What to buy

[David Brandt]

Hi,

I'm completely new to laser cutters, however, I'm part of a robotics research group and we are considering to buy a laser cutter/engraver since we think it would be a nice addition to our other prototyping tools.

The problem is that none of us has any real experience with laser cutting and knowing which cutter to get is difficult.

Our main requirements are:
Easy to use (ideally it should be usable even by our students)
Accurate
Able to cut at least 5mm acrylic and preferably a lot of other stuff
Not to expensive
Speed is less important since we mainly do single prototypes

Machines we are considering at the moment are VersaLaser and Epilog Zing but any comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Scott Shepherd]

The Epilog Zing, Universal Versalaser, and the Trotec Rayjet will all do what you want. All are easy to use, all, with the right wattage laser tube will cut what you said, and all will be accurate.

[David Brandt]

Thanks.

Next question... How do you find the right wattage? I suppose more is better, but how do you estimate how much you need?

[Scott Shepherd]

The sales rep can help you with that. You need to tell them what you want to cut and they can tell you what you need. More is always better, but it's also always more expensive. So get as much as you can afford and learn to work with what you got. Also, clear acrylic cuts better since it's clear, than colored acrylics, so if you want to cut 5mm black, make sure you tell them you want to cut 5mm black acrylic.

Also know that the prices quoted by all of those people are negotiable, so try and upgrade to the next size up in wattage for the same price quoted ;)

[David Fairfield]

You are going to love this tool. The laser is a robot lab assistant, perfect for a robotics lab! :D

Since you mention speed is not a priority, you can get away with lower wattage and therefore a lower price. In many ways, wattage = speed. With a puny 35watts I can still cut 1/4 plywood, plexi etc, on a single pass but its slow.

Think about what thickness and type of material you'll be using a lot, and have it demoed for you by the sales rep.

Dave

[Dan Hintz]

You need to tell them what you want to cut and they can tell you what you need.
And then come back here to verify what they said. There are some top quality reps out there, and then there are some real dogs...

[Richard Rumancik]

If you are buying a new system, don't go by any written specs. If you want to cut 5mm acrylic, bring some acrylic and a part file (probably CorelDraw) and get a demonstration. I usually interpret the question to mean "single pass cutting" while others may interpret it as "taking as many passes as needed to get through." I'll accept that 2-pass is a valid method in some cases, but more than 2 is generally not practicable.

[Michael Hunter]

Acrylic is one of the easier materials to cut, so not a particularly good test when trying to choose a machine.

Plywood is a different matter - it is very variable (even within a single sheet) and the glue that holds it together makes a huge difference to the way it cuts in a laser.
On my 60W machine I can cut 1/4" thick interior grade birch 3-ply cleanly, but 3/8" 5-ply ends up with charred edges, making for a big cleanup job afterwards.
I suspect that with more power (100 - 120W), 1/4 exterior grade (BWP "Boiling Water Proof") ply would become a possibilty, but with only 60W, 1/8" is the max and that is messy because of the phonolic glue.

So take along some ply as a tryout material and make the salesman work for his living!

(I gues that you realise that CO2 lasers don't do metals or glassfibre reinforced materials).

[Martin Boekers]

Dave if you are considering buying hit one of these trade shows and bring some samples of what you want to cut.
They will do that for you.

ARA in Vegas next month, NBM at a few different cities and dates.

[Robert Walters]

Hi David,

Where are you located on the planet?
I might have a couple of ideas for ya.

[David Brandt]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the comments.

I've setup a meeting with a local VersaLaser dealer, so I'm going to bring along a lot of stuff for him to cut.

Robert: I'm located in Denmark.

[Mike Null]

I agree with Scott that Trotec Rayjet should be in the mix.

[Michael Hunter]

Some good deals on the Rayjet in the UK.
Surprisingly cheap to buy outright and a pay-as-you-use thing which avoids the capital outlay.