western lasers

[Noah Grant]

As far as western lasers go, are Universal, Epilog, trotec and laserpro all along the same quality when comparing like for like year for year? They all seem to be around the same price

[Scott Shepherd]

Not really, no. Each has it's strengths and weaknesses, but they aren't the same quality. Some are built better, some have simple, easy to use drivers, some have more complex drivers that allow you to do more things. As far as end results, there's probably not much difference. As far as support, probably not much difference. User workflow? Quite different.

[Mike Null]

Laserpro is a Taiwan made product of pretty good quality but support is not on a par with the others.

[David Somers]

Noah,

Folks might be better able to answer your question if you can tell us what you are thinking of using it for and how?
Will you be mostly engraving? Cutting? What materials? Using it for light or serious hobby work? Using it as part of a suite of tools in a larger businness? Using it as your sole tool in a laser focused business? In a production environment where throughput is very important? Using it in a less time sensitive environment where speed of jobs and repetition is not the key thing? Will you have one person operating the machine? Will you have several folks doing it who may or may not be that strongly invested in knowing how everything works?

Any details you can give will help Scott and Mike and others compare the machines better for you.

Dave

[Noah Grant]

Hi Dave
I am ready to purchase which is why I am asking so I appreciate all your help. My main business will be engraving logos and pictures on wood boxes. Speed would be good for high production but not necessary. However since i am making the large investment I figured I should get as much bang for the buck . I may be incorrect in my thinking as I continue reading

[Ross Moshinsky]

I've demo'd the big three (ULS, Epilog, and Trotec/Rayjet) recently. I did not look at the Laser Pro because they simply don't have the resources the other three have.

Build Quality: Trotec, Rayjet, ULS=Epilog
Features: Trotec = ULS, Rayjet = Epilog
Driver/Software: ULS, Trotec, Epilog, Rayjet
Price: Rayjet, Trotec = Epilog = ULS

I don't think you can make a wrong decision buying any of the machines. What I will say is keep your eye on the used market. There are deals out there. It's important to know your numbers before looking at used machines because it's also very easy to overpay.

[Robert Tepper]

Be sure to tell Trotec that you are a member of SMC. They give a nice price break for that.

I own a Trotec and I can speak from experience on that.

Robert

[Jiten Patel]

Hi Noah,

Have you thought about getting a galvo for the job if speed is an issue. It will massively increase your production times if all you are using the machine for is engraving wood.

[John Bion]

Hi Noah,

Have you thought about getting a galvo for the job if speed is an issue. It will massively increase your production times if all you are using the machine for is engraving wood.

+1 for Jit’s comment. I do not have one yet, but seems a logical way to go for engraving, especially given your scenario.
Regards, John

[Dave Sheldrake]

+2 for Jit's suggestion.

Galvo is the only way to go for volume engraving

cheers

dave

[Mike Null]

While I hope a galvo unit is in my future I believe it may be too limited area wise to fit your needs. You need to evaluate that carefully.

[John Bion]

While I hope a galvo unit is in my future I believe it may be too limited area wise to fit your needs. You need to evaluate that carefully.

It is the small work area of the galvo that I would find restrictive in many circumstances.

[David Somers]

Noah,

Just curious. What would you consider an acceptable time to engrave a box? That might help determine if a Galvo is needed or if a different machine would work for you and be more versatile in terms of size.

Dave

[Dave Sheldrake]

They do go pretty big Mike, my Vytek was 1600mm x 1600mm but relied on a moving bed to reposition the work in 400mm square blocks, It had what looked like a HUGE 1.8m lens but in fact was just a flashy cover for all the optics, the actual lens was a std 520mm.
The other problem with some galvos is the loss of resolution at the edge of the working area, a 300 x 300 work area for example usually means an effective work area of 275mm ish x 275mm ish running an F-theta of 425mm.

Must admit though, speed wise...9,000 reliable mm's per second was mind bending :)

cheers

Dave

[Jiten Patel]

You can get a 3-axis galvo head which allows an area of around 850mm x 850mm or larger depending on budget.

[Dave Sheldrake]

You can get a 3-axis galvo head which allows an area of around 850mm x 850mm or larger depending on budget.

serious $$$$ Jit ;)

cheers

Dave

[matthew knott]

Unfortunately due to the inherently larger spot size of a co2 (compared to yag or fiber) to get good quality engraving you will be forced to used a fairly short focal lens, we don't go any bigger than a 140mm lens, so you get a very limited marking area (100mmx100mm) even then the marking is going to much better on a conventional XY style laser. Also unless you have an extremely powerfull laser you will never get near running at 9000mm/second, to be honest we dont ever go much above 1000mm/sec mostly we run at 3-400mm sec.
CO2 Galvos are good for 'some' applications, but something like the trotec will probably do 'all' applications all be it a little slower.
Make sure you get samples run with the lens you are buying, its like comparing apples and oranges co2 vs galvo with a co2 laser. Caveat Emptor