starting out buying a new laser

[Raphael Weil]

Epilog, ULS, and Trotec sell their 24x18 variations with 60-80W tubes for around 25k. Importing a Chinese 80-120W laser that's 24x36 I believe costs about 7-8k all said and done (including shipping, importing fees, duties, spare parts, ect). Going with a Chinese machine from a US dealer is about $10-11k I believe without any spare parts.

Which should you buy? This has been discussed a hundred times but the general consensus is....

If you want to engrave primarily and cut secondarily, buying a Western machine has distinct advantages.
If you want to cut primarily and engrave secondarily, opinions will be split between the two machines. Typically boils down to if you're willing to deal with a machine that is less polished.
If you're looking to cut and occasionally engrave, it's recommended to really look at Chinese machines seriously.

Would someone mind quickly recapping those? I've been engraving on an FSL for about a month and really haven't had issues outside of a bit of software quirkiness here and there. I can post some pictures of stuff I've done recently, pretty mind blowing and very detailed.

[Rich Harman]

Would someone mind quickly recapping those? I've been engraving on an FSL for about a month and really haven't had issues outside of a bit of software quirkiness here and there. I can post some pictures of stuff I've done recently, pretty mind blowing and very detailed.

The main advantage, IMO, of a Trotec is it's blinding speed. If you are engraving to make money, and have the business to keep it busy, it is the way to go.

While a FSL may be able to make a very detailed engraving (pretty much any laser can), if you were to compare your best to Trotec's best, you will probably see a difference - and the Trotec's will have taken a fraction of the time to complete. Not very important for hobbyists but if you have hundreds (or thousands) of things to engrave you'll be desperate for some more speed.

[Ross Moshinsky]

Would someone mind quickly recapping those? I've been engraving on an FSL for about a month and really haven't had issues outside of a bit of software quirkiness here and there. I can post some pictures of stuff I've done recently, pretty mind blowing and very detailed.

Have you compared your engraving to what another machine puts out? I've seen a lot of people think they are putting out fantastic work and then compare it to what someone else is doing and then they re-adjust their opinion. I had the opposite the other day. I wasn't happy with a project I did the other day so I scouted out the competition and found I was very much in line with what they were doing.

Also as Rich already answered, speed. A FSL engraves at about 500mm/sec which is 20ips. Most Western machines engrave between 80-110ips and some go up to 150ips (or whatever Trotec is saying now). So when you take 10 minutes to engrave something, most people are doing it in about 2-3 minutes.

[Scott Shepherd]

A FSL engraves at about 500mm/sec which is 20ips. Most Western machines engrave between 80-110ips and some go up to 150ips (or whatever Trotec is saying now). So when you take 10 minutes to engrave something, most people are doing it in about 2-3 minutes.

So you're telling me that I can charge move with a slower machine? 10 minutes at $60 per hour, I'll make $10 and those silly Trotec owners are only making $2 LOL

True story, in manufacturing, we fired a guy because watching him work was like watching paint dry. Little did we know, he was a cash cow for us, he was working on time and material jobs, so the slower he went, the more we made Until that day, anyway

[dan clarke]

Thank you. You guys have been more than helpful. You are all awsome