Scott Shepherd
02-24-2008, 11:08 AM
In an effort to open up some discussion about this, I thought I'd post a few of my thoughts and welcome anyone else to add to this thread in hopes of allowing us all to better help those in search of a new laser.
So,what laser should I buy? That's the question most all of us have asked someone else during our laser shopping experience. More often than not, that question leads to people taking sides and offering up “my machine is the best” type discussions. I believe it's a question that should, more often than not, be answered by saying “I have no idea because I don't know what you do or plan to do with it”. Shouldn't that be the answer we all give?
It's like buying a car. If I ask what car should I buy, I'm sure the responses would be “You should buy a Honda, I've had one for 15 years and it has 200,000 miles on it and I've never even changed the oil”, or “You should be a Hyundai because it costs less than a Toyota and still gets you to work”. How can you recommend a car when you don't know what my driving habits or needs are? Perhaps I am a Realtor and I sell million dollar homes. A Hyundai probably wouldn't be the best choice for me in that case. Perhaps I'm a single person who needs to drive 90 miles to work every day, all highway. In that case, something that gets 50 miles per gallon might be a good choice. Maybe my situation calls for a diesel powered engine. Maybe it's gas powered. Maybe Fuel Cell. Factor all that in and you still don't know what my budget is for a new car. Oh, and let's not leave out the whole “Buy American” factor that some will certainly bring up. Maybe I don't need a car, a truck would be better for my situation.
Without all that data it's just about impossible to give me a recommendation that truly fits me, isn't it? I'd venture to say lasers are the same way.
What laser should I buy?
I have no idea. What's your plan? What do you plan to do with it? Will you use it full time or will this be a part time job for you? What will you make? Will you be a job shop, cutting anything that comes in, or specializing in burning photos into marble? What size parts do you plan on burning? What's your budget? What are your expectations? That alone is a great place to start.
What are your expectations? Do you expect the machine to run out of the box? Do you expect if it isn't working properly that someone comes and repairs it? Do you expect to call a phone number and have parts flown in overnight? Do you expect to be dealing with a company that has a long history, which in turn, can translate into a skilled technical support staff? Do you expect to have to repair the machine on your own? Do you expect to have to troubleshoot it yourself? Will you be making a large quantity of parts where speed is very important? Or will you do mostly one off jobs where speed is not as critical?
Those are all valid questions, I believe, to begin the process of selecting a laser.
With a host of options available with Chinese machines starting at a few thousand dollars up to the high end machines costing $30,000-$50,000 (and more), we need to know more than “I want to know what laser to buy”. We've witnessed people buying the low end machines and working very hard to figure them out and keep them running, while others with the same machine just turn it on and it runs. So how handy are you? Do you know which end of a screwdriver to hold? If not, then you really need to look at service playing a large role in your purchase.
What's your budget? That could easily be a thread in itself. If you're budget is $5,000 then you're probably going to be quite limited in your choices. The person looking for something to make a little extra money on the side will certainly have a very different budget than someone who's running a laser full time in a retail environment. In one case, if the laser isn't the top of the line, then you can deal with it, in the other case, if you can't do quality work fast and accurate, then you'll lose the work to the guy who can.
Most all of us have very different plans and ideas. I cut just about anything I can put in the laser, while I know people who have never had anything but wood in their laser. We all have different experience levels as well. A stay at home Mom who's trying to run a side business probably doesn't want to hear “Now solder that new board in”, while the retired electrical system engineer welcomes those words and thrives off of pulling a machine down to that level.
My belief is that the question shouldn't be “what laser should I buy”, but rather it should start by telling us what your EXPECTATIONS of the machine are, once you get it. That's a good place to start, and from there, the dialog should lean more towards what you plan to do with once you do have it installed.
There really is no answer to that simple question. Without more data, we're all just guessing, aren't we?
Just my two cents worth on the topic. I think it's unfair to all of us to be asked that question without knowing anything else about your plans, your budget, your goals, etc.
So, what car should I buy? :)
So,what laser should I buy? That's the question most all of us have asked someone else during our laser shopping experience. More often than not, that question leads to people taking sides and offering up “my machine is the best” type discussions. I believe it's a question that should, more often than not, be answered by saying “I have no idea because I don't know what you do or plan to do with it”. Shouldn't that be the answer we all give?
It's like buying a car. If I ask what car should I buy, I'm sure the responses would be “You should buy a Honda, I've had one for 15 years and it has 200,000 miles on it and I've never even changed the oil”, or “You should be a Hyundai because it costs less than a Toyota and still gets you to work”. How can you recommend a car when you don't know what my driving habits or needs are? Perhaps I am a Realtor and I sell million dollar homes. A Hyundai probably wouldn't be the best choice for me in that case. Perhaps I'm a single person who needs to drive 90 miles to work every day, all highway. In that case, something that gets 50 miles per gallon might be a good choice. Maybe my situation calls for a diesel powered engine. Maybe it's gas powered. Maybe Fuel Cell. Factor all that in and you still don't know what my budget is for a new car. Oh, and let's not leave out the whole “Buy American” factor that some will certainly bring up. Maybe I don't need a car, a truck would be better for my situation.
Without all that data it's just about impossible to give me a recommendation that truly fits me, isn't it? I'd venture to say lasers are the same way.
What laser should I buy?
I have no idea. What's your plan? What do you plan to do with it? Will you use it full time or will this be a part time job for you? What will you make? Will you be a job shop, cutting anything that comes in, or specializing in burning photos into marble? What size parts do you plan on burning? What's your budget? What are your expectations? That alone is a great place to start.
What are your expectations? Do you expect the machine to run out of the box? Do you expect if it isn't working properly that someone comes and repairs it? Do you expect to call a phone number and have parts flown in overnight? Do you expect to be dealing with a company that has a long history, which in turn, can translate into a skilled technical support staff? Do you expect to have to repair the machine on your own? Do you expect to have to troubleshoot it yourself? Will you be making a large quantity of parts where speed is very important? Or will you do mostly one off jobs where speed is not as critical?
Those are all valid questions, I believe, to begin the process of selecting a laser.
With a host of options available with Chinese machines starting at a few thousand dollars up to the high end machines costing $30,000-$50,000 (and more), we need to know more than “I want to know what laser to buy”. We've witnessed people buying the low end machines and working very hard to figure them out and keep them running, while others with the same machine just turn it on and it runs. So how handy are you? Do you know which end of a screwdriver to hold? If not, then you really need to look at service playing a large role in your purchase.
What's your budget? That could easily be a thread in itself. If you're budget is $5,000 then you're probably going to be quite limited in your choices. The person looking for something to make a little extra money on the side will certainly have a very different budget than someone who's running a laser full time in a retail environment. In one case, if the laser isn't the top of the line, then you can deal with it, in the other case, if you can't do quality work fast and accurate, then you'll lose the work to the guy who can.
Most all of us have very different plans and ideas. I cut just about anything I can put in the laser, while I know people who have never had anything but wood in their laser. We all have different experience levels as well. A stay at home Mom who's trying to run a side business probably doesn't want to hear “Now solder that new board in”, while the retired electrical system engineer welcomes those words and thrives off of pulling a machine down to that level.
My belief is that the question shouldn't be “what laser should I buy”, but rather it should start by telling us what your EXPECTATIONS of the machine are, once you get it. That's a good place to start, and from there, the dialog should lean more towards what you plan to do with once you do have it installed.
There really is no answer to that simple question. Without more data, we're all just guessing, aren't we?
Just my two cents worth on the topic. I think it's unfair to all of us to be asked that question without knowing anything else about your plans, your budget, your goals, etc.
So, what car should I buy? :)