daniel coyle
12-26-2012, 6:38 PM
I am buying a laser to bring my cork cutting in house. I have several questions after doing a lot of research. Need to be able to cut repetitive patterns in sheets of cork .25" thick or, ideally, two sheets on top of each other to improve productivity. So far:
I have cut .25 inch cork with a 100W kern pretty easily but couldn't cut fully with a 60W Universal on outsourced jobs.
Wondering if anyone out there has experience cutting cork and whether anyone knows if a 150W Reci tube would be likely to cut two layers of it (total thickness .5")
Secondly and more important, would like some feedback on best buy to make. Can't afford USA made. Looked at direct from China machines (Weike, Triumph, Shenhui, Thunder) and at US sales of Chinese machines (Rabbit, Hurricane, Legacy, Morntech, Camfive, Turnkey) I have limited laser experience but have done some valuable research on this and other forums as well as conversations with laser owners. Looking to best understand what to prioritize and looking to get recommendations and warnings about the machines I listed. Leaning toward buying a Weike because I have not gotten that much info on Triumph (though they are attractively less expensive) and because I did not see that Shenhui has FDA certification which, if true, would make it possibly a hassle to import to the USA? I feel I can save myself money going direct with a reputable Chinese company. Thoughts on these options???
So, thoughts on that and on prioritizing (how important is each one) the following features of the lasers:
Red Dot
Autofocus
water chiller
servo vs, stepper
dsp controller (is there a good or bad version of dsp or am i safe with anything that says dsp?)
software (is laser cut 5.3 good? any other stuff i should watch out for?)
Would i lose engraving capability if i bought a 150W instead of 100W?
does it matter that some machines weigh significantly different amounts? is that accurate, does it mean the machines are built better?
I know that is too many questions for one post but that is just where i am at. Any replies are very appreciated.
Dan
I have cut .25 inch cork with a 100W kern pretty easily but couldn't cut fully with a 60W Universal on outsourced jobs.
Wondering if anyone out there has experience cutting cork and whether anyone knows if a 150W Reci tube would be likely to cut two layers of it (total thickness .5")
Secondly and more important, would like some feedback on best buy to make. Can't afford USA made. Looked at direct from China machines (Weike, Triumph, Shenhui, Thunder) and at US sales of Chinese machines (Rabbit, Hurricane, Legacy, Morntech, Camfive, Turnkey) I have limited laser experience but have done some valuable research on this and other forums as well as conversations with laser owners. Looking to best understand what to prioritize and looking to get recommendations and warnings about the machines I listed. Leaning toward buying a Weike because I have not gotten that much info on Triumph (though they are attractively less expensive) and because I did not see that Shenhui has FDA certification which, if true, would make it possibly a hassle to import to the USA? I feel I can save myself money going direct with a reputable Chinese company. Thoughts on these options???
So, thoughts on that and on prioritizing (how important is each one) the following features of the lasers:
Red Dot
Autofocus
water chiller
servo vs, stepper
dsp controller (is there a good or bad version of dsp or am i safe with anything that says dsp?)
software (is laser cut 5.3 good? any other stuff i should watch out for?)
Would i lose engraving capability if i bought a 150W instead of 100W?
does it matter that some machines weigh significantly different amounts? is that accurate, does it mean the machines are built better?
I know that is too many questions for one post but that is just where i am at. Any replies are very appreciated.
Dan