Moss Gallo1
06-03-2013, 11:57 PM
Gentlemen,
Excellent forum. I have read through every thread related to Chinese lasers, fume scrubbers and cutting materials that emit chlorine.
Background: I am a cut & sew gear/apparel designer. I'm expanding my business to offer fabric laser cutting services for my clients. I would like to grow an additional customer base for engraving wood, plastic and marble to diversify income during the ups and downs of the apparel side of my business. I have been sending out the cutting work to others over the last two years (they use eurolaser & iLaserMarker). I have directly worked with Universal lasers and recently a Chinese made iLaserMarker CMA-1610 100W.
Can someone please point me in the right direction? I'm looking for a cost effective laser that has the following:
Budget of $15k for the laser (not including shipping but would be great if I could get it to my doorstep for under $15k).
Air tight enclosed cutting area (material I will be cutting has neoprene and creates hazardous hydrogen chloride gas).
Width to fit 62" wide material (I will be cutting neoprene coated nylon fabrics similar to what is used on zodiac boats and river rafting, regular nylon, poly and cotton fabrics).
Engrave and cut (I am willing to sacrifice cutting & engraving speed by using an 80W laser to be able to engrave materials like wood and marble to help diversify my avenues for revenue).
Solid network of users in USA and good manufacturing customer support.
The laser will go in my detached garage workshop in Dallas, TX (has a large wall mounted AC unit).
Ability to vent gases into a fume scrubber/exhaust system.
Optional - Dual laser heads.
Things I learned from reading the excellent posts on this forum (Please correct me if I'm wrong):
An 80W laser would allow me to be able to cut and engrave.
It is possible to make a cost effective fume scrubber.
Cutting materials that emit chlorine can rust/break a laser quickly (You need to coat the laser parts exposes to the gas. I am not clear on what these protective coatings are or how to apply them).
The edges on the wide lasers may not cut as clean as they do in the center of the cutting area because the laser output is reduced on the edges of wide laser beds (learned this from my current subcontractor using an iLaserMarker CMA-1610 100W).
Order spare parts for everything that could break.
Pay the extra money for the upgraded cooling system.
Buying Chinese can be a filled with may issues and delays but well worth it for the price savings on a lasers from solid manufacturers.
Shenhui has great support but can be troublesome from order to doorstep (demand lots of pictures during build and prior to shipment).
Weike has ok support and used to be a smooth process from order to doorstep with their old sales rep.
Use a shipping agent/broker.
I would like to buy a Shenhui but cannot find a laser that they offer with an airtight enclosed cutting area that is wide enough to fit my fabric (62" wide).
Thank you for reading
Excellent forum. I have read through every thread related to Chinese lasers, fume scrubbers and cutting materials that emit chlorine.
Background: I am a cut & sew gear/apparel designer. I'm expanding my business to offer fabric laser cutting services for my clients. I would like to grow an additional customer base for engraving wood, plastic and marble to diversify income during the ups and downs of the apparel side of my business. I have been sending out the cutting work to others over the last two years (they use eurolaser & iLaserMarker). I have directly worked with Universal lasers and recently a Chinese made iLaserMarker CMA-1610 100W.
Can someone please point me in the right direction? I'm looking for a cost effective laser that has the following:
Budget of $15k for the laser (not including shipping but would be great if I could get it to my doorstep for under $15k).
Air tight enclosed cutting area (material I will be cutting has neoprene and creates hazardous hydrogen chloride gas).
Width to fit 62" wide material (I will be cutting neoprene coated nylon fabrics similar to what is used on zodiac boats and river rafting, regular nylon, poly and cotton fabrics).
Engrave and cut (I am willing to sacrifice cutting & engraving speed by using an 80W laser to be able to engrave materials like wood and marble to help diversify my avenues for revenue).
Solid network of users in USA and good manufacturing customer support.
The laser will go in my detached garage workshop in Dallas, TX (has a large wall mounted AC unit).
Ability to vent gases into a fume scrubber/exhaust system.
Optional - Dual laser heads.
Things I learned from reading the excellent posts on this forum (Please correct me if I'm wrong):
An 80W laser would allow me to be able to cut and engrave.
It is possible to make a cost effective fume scrubber.
Cutting materials that emit chlorine can rust/break a laser quickly (You need to coat the laser parts exposes to the gas. I am not clear on what these protective coatings are or how to apply them).
The edges on the wide lasers may not cut as clean as they do in the center of the cutting area because the laser output is reduced on the edges of wide laser beds (learned this from my current subcontractor using an iLaserMarker CMA-1610 100W).
Order spare parts for everything that could break.
Pay the extra money for the upgraded cooling system.
Buying Chinese can be a filled with may issues and delays but well worth it for the price savings on a lasers from solid manufacturers.
Shenhui has great support but can be troublesome from order to doorstep (demand lots of pictures during build and prior to shipment).
Weike has ok support and used to be a smooth process from order to doorstep with their old sales rep.
Use a shipping agent/broker.
I would like to buy a Shenhui but cannot find a laser that they offer with an airtight enclosed cutting area that is wide enough to fit my fabric (62" wide).
Thank you for reading