Trotec Rayjet 50 30w

I have spent a number of hours on here looking for information/opinions on this unit.I plan to use this for making small name plates for our musical instruments (largest around 6" X 1.5") on laser etchable laminated plastic and to etch logos into ply and sapele hardwood.I would expect that we will currently make no more than around 200 of the plates a week and a smaller number of etching jobs on ply.

Is there anyone out there who can help? The other option for us would be an Epilog Mini 18 40w which is more expensive and possibly more than we need.

Thank you for your help.

Rayjet, Epoilog mine, ULS veras line and GCC c180 are all in same price range with comparable wattage & add-on's.
For that low usage you may be better of with offshore units like Rabbit laser USA to test the market.

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Originally Posted by Tony Lenkic

Rayjet, Epoilog mine, ULS veras line and GCC c180 are all in same price range with comparable wattage & add-on's.
For that low usage you may be better of with offshore units like Rabbit laser USA to test the market.

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Thanks Tony, however I am in the UK and I'm reasonably comfortable with the price of the Rayjet ...the thing is - will it do the job efficiently or is it likely to be inadequate?

Though I don't have much hands on experience with the Rayjet, I did use one a little over at Integrity laser in Nashua, NH. USA. We used it to cut some acrylic for a template. It had no problem cutting right through 1/8" acrylic. I ended up getting a Trotec Speedy 300, but worked there at Integrity for a week before making my decision. I spent about 2 days working with a rayjet and it was a good laser! Since I have bought a Trotec, I can tell you that the support team has been right there for me If I have any questions. It may sound like I'm working for them, and I don't, but in my oppinion, from what you have said, it'll do what you want and more...

If you will primarily be doing engraving, compare the engraving speeds of your choices and you may have your answer which one will be more suitable. I have the Speedy 300 30 watt and I can tell you the engraving speed is almost scary it's so fast. Speedy 300 offers a top speed of almost 140 inches per second (355cm/sec. CO2), with an acceleration of 5 g. The Rayjet 50 has an Engraving Speed: 60”/sec. Of course these numbers will not be what you engrave everything at because different materials require different speeds, but they indicate capability.

If speed is not an issue right now, will it be later? How about reliability of the machine - how many posts have you seen indicating problems with the various machines you're considering?

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Originally Posted by Jeffrey Dewing

Though I don't have much hands on experience with the Rayjet, I did use one a little over at Integrity laser in Nashua, NH. USA. We used it to cut some acrylic for a template. It had no problem cutting right through 1/8" acrylic. I ended up getting a Trotec Speedy 300, but worked there at Integrity for a week before making my decision. I spent about 2 days working with a rayjet and it was a good laser! Since I have bought a Trotec, I can tell you that the support team has been right there for me If I have any questions. It may sound like I'm working for them, and I don't, but in my oppinion, from what you have said, it'll do what you want and more...

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Thanks for that Jeffrey ...I haven't found anybody else who has actually used one of these. Very helpful.

Thanks for all the input gentlemen... I appreciate it

I own a Rayjet 300 with 80 watts. It runs constantly and I can not express how happy I am with it.

I have had it 32 months and have had two days of down time.

Robert

I have a rayjet 30w. I use it mostly for wood and plastics. It is small and doesn't take up much space and I have run it quite a bit with no problems. Also Trotec has great service. I am happy with the machine.

I just picked up one of the Rayjet 30w mainly for the rotary feature for yeti cups and I think I have that figured out but a little confused when it comes to other items in the idea just to put everything in top left corner and hope you did all your measurements right, I have yet to find a test engraving area for fit feature, or is there something a person could do to trick it into doing one. Wanting to do some dog tags so it seems like I will need to make some jig.