40 Watt CO2 Laser Engravers
Discussion
I not sure where to post this so Mods, please move as appropriate.
I am very tempted by some of the 40watt CO2 laser engravers / cutters on Ebay for under £300.
I've seen plenty of YouTube videos with varying degrees of feedback and most seem to think that they are a good starting point.
Has anyone here bought or used one?
I am very tempted by some of the 40watt CO2 laser engravers / cutters on Ebay for under £300.
I've seen plenty of YouTube videos with varying degrees of feedback and most seem to think that they are a good starting point.
Has anyone here bought or used one?
FurtiveFreddy said:
Lasers on ebay are a bit like cars.
If it says it's a remapped BMW 320 with 1120 bhp, do you take it on face value?
Are these used lasers or new? Link?
NewIf it says it's a remapped BMW 320 with 1120 bhp, do you take it on face value?
Are these used lasers or new? Link?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
Myself and a mate had a dabble with that particular type a few years ago, moving onto a larger unit once we'd got the need for using one on bigger projects.
Keeping it short n sweet, there is a very large learning curve with a cheapo unit like that. The build quality is something to be desired, lots of tweeking and fettling to get it running true. We modified the bed to be able to work with jobs bigger than the stamp sized clamp they provide. For a few hundred quid, that's to be expected though.
Software - supplied stuff, nasty. I'm handy with Adobe Illustrator, so use that to create the vector work, then use CoralDraw with a laser plugin so that the laser can read the vector. I'm sure the supplied stuff is ok for very basic things, but if you're handy with PS and AI, your design options are very wide.
All in all, a nice machine for learning the basics, cheap enough to give up on if it's not your bag, plus you can burn and set stuff on fire!
Happy to advise on finer details, either laser or software.
Keeping it short n sweet, there is a very large learning curve with a cheapo unit like that. The build quality is something to be desired, lots of tweeking and fettling to get it running true. We modified the bed to be able to work with jobs bigger than the stamp sized clamp they provide. For a few hundred quid, that's to be expected though.
Software - supplied stuff, nasty. I'm handy with Adobe Illustrator, so use that to create the vector work, then use CoralDraw with a laser plugin so that the laser can read the vector. I'm sure the supplied stuff is ok for very basic things, but if you're handy with PS and AI, your design options are very wide.
All in all, a nice machine for learning the basics, cheap enough to give up on if it's not your bag, plus you can burn and set stuff on fire!
Happy to advise on finer details, either laser or software.
Edited by Hotspark on Sunday 15th December 20:39
Hotspark said:
Myself and a mate had a dabble with that particular type a few years ago, moving onto a larger unit once we'd got the need for using one on bigger projects.
Keeping it short n sweet, there is a very large learning curve with a cheapo unit like that. The build quality is something to be desired, lots of tweeking and fettling to get it running true. We modified the bed to be able to work with jobs bigger than the stamp sized clamp they provide. For a few hundred quid, that's to be expected though.
Software - supplied stuff, nasty. I'm handy with Adobe Illustrator, so use that to create the vector work, then use CoralDraw with a laser plugin so that the laser can read the vector. I'm sure the supplied stuff is ok for very basic things, but if you're handy with PS and AI, your design options are very wide.
All in all, a nice machine for learning the basics, cheap enough to give up on if it's not your bag, plus you can burn and set stuff on fire!
Happy to advise on finer details, either laser or software.
Thanks Hotspark. Keeping it short n sweet, there is a very large learning curve with a cheapo unit like that. The build quality is something to be desired, lots of tweeking and fettling to get it running true. We modified the bed to be able to work with jobs bigger than the stamp sized clamp they provide. For a few hundred quid, that's to be expected though.
Software - supplied stuff, nasty. I'm handy with Adobe Illustrator, so use that to create the vector work, then use CoralDraw with a laser plugin so that the laser can read the vector. I'm sure the supplied stuff is ok for very basic things, but if you're handy with PS and AI, your design options are very wide.
All in all, a nice machine for learning the basics, cheap enough to give up on if it's not your bag, plus you can burn and set stuff on fire!
