David Wingate
07-27-2018, 4:29 PM
Hello, SMC folks. I've been reading around here for a long time, and just wanted to thank everyone for all of the wisdom that you share.
tl;dr: I'd like to find a laser cutter capable of cutting paper with a very small kerf and minimal burning. I'm a hobbyist, so price is the driving concern. I'd like to know what folks recommend.
Long version: I'm a hobbyist looking to buy a laser cutter for small-volume art projects. I've been able to prototype my designs on a machine at work (ULS PLS 4.75, 75W, 2.0" optics), with excellent results. I think that machine has spoiled me! But now that I'm trying to sell my designs, I can't use that cutter any more. So I need to buy my own.
However, when I've started looking at machines that I can afford, I've been disappointed in the results. Tried FSL (45W) and BOSS (150W), but the kerf was too big and I lost all of the detail on the project. (Yes, it's super detailed - I'm trying to maintain features that are ~0.25mm).
As far as I can tell, this is because the kerf of any glass-tube machine will be too large. I measured the kerf of the FSL machine at 0.02", but I think I need something that's more like 0.01" (with the ULS, I was getting more like 0.009").
I've looked into the big manufacturers -- Trotec, Epilog, ULS -- and while I think their machines could probably do what I want, they're just too expensive for me. My budget is ideally $5-6k. Maybe I could stretch to $8k.
So, I have two questions:
1) What's the cheapest machine for highly detailed vector engraving, with small kerf? I'm assuming I need a metal tube. Since I'll only be cutting paper, I think wattage is not an issue. I don't need to cut thick material, etc. This seems like the simplest possible case for a cutter!
2) Are there any brands I should be looking at that are capable of this kind of detailed work?
Would love any thoughts folks may have. Thanks in advance!
D
PS - I have attached several example images of what I've been able to achieve on the ULS machine. In all the photos, each circle is 35mm in diameter. In the first few images (with the penny), you can see some nicely detailed cuts + engraving (from the ULS) side-by-side with another test on a worse machine (note the lack of detail + charring). I included some additional images just to show the flow of the project - small circles are stacked together and encased in glass to create miniature ornaments that are about 1.5" in diameter.
tl;dr: I'd like to find a laser cutter capable of cutting paper with a very small kerf and minimal burning. I'm a hobbyist, so price is the driving concern. I'd like to know what folks recommend.
Long version: I'm a hobbyist looking to buy a laser cutter for small-volume art projects. I've been able to prototype my designs on a machine at work (ULS PLS 4.75, 75W, 2.0" optics), with excellent results. I think that machine has spoiled me! But now that I'm trying to sell my designs, I can't use that cutter any more. So I need to buy my own.
However, when I've started looking at machines that I can afford, I've been disappointed in the results. Tried FSL (45W) and BOSS (150W), but the kerf was too big and I lost all of the detail on the project. (Yes, it's super detailed - I'm trying to maintain features that are ~0.25mm).
As far as I can tell, this is because the kerf of any glass-tube machine will be too large. I measured the kerf of the FSL machine at 0.02", but I think I need something that's more like 0.01" (with the ULS, I was getting more like 0.009").
I've looked into the big manufacturers -- Trotec, Epilog, ULS -- and while I think their machines could probably do what I want, they're just too expensive for me. My budget is ideally $5-6k. Maybe I could stretch to $8k.
So, I have two questions:
1) What's the cheapest machine for highly detailed vector engraving, with small kerf? I'm assuming I need a metal tube. Since I'll only be cutting paper, I think wattage is not an issue. I don't need to cut thick material, etc. This seems like the simplest possible case for a cutter!
2) Are there any brands I should be looking at that are capable of this kind of detailed work?
Would love any thoughts folks may have. Thanks in advance!
D
PS - I have attached several example images of what I've been able to achieve on the ULS machine. In all the photos, each circle is 35mm in diameter. In the first few images (with the penny), you can see some nicely detailed cuts + engraving (from the ULS) side-by-side with another test on a worse machine (note the lack of detail + charring). I included some additional images just to show the flow of the project - small circles are stacked together and encased in glass to create miniature ornaments that are about 1.5" in diameter.