Which Laser to Buy?

[Scotty Brooks]

I intend to purchase a Laser Etcher. It is hopefully my first machine with the intent of learning the "Trade". If it works out, my Wife and I intend to then purchase more substancial machinery. With this beginners machine we would like to engrave on wooden nickles, cut out child puzzles from 1/4" thick plywood and perhaps engrave on small wall placks approximately 5" X 10" X 3/4" with a small brass metal plate approximately 1" X 3". All of this is of course mallable, we don't know what we are doing.....yet!
But first.....
We are looking for input for our first little machine, NTE $500.00, kinda like:
Comgrow Z1 -10w,
OMTech 40w CO2 laser
AtomStack X7 40w or 50w Pro
Two Trees TTS- 55
Or....
Anyone have experience with these little guys?
Recommend a more suitable for a beginner to learn on?
Pitfalls to watchout for?
Thx in advance
Scotty

[vince mastrosimone]

Just some thoughts. A diode laser and a CO2 laser are different animals. With the CO2 laser being more complex. However, if you want to cut materials the more power you have the better off you’ll be. $500 is a modest budget to do everything you want to do. Spend some time on YouTube. It will help you figure out the direction you need to go.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Just some thoughts. FWIW

The Comgrow and Two Trees are diode lasers. They will not cut 1/4" material. They pretty much top out at 3mm/.125".
The Omtech 40 is a CO2 lasers and it will cut 1/4" material, but I would go with higher power.
The omtech price is somewhere around $3000.
The Atomstack web page is intentionally, in my view, misleading. It is a diode laser that they say will cut to 15mm. They say that it cuts like a 100w CO2 laser. BS!
You cannot compare the Atomstack to the Omtech. You get what you pay for.
With your budget, you will not find anything that will do the job you want it to do.

Edit: A diode laser will not etch onto brass plates without using a coating of some sort first. You can paint them, etch the paint, the remove the paint. It works reasonably well, but does not equate to CO2 etching, for example.

If you decide to simply do engraved wood pieces, diode lasers are an excellent place to start.

[Scotty Brooks]

I'm having a difficult time replying to the comments here... dunno why.
The Omtech 40w is listed on ther site at $479.00
The Omtech 50w with rotary is listed at $2,999.00
Should I, a beginner, steer clear of CO2?

[Ed Newbold]

I've been cutting/engraving with co2 lasers for 20 years, and here's what I would do now, knowing what I know.

I've owned the Universal M-300 was great in its day, but was super expensive, and required you also purchase Coreldraw to operate it. Not recommended any more.
I currently run a Glowforge Pro 45watt machine, which in my humble opinion is a terrible waste of money for a limited machine that operates only with the Glowforge proprietary cloud. Not recommended.
While the Omtech 40w is cheap, the cutting bed is only 8x12; however, the Ontech 50w has a large adjustable cutting bed, and it can come with Lightburn software as a complete package from Amazon ($2099.99).

I, personally, am getting rid of the Glowforge and am going to order that Omtech 50w from Amazon. Good luck, my friend.

[Scotty Brooks]

Ed:
What is the source of the CO2?
Do these machines use alot?
What does it mean when a machine is called a "40 watt but has a 10 watt laser?
Is LightBurn a recommended Software, is there better for the dollar?
Thx
Scotty

[Steve Utick]

Ed:
What is the source of the CO2?
Do these machines use alot?
What does it mean when a machine is called a "40 watt but has a 10 watt laser?
Is LightBurn a recommended Software, is there better for the dollar?
Thx
Scotty

The CO2 is sealed inside the glass laser tube. The tube will eventually start to lose power and stop working, but there is no way to "Fix" it but to replace the tube.

The 40 watt but has a 10 watt laser is likely a diode that uses 40 watts of input power but outputs 10 watts of laser power.

LightBurn is a very well supported piece of software. Tons of new features added all the time, and the best bang for your buck out there in the laser world. I've been a supporter for quite some time, and continue to be. It's pretty much become the standard for Diode and Chinese made Lasers anymore.

[Scotty Brooks]

So thru all the smoke and mirrors.... output is the key.
Good to know about the CO2, I was invisioning a drawer full of cartridges or a bottle... thinking perhaps it a sheilding gas or something.
A couple of the manufacture/dealers include LightBurn in their packages, I appreciate your endorsement.
Thx Scotty

[Richard Coers]

My thoughts. Operating the laser is the easiest part and requires just a bit of an education. That education is about feeds and speeds for different materials. You can be up to speed in a couple of days. The software requires the education and study. Now to your business model. Where do you intend to market your work? Most of the things you mention are already done by thousands of people with a laser in their garage, up to internet sales companies that have a room full of lasers. Competition is fierce! Do a search on Etsy and see just how many people are doing this now. Look at their prices and figure out how long it will take to make a profit. Finally a glass tube CO2 laser will require a water cooler, and exhaust system. So your budget needs to double to get those operating.

[Scotty Brooks]

I purchased the OMTech 40w. It comes with an enclosure that has an exhaust system, and a cooling system. As far as I can determine they are both rudimentary at best... but after reading the advice above... sounds good for the price range.
Thanks for the advice and sharing your knowledge and experince, this should be a good affordable way to test this fiercely competetive field. UTube is a great info resource... thanks for that idea!!!
I will update, from time to time, my opinion and experience with this little toy.
Scotty

[Ed Newbold]

Congratulations, my friend. Please do keep us posted with your progress on your new and interesting journey.

[Scotty Brooks]

Thx Ed... and all.
I think I'll start a new thread in the "Laser hardware & Software" section right below this one.
Being new to the whole thing, it may be and education for anyone else just beginning. I'll label the thread OMtech 40, so that others may find it..
It is being shippped from the distributor in Anaheim CA. and should arrive hear on or about Thursday.
Scotty