Happy to advise on finer details, either laser or software.
Edited by Hotspark on Sunday 15th December 20:39
That's pretty much what the YouTube videos said but its nice to hear from someone that has actually owned one.
I looked into this a few years ago, including watching a teardown video of a cheap unit by an electrical engineer. The internal wiring wasn't safe. The supplied software also didn't look good and I'm assuming support will be minimal. I ended up going for an Epilog Zing 16 30W (I think they do a 40W version, but 30 was plenty for my use case). It cost a lot more but is still going strong today and feels like it will last. It should also hold its value.
If you do go for a Chinese unit it may be cheaper to buy direct from the manufacturer in China than via an eBay reseller.
If you do go for a Chinese unit it may be cheaper to buy direct from the manufacturer in China than via an eBay reseller.
You're welcome, happy to be the cause of your anniversary 2000th post!
Should have mentioned, without a movable Z axis, you'll be limited to quite thin projects due to the focal length of the lens. As someone else mentioned, if you want to buzz objects with differing heights, you need to be able to fine tune the distance from the lens to the material surface. Engraving isn't to problematic, but cutting thicker stuff needs a bit of setting up to get clean cuts.
I'm waffling on now, but placing the machine somewhere very dry is a must. When the air is quite humid, ours has quite poor performance, and the coolant water needs to be quite cold too.
Should have mentioned, without a movable Z axis, you'll be limited to quite thin projects due to the focal length of the lens. As someone else mentioned, if you want to buzz objects with differing heights, you need to be able to fine tune the distance from the lens to the material surface. Engraving isn't to problematic, but cutting thicker stuff needs a bit of setting up to get clean cuts.
I'm waffling on now, but placing the machine somewhere very dry is a must. When the air is quite humid, ours has quite poor performance, and the coolant water needs to be quite cold too.
I have a 40w CO2 laser cutter with an A3 bed. Got mine for free as the controller was broken. Mine now runs a 3d printer control board running a modified version of Marlin and an inkscape plugin for generating G-code.
It will cut 3mm birch plywood, 3mm MDF and 3mm acrylic at about 700 - 800mm/m. Poplar plywood can be cut at over 1000mm/m. It will engrave paint or coatings off metal (but not the metal itself), it can engrave wood, plastic and other similar stuff.
Its a really useful bit of kit. I make model boats and planes as a hobby and scratch build my own designs. For that type of stuff it is great. I also do a line in personalised trinkets and stuff to keep a 'replacement tube fund' topped up. Do a decent trade at Christmas with laser cut, personalised Christmas stuff.
Learning curve is indeed steep. I understand that the standard Chinese software is pretty bad, but you can always gut the controller and change it for a grbl or marlin setup like I did. You need good extraction and an air assist helps a huge amount. Once set up try not to move it as re-aligning the mirrors and lens can be a total PITA. Keep the cooling loop clean and only use de-ionised water to avoid buildup of crap in the important bits. I change me water twice a year and have one of those UV sterilising lamps in my reservoir to keep algae under control.
It will cut 3mm birch plywood, 3mm MDF and 3mm acrylic at about 700 - 800mm/m. Poplar plywood can be cut at over 1000mm/m. It will engrave paint or coatings off metal (but not the metal itself), it can engrave wood, plastic and other similar stuff.
Its a really useful bit of kit. I make model boats and planes as a hobby and scratch build my own designs. For that type of stuff it is great. I also do a line in personalised trinkets and stuff to keep a 'replacement tube fund' topped up. Do a decent trade at Christmas with laser cut, personalised Christmas stuff.
Learning curve is indeed steep. I understand that the standard Chinese software is pretty bad, but you can always gut the controller and change it for a grbl or marlin setup like I did. You need good extraction and an air assist helps a huge amount. Once set up try not to move it as re-aligning the mirrors and lens can be a total PITA. Keep the cooling loop clean and only use de-ionised water to avoid buildup of crap in the important bits. I change me water twice a year and have one of those UV sterilising lamps in my reservoir to keep algae under control.
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