40W CO2 laser engraver & cutter - US source - $529 shipped

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What file format does a laser cutter accept? Is there CAM software for importing different design files and outputting manufacturing files for specific lasers?


The lasers I use can cut or "print" from most any file type. it works just like a printer on any windows setup.. hit print (or CNTRL P) and print window comes up choose a laser you want to print to set all your setting and GO!
 
The lasers I use can cut or "print" from most any file type. it works just like a printer on any windows setup.. hit print (or CNTRL P) and print window comes up choose a laser you want to print to set all your setting and GO!

Interesting... That would sure make it easy. I wasn't sure if you would have to specify the rate of movement, or power, or if there would be any kind of aperture settings or anything else that would have to be included in the file itself.
 
Flowing air down through the focusing nozzle assemble protects the lens from smoke and soot and for this reason there should always be some airflow. Lasers cut by vaporizing wood and most plastics which produce char or soot that actually prevents the laser light from irradiating the surface. The air assist will blow out the pyrolized debris from the cut and burn out the soot and char making the ejecta transparent to the laser which is good. Removing the smoke and sort with the exhaust fan is also necessary. The exhaust should be ducted to the outdoors as it may contain carbon monoxide and it may stink.

Bob
 
The lasers I use can cut or "print" from most any file type. it works just like a printer on any windows setup.. hit print (or CNTRL P) and print window comes up choose a laser you want to print to set all your setting and GO!
That's what you get when you pay the big bucks. Not as easy with the cheap Chinese lasers from what I've found.
 
Anybody buying one?


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I hate all these ads.
 
Anybody buying one?
I'm VERY seriously considering one, but I've got a lot more to investigate beforehand including getting answers to questions I've posted in CNC forums.

BTW, check this one out from a brand new seller. This must be either a ripoff scam or an error in pricing:

40W CO2 USB Port Laser Engraving Cutting Engraver Carving Machine Cutter - $96 with Free shipping from Hong Kong

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40W-CO2-US...418?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item461e8e17da
 
I'm VERY seriously considering one, but I've got a lot more to investigate beforehand including getting answers to questions I've posted in CNC forums.

BTW, check this one out from a brand new seller. This must be either a ripoff scam or an error in pricing:

40W CO2 USB Port Laser Engraving Cutting Engraver Carving Machine Cutter - $96 with Free shipping from Hong Kong

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40W-CO2-US...418?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item461e8e17da

good luck with that. ridiculously low price and zero feedback seller.
 
good luck with that. ridiculously low price and zero feedback seller.
I definitely do not intend to buy from that seller. The seller selling one for $519 ($10 drop since I started this thread) has sold 384 of them with 24134 feedbacks, 99.6% of them positive. Plus, his units are shipped from the US.
 
Interesting... That would sure make it easy. I wasn't sure if you would have to specify the rate of movement, or power, or if there would be any kind of aperture settings or anything else that would have to be included in the file itself.

The settings consist of

Speed.
Power
Frequency.
focus
these are the main settings.
there is also DPI
Vector sorting
Dithering.
setting for rubber stamps and 3D printing (tons of them) mirrored etc etc
settings for multi passes
setting for "Rastor vector or combined"
and if you get down to it you can also set the bed.artboard size. number of passes.. etc etc etc etc LOL
air assist on/off (yes there are times you DONT want air) vent fan and more
LAstly there are setting for doing ROUND objects. yes I laser on things like glasses baseball bats and more



there arent setting for apertures.. you are basically set with the size your laser is. the lower the wattage TYPICALLY the smaller the laser "dot" is.. so having a lower wattage laser is not always bad. BUT a higher Priced laser is more likely to have a better focal image. you an tell by the focal distance.

I sue or 45 watt laser for smaller details, it always seems to give a more precise "print" when doing smaller details. the 120 watt laser does larger stuff quicker.. (agian this is for "printed" image not CUT)

when you look into a laser look at the size of the "beam" you will need to take this into consideration when designing cut files for things like rocket parts.. if they have to fit together snug, you have to consider the size of the actual cut. and the material you are cutting!
 
