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View Full Version : Affordable laser engraving machine for mainly raster photo engraving



Rhonda Guasta
01-24-2014, 9:27 PM
Hello everyone!

This is my first post and as a newbie I really need some good advice. I am looking to start a home based laser engraving business in the near future. I do not have a lot of start up capital, so as much as I would like one of the 'top 3' units from Universal, Epilog or Trotec, I can't afford them. Are there other brands/models users would recommend for mainly raster photo engraving on wood to start with?

Dan Hintz
01-24-2014, 9:33 PM
If you can't afford the "top 3", then you're back to Chinese machines. You don't say what size you need, but anything larger than the desktop units sold on eBay will likely do you fine. 40W would be a minimum, but I'd expect the next size up from the desktop units probably use a 60W for starters and go up from there.

If you want to save some money and import yourself, plenty of threads here that detail the process. If you want to throw a little more money at the problem for a more simple transaction, you need to find a domestic reseller... I recommend Rabbit Laser as the owner has a very good track record here, but there are other shops that might be just as useful. I have a shop or two that I highly recommend staying away from, but you can PM me for those as any thread I mention them in starts a fight and it eventually gets locked.

Rhonda Guasta
01-24-2014, 10:53 PM
Thanks Dan, I will check out Rabbit Laser. I was thinking an engraving size of 24"x12" with 40-60 watt would be a good first machine. Any advise for shopping on ebay safely?

Robert Tepper
01-24-2014, 11:07 PM
A Trotec Rayjet with a 60 watt laser and 17 x 29 " table can be purchased for a reasonable price. Check with you distributor. Purchase the machine instead of leasing. When you purchase with a bank loan, you can pay a few extra dollars every month and pay down your principal. With a lease, you are locked into a contract and you have to make every payment.

I am very happy that I spent the extra dollars to have more power and more table size.

Roert

Rhonda Guasta
01-27-2014, 5:07 PM
Hi Robert,

How did you find their customer service at Trotec?

Thanks,
Rhonda

Rhonda Guasta
01-27-2014, 5:14 PM
The Rayjet looks good, but as far as payment, I was thinking of leasing so I can write off the payments. What do you think?

Jerome Stanek
01-27-2014, 5:58 PM
You could also check Automation Technologies they have some units in your size

Clyde Baumwell
01-28-2014, 6:16 PM
Does anyone know if the power rating of the CO2 cartridges are comparable between a traditional laser (i.e. ULS or Epilog) and the water cooled/air cooled "Chinese" type? In other words...is a 50Watt output the same on both types of cartridges? The machines that use the water cooling seem less expensive.

Dan Hintz
01-28-2014, 7:13 PM
Does anyone know if the power rating of the CO2 cartridges are comparable between a traditional laser (i.e. ULS or Epilog) and the water cooled/air cooled "Chinese" type? In other words...is a 50Watt output the same on both types of cartridges? The machines that use the water cooling seem less expensive.

Wattage, yes (generally speaking), but that's not the whole story. Beam quality plays a huge role, and you simply cannot get as high a quality of beam out of a DC tube as an RF one. A bit of hyperbole, but it's akin to hitting a nail with a 2-pound hammer and a 2-pound board... same weight, but one is more efficient at driving the nail.

Dave Sheldrake
01-28-2014, 9:01 PM
Dan's right, the beam quality of an RF source is far better than the beam of a DC source. In general a 30 watt RF will perform the same as a 50 - 60 watt DC laser unless you use SLC tubes or one of the other very high end glass tubes.

cheers

Dave

Bill Stearns
04-27-2014, 7:03 PM
RONDA -
Starting a home based engraving business, uh? (I have one.) Boy, are you in for an adventure! It is, indeed, a fun and interesting way to make money. I fell into the business 'bout 8 years ago. Bought a new Epilog for 'round $18,000 I believe it was. (getting started it took 'while to pay off, but the day does come.) The fellows are right 'bout your buying as much power as you can afford. Any less and I would've missed out on all kinds of sales opportunities. Tech stuff aside: Be ready for the fact that 'minute you register as a "business" the price of just 'bout everything goes up! (i.e. insurance, telephone bills, trash disposal, city permits for signs and banners, the cost of acquiring customers thru advertising; maybe, a website? (all kinds of helpful start-up advice to be found by Googling.) Guess that's my 2-cents. I wish you the best with your decision.

Bill

Scott Shepherd
04-27-2014, 8:53 PM
Are there other brands/models users would recommend for mainly raster photo engraving on wood to start with?

Hi Rhonda, welcome to the forum! I'll raise an issue that you might want to consider. Speed. You said you want to engrave photos. Unfortunately, photos take more time than most anything else. Selecting a Chinese machine, you're starting with a slower machine for engraving. The issue that you'll face is that it can be difficult to compete on photos with a slower machine. For instance, if you have a 12" x 12" photo, it could take you quite a long time to engrave. You'll have a hard time selling it for the time you have in it. A faster machine will do it faster and you'll make more money, or make the same money in less time.

I know of our 2 lasers, one will engrave a 12" x 12" tile in 40 minutes or so, and one will do it in 20 minutes or less. At 40 minutes, it prices it out of the market, at 20 minutes, we're making good money and it's affordable to the customer.

Just something to think about. Saving money up front might cost you more than you save.