Advice for a new boy!

[Ralph Balloqui]

Hi, What a friendly forum!:) I've been looking to invest in a laser engraver for a while now. Next week I am having a demonstration of a 40W machine from a company called suregrave. (versalaser) What I would like to know is how high a wattage do I need to go. I would be engraving glass, wood, leather and anodised aluminium. Also, I have looked at a laserpro Mercury (40W)does anyone have any opinions on this machine or laserpro in general. Any other advice for a new boy would be gratefully received.
Thanks
Ralph:confused:
(Portsmouth, England)

[Dan Starr]

If your going to be doing a lot of glass I would go for more power. One of the reasons I went with a 65w over a 35w was that I didn't like the way the 35w performed on glass.

[Frank Corker]

Hi Ralph, firstly welcome to the forum, you should find pretty much everything you are looking for here. I would suggest if you go through the previous postings and you will find that this question has been answered time and time again. Believe me when I say it will be a good place to start.

I'm in UK myself up on the Wirral. I personally chose an Epilog, I looked at Versalaser but I have to be bluntly honest and say I wasn't impressed. There are a number of choices that you can make on different types of machine, all will do pretty much the same thing. Reliability and after sales are your most important considerations. For power settings, 40w will be a good start, what you need to consider is size of the laser bed and what you size stuff you hope to engrave. Like everything, you will have to sacrifice one or both on the costs of the machine.

I would recommend that before you buy, you ring up/call to attend the Identify.co.uk they are Epilog and based in Bristol which isn't that far from you. The staff are excellent and will make you more than welcome to demonstrate the machines and their power/options. The cost is also a very good reason to enquire there. They are very reasonable.

Good luck with whichever you choose, this site is the most accomodating for everyone who joins and a wealth of information to all. Please read through previous posts as it will also show discussions on reliabilities of a lot of the machines and the aftersales they received.

[Mike Null]

Well, we are here to inform, but I'm afraid we might confuse. Unlike Dan, I believe 25 watts is entirely adequate for glass and the other things you mentioned doing.

Naturally, I would buy more power if money were no object simply because it opens up the options of cutting wood and plastic faster and easier and speeds up rastering on many jobs.

[Rodne Gold]

I also agree with the 25w thing, I chose another path , instead of going for a few high powered lasers, I chose multiple lower wattage ones.
I believe 2x 25w's will make you 2x the money of a single 50W machine. Most of your engraving , which is the most time consuming in the fields you have chosen to go into , can be accomplished at the fastest speed and full power , so actual speed of the machine when raster engraving will be your most relevant criteria with respect to your intended production.
The Laserpro mercury is an old machine , its not speedy but its a real workhorse.
The spirit is a far better model in many ways and I would rather go for a 30w spirit than a 40w mercury if they are the same price. Thruput on a spirit is about 1.6x the same as the same wattage mercury.
The laserpro machines are pretty good , we have 6 of them and have had relatively little problems barring tubes , and the tubes arent made by laserpro but by either Synrad or Deos. We found the DEOS tubes exceptionally unreliable and would suggest that if you do want to go Laserpro , stick with a Synrad tube.
Warrantee and support are the most important of all. Especially on the tube , a new one can cost megabucks.

[Ralph Balloqui]

Thank you Chaps.:)
I have just looked at identify.co.uk and will see if I can arrange a demo.
The trouble with having minimal experience is being at the mercy of sales reps. From looking at other threads Epilog seem to have some happy customers is this the general consensus?
Thanks again,
Ralph

[Stephen Beckham]

Ralph - like Frank, I'd like to welcome you to the Creek first off....

Next, I think you are in a good position. You've got two companies with two products competing for your sale. Check them both out and listen to the sales pitch. If you hear more about what the other guy's laser doesn't do, kindly remind the salesman to sale his product and not bash the other. I'd venture to say either company you go with will give you a good machine - they can't stay in business selling crap. SO most laser providers are doing good with their product.

The question comes from the customer service. If someone stands there bashing other products - are they more concerned with selling and supporting their product or are they more concerned with making excuses and diverting question by pointing fingers at the other guy? Which type would be willing to stand behind a repair versus giving excuses why it's not working? Which type would be more likely to tell you that the laser is fine, it's just you and you'll get better with experience versus helping you understand your mistakes...

If you get two good salesman - you've got the hard part - if you get a bad one in there, it makes it a bit easier to go with the guy who seem more supportive. Take notes - pass them on to the Creek'rs to validate odd comments?

Steve (my salesman) became more of a friend than a salesman who still gives me advice from time to time....

Take your time and give it some good thought - Good Luck!

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Ralph
Like the rest welcome to the fourm
hope you have many happy returns
And YES I'm happy with my Epilog
But as said before Service is a lot of it
ken

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Ralph;
Welcome to the Creek- lots of great folks here who are more than willing to share and help.
I have a 60 watt Laserpro Mercury bought from Laserpro and have been totally satisfied with the machine and the Laserpro tech support. The machine is built like a tank and just keeps chugging away-replaced a focus probe which I destroyed cutting ebong-my fault. Great unit-knock on wood. Most of the others are equally good in their own way- check out the archives here for loads of do's and don'ts. Good Luck
Best regards;
George
LaserArts