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Just got one. haven't finished setting it up yet. Software (MoshiDraw) works with Coreldraw. Build quality is standard Chinese cheap. I'm old enough to still be amazed at how inexpensive tech has become.
 
Just got one. haven't finished setting it up yet. Software (MoshiDraw) works with Coreldraw. Build quality is standard Chinese cheap. I'm old enough to still be amazed at how inexpensive tech has become.

Yep, these were $840 only two years ago. I think these are widely used by very small manufacturers in China, so there are probably a bazillion of them sold there and, as a result, they keep dropping in price.

Did you get it from the seller I linked to?

What is the version of the Moshidraw controller board (Moshiboard) - MS10105 or MS10106?

Which version of Moshdraw was supplied?

On the Coreldraw capability, with some versions of MoshiDraw, it is claimed to be too buggy to use.

What OS did you install it on?

Many thanks in advance for your answers. I've asked the same questions of the seller, but haven't heard from him yet.
 
Just got one. haven't finished setting it up yet. Software (MoshiDraw) works with Coreldraw. Build quality is standard Chinese cheap. I'm old enough to still be amazed at how inexpensive tech has become.
If you didn't buy from the vendor I linked to, the following is N/A. However, if you did, see if your hardware/software matches the answer I just got to my questions submitted to him yesterday.

1) Moshiboard driver/controller board - MS10105 v4.7 - that's very good as the latest version, MS10106, apparently isn't in widespread use yet and the latest versions on sale on eBay are MS10105 v4.5. The v4.7 is good in that it's an even newer version but not so new that you can't buy one of the v4.5 boards on eBay and just drop it in if your driver board fails and you don't want to bother to or can't replace the failed component, typically I'd suspect to be a motor driver power MOSFET.

K40 ms10105 v4.5 Main Board for Laser Marker Plotter Engraver Cutter - $49.98 shipped via ePacket

https://www.ebay.com/itm/K40-ms1010...otter-Engraver-Cutter-USB-cable-/111072501370

BTW, always ask for ePacket delivery for small items from China as it's MUCH faster.

2) Moshidraw 2012 or 2013 supplied. Later versions can be downloaded for free. Vendor says they'll provide a link, but I think I found it on my own:

https://www.moshisoft.com/soft_200/Moshidraw2014.exe

3) The version of Moshidraw supplied is Win7 32 and 64 bit (and below) compatible. Win7 64 bit compatibility is what I need.

4) Power supply is 24V 10A PWM - something I read was important to make sure about as some vendors use crappy power supplies.
 
Compilation of actual experiences from owners of 40W CO2 lasers:

---------

Things you can CUT or ENGRAVE:

Plastics:

ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
Acrylic (also known as Plexiglas, Lucite, PMMA)
Delrin (POM, acetal)
Kapton tape (Polyimide)
Mylar (polyester)
Nylon — melts badly
PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol)
Polyethylene (PE) — melts badly
Polypropylene (PP) — melts somewhat
Styrene
Two-tone acrylic — top color different than core material, usually for custom instrumentation panels, signs, and plaques.

Foam:

Depron foam — often used for RC planes.
EPM
Gator foam — foam core gets burned and eaten away compared to the top and bottom hard shell.

Other:

Cloths (leather, suede, felt, hemp, cotton)
Magnetic sheets
Paper
Rubber (neoprene)
Teflon (PTFE, Polytetrafluoroethylene)
Woods (MDF, balsa, birch, poplar, red oak, cherry, holly, etc.)

