Is this a good laser engraver?

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Status
Not open for further replies.
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
I too am looking for a machine, but I think the technology is still new enough and I am not certian I want to deal with China for repairs and technical issues. I would keep saving the pennies dimes and dollars for a US made unit.
 
Wow.. Scary thought.. Risk $4000 on a machine from a buyer with only 27 feedback and with a description in REALLY broken english?
 
Jared,

From what little I know, you need a unit with appropriate power and preferably a rotary attachment to work on pens. I definitely would save for a unit with manufacturer's support.
 
Stay away from the Chinese lasers for now. Most all reports say that may are not operable out of the box. Some have broken glass laser tubes from poor packing and some guys are even ordering extra tubes with the purchase in case. Most of the good tubes last a fraction of the hours that US laser do. Another reason some order extra tubes.

There will probably be a time when they are safe to buy, buy NOT NOW. There is a long post on cnczone site for hobby cnc guys. There are a bunch of horror stories on there and a couple of guys that have never got their machines running. Of course a couple of guys are doing okay, but it took them months when they have trouble. Software and drivers can also be a problem.

I paid $9,000 a couple of years ago for a rebuilt machine with rotary attachment. You don't need the rotary for lines of text, but I use mine to add art work from the lower barrel to the top. I've also done a couple on a white synthetic so that it looks like scrimshaw. I bought mine from usedlasers.com in Wisc. A great family business, great people.
 
I got mine from usedlasers.com as well. They are good at figuring out issues and helping you solve them should they arise also. That's something the Chinese lasers would be lacking. It's a great price for them, but it is quite risky, especially if you don't know your way around electronics, troubleshooting, or computer to machine linkup issues. $4000 for a 60 watt laser makes it darn close to making it worth the risk though.
 
I just looked at the Epilog site. Just out of curiosity. what difference does the wattage make? I would assume depth of cut it can make but that is only my guess. What would be the min wattage needed for doing pens?
 
You can cut deeper and/or faster with more wattage. A pen might take something like 25 watts. The advantage of a smaller laser is that they often have a finer spot size.
 
Bruce, I'm not sure about a smaller laser giving a smaller spot. Pretty sure that is all done with the focusing lense. I have a 2" lens and that gives a .005" spot, and a 1 1/2" lense and that is supposed to give .003" spot. Never measured them to make sure:) As a general statement, 25 watt lasers are for simple engraving in easy burning materials (cork, wood, veneer, paper, cloth..... Machines above that are for higher production and for cutting thick material. If you wanted to cut 1/2" wood, or plexiglas you would need something like 75 watts. Now that I'm guessing about, cause that's a price I can't even think about affording. Well, for just having fun in the basement anyway. The laser engraving business would be a tough one I think. For some reason, $5 a pen is about all I can charge. Now I've had two jobs of 100 pens each and that was a money maker. But that's only been twice. You should get a subscription to A&E trade journal. That's a magazine for Awards and Engraving Professionals. Subscriptions are free (if you tell them you are a business of course) and they have great articles on laser engravers, and software. It seems the most popular software is CorelDraw. After a bit you will realize that software is 90% and the laser is 10%. It will take some experience to learn your settings, but after that it's really just a dot matrix printer that uses an light beam instead of ink. Now setting up the graphic, outlining images for cutting, importing bad photographs and modifying them, now that takes talent.
 
My 120 watt beam starts around 3/8" diameter, so goes down to around .007" with my 2" lens. I don't know how many different sizes of output beams there are for the most used lasers, but it follows that smaller beams might start around 1/4" or so and maybe smaller in lower wattage lasers. In theory, they should end up pretty small with good optics. I used to use a 1500 watt laser, which had a beam about the size of a quarter. It would focus down to about .030" or so. I wish our low powered lasers would go through metal. [|)]
 
I must also say that if you can't afford new, that "used lasers dot com" is someone else to consider. I only got into pen turning because of the research I was doing into laser engraving.
 
Jarred ... be sure and relish the wisdom stated here in this entire thread about the Chinese laser. In short, stay state side if you want any type of service to help in the advent you have any type of problems ... and problems only begin the moment you break the seal and start to setup your unit.

The Epilog units are excellent, costly for a hobby setup,but hen there are the used units. Watch Craigslist and definitely talk with the good folks over at usedlasers.com and give them a cal and talk with them about your intended use. You will earn a lot from them and the sales folks at Epilog.

Did you get any information from Epilog? They will send you a beautiful laser engraved Aztec calendar in their information kit and it definitely is something to enjoy and study.
 
I could see me owning a laser engraver one day but now the technology is too new and costly. If its like computer systems, the price should go down considerably in the next decade.
 
Dan, if it is for you like it is for me, the price goes down the moment I get home ... and a newer model with loads of improvements and "freebies" is always offered the very next day ... and I am 200 miles round trip from where I got mine.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom