First time laser buyer

[Andy Wingfield]

Wattage and table size for a first time laser buyer.

I realize this question answers would vary for many reason, one being what type of business is purchasing the equipment but I mean it to be a wide open question
In your opinion what is minimum size (engraving area) and wattage a first time laser buyer should purchase?

Regards,

Andy Wingfield
913-486-6341
Wanlaser

[Doug Griffith]

You're right, it is a wide open question. I would encourage anyone doing this type of research to spend some time and look through previous SMC threads.

Other than that, 12 x 24 has suited my needs most of the time. Bigger is better though.

[Andy Wingfield]

Hi Doug,

I am not asking the question so I can purchase a laser, this question is coming from a rep for a laser manufacturing company. The reason I initially was not very specific is I did not want to lead the conversation

Let's say the laser we are discussing is for a traditional engraving and awards shop which does some industrial marking also.

Thanks

Andy

[Stephen Beckham]

Andy,

I just answered in your other thread as well, but I'll tell you I went with a 12X24 bed 45 Watt system (Epilog Mini24). A week after I had it I started wishing I had went bigger. About six months later - I moved into a store that the larger wouldn't have fit very easily. Three years later, I have only had a couple jobs that I couldn't fit in the laser and I'm happy with the 12X24. I used to talk of my second laser and how big it was going to be, but now that reality has set in, I'm more likely to buy a ZING to take the backup roll. I don't buy very much that won't fit in the laser - most of the larger stuff is from customers bringing them in (Bows, Guns, Vases, Swords etc).

It's nice when they show that you can fit seventy-seven 8X10 plaques on the deck at the same time, but honestly, it's more work placing them and changing the text than it is to just have one burning while your editing the next. I've yet to have a job where I do more than one plaque exactly the same - I'm sure there are jobs where you need 18 plaques exactly alike, but I've yet to get it (currently got one prospect - I'll let you know how it turns out later). One of the Steve's or Brian can help with mail-merging names in, but I've never tried it which might allow loading several plaques at the same time.

Bottom line - I think you need to compare like systems. If you stick with 12X24, all the companies have one you can compare against the other.

[Doug Griffith]

Hi Doug,

I am not asking the question so I can purchase a laser, this question is coming from a rep for a laser manufacturing company. The reason I initially was not very specific is I did not want to lead the conversation

Let's say the laser we are discussing is for a traditional engraving and awards shop which does some industrial marking also.

Thanks

Andy
It's just one of those common questions... and in my opinion:

traditional engraving:
24 x 24 to allow for most custom items

awards shop:
12 x 24 would allow for most awards.

industrial marking:
as big as possible to allow for large runs of ganged up parts. Or just big parts.

If items are one-off, then the smaller machines would be OK. Quantities of items will benefit from larger machines.

Cheers,
Doug

[James Stokes]

I have 2 machines the first on has a 48 x 96 inch bed. The second one has a 20 x 32 inch bed. 99.9% can be done on the smaller table. I think that is the minimum size I would go though. I do a lot of stuff that is larger than 12 x 18.

[Larry Bratton]

I have a 24 x 36 bed with 40 watts. I have been grateful a few of times in the almost 2 years I have had it for the size. I have also wished for more power more times than I was grateful for the space on the bed. So, if I were to do it again, I would go with a smaller bed and say 60 watts or more if I could afford it. Most times I end up not engraving a whole laser bed of material anyway.

[Trevor Watson]

I run a Xenetech 13x25" 40w laser I guess one of the good things about have 13x25 is using multiple plates especially for trophie plates and badges. The XGW software that comes with the Laser has a nice little feature in it called Copy Input which essentially means you Design your first name plate / trophy plate then highlight the lines of text that will change from plate to plate select the text file with the lines of text in it eg name, date and what the award is and it will automatically generate a new plate for all the text you have so if you have a text file with 24 lines in it and you select 2 lines to be replaced per plate it will generate another 12 plates and Grid cut out the plates for you to if you want it.
Works great for multiple stamps too create the first stamp have all the details in a file let it auto generate the other 55 stamps and lay it out for you and grid cut out each stamp at the end .


Anyways just my 8Cents worth..

Trevor Watson

Xenetech XLT1325 Corel X3, X4 Photograv and round working attatchment

[Aleta Allen]

Andy,

Personally, I have found that my Min. Starting out would be 30 watts. I have more now and that is great, we always want more, but I think min. is 30. As for table bed, I have 18x30, but have been thinking about this lately. Some people will need a bigger bed for some things, I do a few things that the big bed is necessary. But, for the most part, I think a 12x24 bed is the min for most. Since plastic and other items we use regularly come in those as standard sizes, it is easier and cheaper to get these sizes. This is JMO. I also think that just as important to bed size and wattage there are a couple of other factors, such as the companies warranty, what expense you have in the warranty replacements, how they deal with your warranty and things like that. At this point those things are more important to me now while shopping for a new machine.

I currently have an aurora Xenetech 18x30 40 watt.

Good luck with your survey, I look forward to meeting you at Vegas!:)

Aleta