It cannot cut the following materials:

Metals — It cannot cut through any metals.
Polycarbonate (PC, Lexan)
Any material containing chlorine
PVC — contains chlorine
Vinyl — contains chlorine
Glass - can engrave/ecth, but not cut
Fiberglass
G10
Carbon fiber

---------

Carbon fiber sheet = Would not cut - it melts and smells bad
Bakelite = Engraves well
Rubber = Thin sheets cut well, and can be engraved to produce stamps
Silicone Rubber = same as above
Glass = Engraves easily
Marble = Varies - but usually engraves enough to fill
Slate = Engraves well
Granite = Engraves well
Nylon = It will cut but not very clean
Gasket materials = same as rubber, works well
Anodized Aluminum = very easy to engrave
 
Good thread about Coreldraw integration and cutting tips:

https://www.cnczone.com/forums/gene...cussion/148146-improving-k40-cut-quality.html

An air assist laser head accessory, but not necessarily this specific one for the laser unit being discussed here because I forgot to ask the laser vendor about the focal length of the laser in the unit he sells. This same nozzle vendor sells nozzles for various focal lengths:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10600nm-CO...508?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c29cb15b4

Air assist compressor I've seen recommended:

https://www.rabbitlaserusa.com/WebShop/ElectParts.html

although this might work (nearly same price):

https://www.harborfreight.com/16-horsepower-58-psi-oilless-airbrush-compressor-60329.html

Aluminum honeycomb suspension bed for elevation of pieces to be cut:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/300x200-Ho...723?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3fafab0b

although a guy on YouTube says he prefers using truss plates with the pointy bits facing up, very cheap to buy at home improvement stores.
 
Found this very useful info while browsing about cheap Chines laser cutters:

NEVER LASER CUT THESE MATERIALS

PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) : Also known as "vinyl" "pleather" "artificial leather." Emits pure chlorine gas when cut! Don't ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, cause the metal of the machine to corrode, and ruin the motion control system.

Polycarbonate : Also known as "Lexan". Polycarbonate is also often found as flat, sheet material. The case cover window on the laser cutter is made of Polycarbonate because polycarbonate strongly absorbs infrared radiation! This is the frequency of light the laser cutter uses to cut materials, so it is very ineffective at cutting polycarbonate. Polycarbonate can also emit flame and chlorine gas when cut, making it a poor choice for laser cutting.

ABS : ABS does not cut well in a laser cutter. It tends to melt rather than vaporize, and has a higher chance of catching on fire and leaving behind melted gooey deposits on the vector cutting grid. It also does not engrave well (again, tends to melt). Finally, ABS emits cyanide when cut.

HDPE : "milk bottle" plastic. It melts. It gets gooey. It catches on fire. Don't use it.

PolyStyrene Foam : It catches fire, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!!

Fiberglass : It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes)

Coated Carbon Fiber: Again, it's a mix of two materials. Thin carbon fiber mat can be cut, with some fraying. However, once coated with epoxy it will emit noxious fumes.

Oh god, this is so wrong its not funny.

Firstly, polycarbonate shouldnt be cut because it strong absorbs infrared radiation?? thats the entire point It gets hot, it turns to liquid or gas and gets blown out the bottom by the air jet... this doesnt happen if it cant absorb any of the energy. Polycarbonate contains no chlorine, chlorine (phosgene) is used in its manufacture but not in the final part. Yes, it burns, and emits a flame. Watch some wood getting laser cut from underneath - you get a jet of flame 3-5cm long. Its awesome.

Milk bottles are LDPE. The cap is HDPE. You can cut it, but you need to use high power and go reasonably fast. HDPE cuts wonderfully on a laser.

Unfilled ABS cuts just fine, glass filled is awful.

Polystyrene vapourises with the heat we are talking about, same with hot wire cutting it - there is no liquid transition it sublimes. I can see how cutting a piece thicker than the focal depth of the laser would be a tremendously bad idea though.

It did get one thin right though, any chlorine containing material should never ever be laser cut or set on fire. This is a super bad idea.


You need 80W to do 6mm plywood well (its actually more like 70 but 80w is the next standard laser step up), and 120W to do 9mm. Yes yes, you can do it with multiple passes but then you just end up with a blackened scorched edge rather than a nice clean lightly browned edge.
 
Forum posts document clean cuts of 6mm (~1/4") wood, even thicker plastics, and what looks like 3/16" hardwood plywood in a video using one of the cheap 40W Chinese lasers. Agree that CNC routers would be better and I've had all of the wood and MDF parts that I've already cut for a "cheap" DIY one sitting in my work area for about a year now, but I'm always working on something else instead. I have the powerful but inexpensive router (bought a year ago when its list price was lower - stuff at Harbor Freight has been rapidly going up in price over the past few years):

However, the 40W laser cutting rate seen in videos is quicker and certainly much, much quieter and cleaner (no dust, just smoke that's easier to capture and route out a window) compared to CNC routers. Quiet and clean is important for my work area.

CNC router/mill can do airfoils, laser cant. Lasers can do wonderfully small kerf, CNC cant (well it can but you have to go stupidly slow)

Do not underestimate the volume of smoke. Laser cutting a 4'x3' sheet of 3mm plywood (lots of parts) with a very strong extractor on it we still managed to fill up an ~750,000 cubic foot workshop with smoke to the point of 20 yard visibility at ground level. We turned on the paint booth fume extractor and opened the doors (it was -25c outside!) and that cleared it after about 25 minutes - it also made the workshop -25c.


Another thing to consider on these cheap lasers is the work area, its usually small enough that anything you put in there will need to be cut to size. Consider how big objects you'll need to cut in 1-2 years might be - big fins and such.. will the machine be able to work it?
 
Oh god, this is so wrong its not funny.

Firstly, polycarbonate shouldnt be cut because it strong absorbs infrared radiation?? thats the entire point It gets hot, it turns to liquid or gas and gets blown out the bottom by the air jet... this doesnt happen if it cant absorb any of the energy. Polycarbonate contains no chlorine, chlorine (phosgene) is used in its manufacture but not in the final part. Yes, it burns, and emits a flame. Watch some wood getting laser cut from underneath - you get a jet of flame 3-5cm long. Its awesome.

Milk bottles are LDPE. The cap is HDPE. You can cut it, but you need to use high power and go reasonably fast. HDPE cuts wonderfully on a laser.

Unfilled ABS cuts just fine, glass filled is awful.

Polystyrene vapourises with the heat we are talking about, same with hot wire cutting it - there is no liquid transition it sublimes. I can see how cutting a piece thicker than the focal depth of the laser would be a tremendously bad idea though.

It did get one thin right though, any chlorine containing material should never ever be laser cut or set on fire. This is a super bad idea.


You need 80W to do 6mm plywood well (its actually more like 70 but 80w is the next standard laser step up), and 120W to do 9mm. Yes yes, you can do it with multiple passes but then you just end up with a blackened scorched edge rather than a nice clean lightly browned edge.
Cool. I'll compare what you point out with the content of that portion of the material cheat sheet I compiled from laser cutter forum posts and save the file back to my Laser Cutter subdirectory. Original post edited, too.
 
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CNC router/mill can do airfoils, laser cant. Lasers can do wonderfully small kerf, CNC cant (well it can but you have to go stupidly slow)

Do not underestimate the volume of smoke. Laser cutting a 4'x3' sheet of 3mm plywood (lots of parts) with a very strong extractor on it we still managed to fill up an ~750,000 cubic foot workshop with smoke to the point of 20 yard visibility at ground level. We turned on the paint booth fume extractor and opened the doors (it was -25c outside!) and that cleared it after about 25 minutes - it also made the workshop -25c.


Another thing to consider on these cheap lasers is the work area, its usually small enough that anything you put in there will need to be cut to size. Consider how big objects you'll need to cut in 1-2 years might be - big fins and such.. will the machine be able to work it?
It's mainly the noise and dust that's my problem with CNC routers due to my work area. Max size of the laser work area will be 200 x 300mm (7.87" x 11.8"). I typically buy plywood via mail order in shrink wrapped 6"x12" stacks of five to reduce warpage.
 
It's mainly the noise and dust that's my problem with CNC routers due to my work area. Max size of the laser work area will be 200 x 300mm (7.87" x 11.8"). I typically buy plywood via mail order in shrink wrapped 6"x12" stacks of five to reduce warpage.


Dont forget there is SMOKE and debris when you laser cut... you also need to VENT your laser to the outside or the smoke would overwhelm you.. just saying!
 
Dont forget there is SMOKE and debris when you laser cut... you also need to VENT your laser to the outside or the smoke would overwhelm you.. just saying!
Definitely plan to. It's going to be placed right next to a window and an mdf board used to allow the window to be opened, but blocked by the board with a hose attachment point on it. If wind direction wants to blow inward, I'll roll it onto the patio on one of these:

https://www.harborfreight.com/mater...6-inch-x-30-inch-steel-service-cart-6650.html

It's very heavy duty and rigid and I've already bolted a poplar-strip-bordered, 20.5" x 32" lacquered 1" MDF platform on top of it, originally intended to hold the CNC router I've already cut the wood parts for and have all the hardware for (but no stepper motors or drivers). With the CNC machine, the second shelf was going to hold the stepper drivers with PC fan cooling, input air filter, power strip, and laptop, all covered with drop-down sections of a cheap Harbor Freight tarp magnetically held at the bottom as a guard against dust, but with the laser that shelf will just hold the power strip and laptop. If I ever complete the CNC router, I'll just make another rolling platform.
 
Definitely plan to. It's going to be placed right next to a window and an mdf board used to allow the window to be opened, but blocked by the board with a hose attachment point on it. If wind direction wants to blow inward, I'll roll it onto the patio on one of these:

https://www.harborfreight.com/mater...6-inch-x-30-inch-steel-service-cart-6650.html

It's very heavy duty and rigid and I've already bolted a poplar-strip-bordered, 20.5" x 32" lacquered 1" MDF platform on top of it, originally intended to hold the CNC router I've already cut the wood parts for and have all the hardware for (but no stepper motors or drivers). With the CNC machine, the second shelf was going to hold the stepper drivers with PC fan cooling, input air filter, power strip, and laptop, all covered with drop-down sections of a cheap Harbor Freight tarp magnetically held at the bottom as a guard against dust, but with the laser that shelf will just hold the power strip and laptop. If I ever complete the CNC router, I'll just make another rolling platform.

If you're in a residential setting and venting out a window, please do tell your neighbors you're about to do some laser cutting and there will be lots of smoke coming our your window. I was amazed at the sheer volume of smoke generated by cutting the plywood I did. If you just set fire to to that piece of wood I doubt you'd get half the volume of smoke. It's extremely efficient at turning materials into vapour and light particulates.

As to the noise, A VFD driven CNC mill's spindle makes less noise than the cutting bit. I can happily hold a conversation next to my spindle that needs a bearing replaced (it grinds a little) as it cuts with the grain, its almost dead silent, cutting cross grain makes a bit more noise. When cutting with the grain on aircraft ply I sometimes go and check to make sure the bit hasn't snapped its that quiet. The rather large stepper motors on mine also make quite a bit more noise than the spindle and watercooling system.

The extraction fan for your laser needs to be seriously high flow, as in a big blower fan like you'd get in a large rangehood/overhead extractor for a stove. These are not quiet. If the weather is good, you could theoretically mount this outside, as long as your ducting can handle the lower pressure it will generate on the side towards the laser.

The dust factor from a CNC mill is probably similar to the smoke from a laser, neither are to be underestimated. The worst offender for a CNC mill is the fine chalk like dust that turns into a tornado around your endmill and floats in the air for hours and hours before settling on *everything* in your garage/workshop. The good thing is, this can be solved really easily - just hook an extractor up near your spindle. All that fine dust goes straight in, as does any material that gets thrown around. You'll still have lots of swarf on the table and in the cut but none of the dust in the air. You can get by with very little airflow on this extractor if you want something quiet. If you use a proper woodworking extraction set, or shop vac, you'll likely remove most of the cut swarf too.
 
As to the noise, A VFD driven CNC mill's spindle makes less noise than the cutting bit.
This is my experience as well. The noise of the spindle itself is quieter than the dust collection (even with a quiet Fein vacuum).

The dust factor from a CNC mill is probably similar to the smoke from a laser, neither are to be underestimated.
Even a simple dust collection system picks up the vast majority of the dust from a CNC router. Some dust will stay in the bottom of deep cuts, but basically it's a clean operation.

shopbot_dust.jpg
My setup, using a Fein shop vac and small cyclone.

shopbot_cut.jpg
After cutting 1/2" plywood, I just had dust stuck to the tape and in the bottom of the grooves.
 
If you're in a residential setting and venting out a window, please do tell your neighbors you're about to do some laser cutting and there will be lots of smoke coming our your window. I was amazed at the sheer volume of smoke generated by cutting the plywood I did. If you just set fire to to that piece of wood I doubt you'd get half the volume of smoke. It's extremely efficient at turning materials into vapour and light particulates.

As to the noise, A VFD driven CNC mill's spindle makes less noise than the cutting bit. I can happily hold a conversation next to my spindle that needs a bearing replaced (it grinds a little) as it cuts with the grain, its almost dead silent, cutting cross grain makes a bit more noise. When cutting with the grain on aircraft ply I sometimes go and check to make sure the bit hasn't snapped its that quiet. The rather large stepper motors on mine also make quite a bit more noise than the spindle and watercooling system.

The extraction fan for your laser needs to be seriously high flow, as in a big blower fan like you'd get in a large rangehood/overhead extractor for a stove. These are not quiet. If the weather is good, you could theoretically mount this outside, as long as your ducting can handle the lower pressure it will generate on the side towards the laser.

The dust factor from a CNC mill is probably similar to the smoke from a laser, neither are to be underestimated. The worst offender for a CNC mill is the fine chalk like dust that turns into a tornado around your endmill and floats in the air for hours and hours before settling on *everything* in your garage/workshop. The good thing is, this can be solved really easily - just hook an extractor up near your spindle. All that fine dust goes straight in, as does any material that gets thrown around. You'll still have lots of swarf on the table and in the cut but none of the dust in the air. You can get by with very little airflow on this extractor if you want something quiet. If you use a proper woodworking extraction set, or shop vac, you'll likely remove most of the cut swarf too.
Thanks for that valuable advice coming from direct experience! Can't even believe I didn't take into consideration potential nextdoor neighbor concerns over smoke until you mentioned it. Hello 911...

And your CNC router noise abatement techniques makes it likely I'll spend the ~$150 to finish my little CNC router and wait for laser cutters to drop even further which they will.
 
CNC Lasers and CNC mills/routers are not mutually exclusive in my mind. I'm looking at getting a 150W 600x900mm bed to complement my 1200x550x150mm cut area cnc router and 3d printer. Each can do things the other only dreams of. My biggest issue right now is the wharf will charge me over a grand to release it to me, then i'll have tax on top of that :(

I highly recommend you ditch a hardware store AC chopper motor router on your cnc router and buy a cheap Huanyang VFD + water cooled spindle (even an 800w one would be overpowered for your uses) off ebay.
 
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Not to be too spammy, but I came across this today:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-laser-cutter-fume-extractor/?ALLSTEPS

Should be no volatiles and particulates in the air if you build one of those, other than the CO2/CO thing... should be safe to even vent that indoors. Its not cheap to build, but I feel you could get away with *far* less flow than that. Perhaps using a $20 shop vac filter rather than the $100 filter, less charcoal, the included extractor, etc. I bet you could build one of those in the USA for under $100.
 
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Wow, only 23 messages, all short text ones with no attachments (if that's even possible) "filled" my mailbox. Now fixed.
 
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