt laser?

Adrian

 

[Ghost Prophet]

Just curious... what are you doing with a 400 watt laser?

Adrian

Lots of cutting... 1" acryic, solid wood, ply, foam, silicone, 3/8" steel (rated for 3/16" with nice edge), stainless, aluminum, and so on. It's also nice for engraving wood up to 1" deep, and we have the 4th axis so I'm tempted to make a replica of Gandelfs' staff.

 

[signmeup]

Pat,

The laser was about $3700 US including the chiller and exhaust blower. It was about a grand to get it shipped here.

It was built for me, to my specs. You can specify what wattage and the type of laser you want. I went with a 100 watt CO2 unit from RECI but they will set it up for fiber or whatever. Mine cuts a 6 thou kerf. You can also get twin tubes of different wattage in the same machine, as well as twin cutting heads. (cuts 2 parts at once.)

It cuts acrylic like butter. Also cuts coro like butter. Very nice working machine. the software it came with has a plug-in for Corel Draw so it's super easy to make the files... I just draw them in Corel and send them to a thumb drive. Then I stick the thumb drive into the side of the laser. I can connect it to a laptop but I find my shop a bit dusty for computers.

I'm making model airplane kits with it mostly. I also make the cardboard shipping containers for the airplane kits with it. I am looking for work for it cutting letters for sign shops...

I think it works great and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Like I said, customer service has been really good. Any questions I've had about how to operate have been answered very quickly. I particularly like the giant, see through top cover.

Is it as good as a $30,000 US or Canadian made laser? Probably not... but it works very well for 1/10th the price...

Adrian

 

[fixtureman]

For a smaller machine Trotec is the one to have for speed on engraving. They are a bit pricey though

 

[signmeup]

I should mention... I used to have my airplane parts cut on a Kern laser. I compared the parts I had left over from it to the parts I made on my own laser. The only difference I could detect is mine leaves less "smoke" on the backs of the parts due to mine having a knife blade table and the Kern had a honeycomb table. The Kern has a Synrad tube that cost (according to the owner) $15,000 to replace.

Adrian

 

[signmeup]

Thanks for info Adrian! This has got me excited...I've always wanted a way to cut acrylic in-house and this sounds like a great way to get my feet wet for a VERY reasonable price. For the exhaust blower - I take it the unit has to be vented outside? Just trying to think which area of the shop we could put this thing. Is the cooling unit separate (does it take up more space than 6' x 7' footprint that you mentioned)?

Are there any websites where I can do some research about lasers in general? I'm somewhat familiar with what they can do but don't know much about the specs and differences in units.

Thank you!

You could fit the chiller inside the base of the machine I think. It's breadbox sized.

I did a ton of research and went with the company I mentioned. King Rabbit and Gweikie are good too, I hear. I preferred the features of the Bodor... like the big, clear top cover. Some have weenie little viewing ports. I didn't get a motorized table on mine in spite of dire warnings from other laser users. I find the fixed table just fine in practice. I just raise and lower the head to focus. Takes seconds. I figured I could add a motorized table later if I wanted.

I bought the machine through the Bodor site on Alibaba.com Just log in and have a chat with one of the sales agents. I was very pleased with Michelle but they have 10 or 12 in the department.

I had a logistics company in Halifax look after the shipping and customs stuff. I was advised by many not to let the Chinese handle the shipping.

Adrian

 

[signmeup]

For a smaller machine Trotec is the one to have for speed on engraving. They are a bit pricey though

How fast does mine engrave?

Adrian

 

[GB2]

Here's something interesting in the laser market, I'd really like to hear what somebody who knows more about lasers than me has to say about it:

https://glowforge.com/


Here's another import laser product that has a good reputation and operates in a unique manner:

http://aplazer.com/

 

[fixtureman]

The Trotec speedy 300 max engraving speed is 355 CM a second more than twice as fast as a Chinese laser. There is a long discussion on the Glowforge on the Sawmill Creek forum most there say that it will be a fire hazard waiting to happen as it has a plastic case and the software is cloud based so if you don't have internet od lose it during a cut it won't work.

 

[Baz]

Interesting thread

Nice machine Adrian.

I have a Gravograph system. If things keep going the way they are .. I might be looking at getting a second unit.

Built like a tank and has been running solid for over three years now.

Love lasers

 

[signmeup]

Wow... those are fast machines Baz! 100 inches/second!

I expect all these speed figures are how fast the head moves. When engraving the head has to accelerate to as fast as it can go and then decelerate back to zero and go back and repeat the process over and over until the design is complete. I doubt the figures are very meaningful. A better test would be to say how long it took in seconds to engrave a 1" square or some such.

Imagine engraving a design that was the full size of the table verses one that is 1cm square. I'm betting the speed per square inch is far greater on the full table sized design where the machine can get up to speed more often. I'd sure like to see a laser accelerate to 100 inches per second and back to zero in 1cm!

If you want to engrave fast check out galvo lasers.

Adrian

 

[Baz]

Don't know how fast my system is, i would have to check. I think those speeds are for newer models.

Laser quality sure beats what i was getting from a supplier (don't remember what system they were running though)

 

[richsweeney]

I am looking to buy my first laser, I have looked around, and am thinking of this one from Full spectrum.

https://fslaser.com/Products/View/7

Currently we do not have any demand for this, but we think it is a good next move. We do offset printing, digital printing and have 2 hp latex printers.

Thanks!

 

[SignManiac]

Do your research. I've read about complaints on the full spectrum machines, check into rabbit laser. Good support. That's where I bought mine.

 

[Devon19515]

I am also considering a CNC/Router/Laser/ect..
Would it be possible to get a Router set up and swap out the spindle for a laser on a case by case basis?
Has this been done and where would I get a laser that will attach to a CNC head-unit.
I would like the versatility of both worlds but am wary of dishing out $(insert ridiculous sum here).00
Any guidance from the Masters of Signs101?

 

[PrintItBig]

I am also considering a CNC/Router/Laser/ect..
Would it be possible to get a Router set up and swap out the spindle for a laser on a case by case basis?
Has this been done and where would I get a laser that will attach to a CNC head-unit.
I would like the versatility of both worlds but am wary of dishing out $(insert ridiculous sum here).00
Any guidance from the Masters of Signs101?

I don't think this would be possible. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think there's quite a bit more to it than just bolting a laser to a CNC. If you want router plus laser then Eurolaser and Blackman and White offer solutions for this but they're not cheap.

 

[PrintItBig]

Has anyone got any experience with Thunder Laser?

 

[signmeup]

I am also considering a CNC/Router/Laser/ect..
Would it be possible to get a Router set up and swap out the spindle for a laser on a case by case basis?
Has this been done and where would I get a laser that will attach to a CNC head-unit.
I would like the versatility of both worlds but am wary of dishing out $(insert ridiculous sum here).00
Any guidance from the Masters of Signs101?

I think the router would shake the crap out of the laser tube, mirrors etc. not to mention the dust.

My laser was under $5000 delivered to my door. I suspect you could buy a router for even less. I'd get one of each.

Adrian