laser cutters - opinions? recommendations?

[dr wogz]

Just that..

anyone have an opinion on a laser cutter?
Ideally a 12" x 12" cutting area, possibly larger.. For up to 1/4" ply, 16ga Al would be nice, as well as styrene or other plastics sheets..

Been musing about one for a while, likely something to plan for for Christmas..

A small CNC router would do as well..

 

[Sandy H.]

Just that..

anyone have an opinion on a laser cutter?
Ideally a 12" x 12" cutting area, possibly larger.. For up to 1/4" ply, 16ga Al would be nice, as well as styrene or other plastics sheets..

Been musing about one for a while, likely something to plan for for Christmas..

A small CNC router would do as well..

If you want to do Aluminum cutting, then a laser will be out of most people's budget, while a router will be much-much more approachable. My laser cost more than my truck did when it was new, but it doesn't cut aluminum. Maybe some of the import machines do, but that's not how I chose to proceed.

There are DIY routers that go from wood frame/skateboard bearings to aluminum/steel frames with true linear bearings. For such a small cutting area a wooden machine with decent linear bearings would probably be a sweet spot. Of course, checking Craigslist etc., for people who bought a CNC Shark (or similar) from Woodcraft (or similar) and decided they weren't into it could be a great value.

Definitely figure out what materials you want to play with, as that will absolutely change the right tool for the job. If you're only going to do aluminum once or twice a year, a laser can be used to make templates and you can cut the aluminum with a bandsaw or other, for example.

Sandy.

 

[Donnager]

Dremel used to make a small bed laser cutter that would process plastic and wood. When I try and do searches for those now it seems that they may not be available anymore.

I process a pretty good bit of plasma cut carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. I would expect the maintenance headaches associated with running even a small laser (for metal) to be very tough to swallow. When the laser melts the top surface of shiny metal (stainless steel and aluminum), you get a very reflective molten bead. This can burn out the laser source. You have to know what you are doing for laser start, etc......

I'd stick with non reflective materials if I was running a home laser cutter.

 

[cwbullet]

Just that..

anyone have an opinion on a laser cutter?
Ideally a 12" x 12" cutting area, possibly larger.. For up to 1/4" ply, 16ga Al would be nice, as well as styrene or other plastics sheets..

Been musing about one for a while, likely something to plan for for Christmas..

A small CNC router would do as well..

Plastics are tough to cut because they melt and give off toxins.

 

[Titan II]

Name	Laser Cutting	Laser Engraving/Marking	Safety
Acrylic	Excellent	Excellent / Good	No harmful fumes
Fluoropolymers	Good	Good/Fair	No harmful fumes
Delrin	Good	Fair/Fair	Produces fumes of formaldehyde
Polycarbonate	Poor	Fair/Good	Produces heavy smoke when cut
Mylar	Good	Fair/Fair	No harmful fumes
Polyimide	Poor	Poor/Good	No harmful fumes

Types of plastics suitable for laser processing

 

[James Duffy]

Dremel used to make a small bed laser cutter that would process plastic and wood. When I try and do searches for those now it seems that they may not be available anymore.

The Dremel laser cutter was simply a rebadged Muse unit. That Muse unit (or a more current version) is still available.

https://fslaser.com/muse/

 

[Donnager]

The Dremel laser cutter was simply a rebadged Muse unit. That Muse unit (or a more current version) is still available.

https://fslaser.com/muse/

If so, that would be great.

I am kind of in the market for one, but want to be sure it will have support in the future. Do you have experience with the Muse unit (units)?

 

[James Duffy]

Do you have experience with the Muse unit (units)?

Sorry, no. But FSL (the manufacturer) has been around for years.

 

[Donnager]

Sorry, no. But FSL (the manufacturer) has been around for years.

Thanks,

I'll look into these.

 

[Fattbank64]

If so, that would be great.

I am kind of in the market for one, but want to be sure it will have support in the future. Do you have experience with the Muse unit (units)?

I have a Muse.

Their support is so-so. I have several issues that they cannot resolve. As a result, I have to perform tests that should have been completed before the unit was shipped.

I won’t buy another.

 

[Donnager]

I have a Muse.

Their support is so-so. I have several issues that they cannot resolve. As a result, I have to perform tests that should have been completed before the unit was shipped.

I won’t buy another.

Thanks. I'm not unfamiliar with CNC, but I am familiar with poor CNC troubleshooting and maintenance.

I'll keep looking.

 

[bwayne64]

This guy takes a cheap Chinese laser and adjusts and modifies it to kingdom come. He has hundreds of videos. If you want a cheap laser, and know how to make it perform, he's the man !



And if you're real handy, here's a do it yourself option. Another great channel for laser info, ; )

 

[BigMacDaddy]

I have been quite pleased with my CNC -- a Genmitsu 3018Pro + 3040 upgrade kit. I am cutting thinner plywood but no reason this would not cut much thicker plywood equally well (I sometimes cut a couple of sheets of 2mm at once).

Big benefit (over a laser) I found was no need to vent or connect water cooling. I just use a small 1gal shopvac to clean up sawdust and I usually set it up on the dining room table for cutting. Others have also mentioned benefit of CNC in cutting carbon fiber fins / materials (I have not done that).

 

[jqavins]

Name	Laser Cutting	Laser Engraving/Marking	Safety
Acrylic	Excellent	Excellent / Good	No harmful fumes
Fluoropolymers	Good	Good/Fair	No harmful fumes
Delrin	Good	Fair/Fair	Produces fumes of formaldehyde
Polycarbonate	Poor	Fair/Good	Produces heavy smoke when cut
Mylar	Good	Fair/Fair	No harmful fumes
Polyimide	Poor	Poor/Good	No harmful fumes

Types of plastics suitable for laser processing

Polystyrene is regrettably notable by its absence.

Plastics are tough to cut because they melt and give off toxins.

And, maybe that's why?

 

[Funkworks]

I've had the opportunity to try one of the Epilog models. A benchmark company as far as I can tell.

https://www.epiloglaser.com
I wouldn't see these being for occasional home use though. They're made to be used daily and to pay for themselves. And if you are going to use one of these daily, you need venting. No matter what you cut, there are fumes, and toxic or not, they'll smell like demons soon enough.

Cutting metals is on an entirely different level.

 

[Sandy H.]

I have been quite pleased with my CNC -- a Genmitsu 3018Pro + 3040 upgrade kit. I am cutting thinner plywood but no reason this would not cut much thicker plywood equally well (I sometimes cut a couple of sheets of 2mm at once).

Big benefit (over a laser) I found was no need to vent or connect water cooling. I just use a small 1gal shopvac to clean up sawdust and I usually set it up on the dining room table for cutting. Others have also mentioned benefit of CNC in cutting carbon fiber fins / materials (I have not done that).

I googled the Genmitsu and was very surprised. While the spindle is tiny, the overall machine concept looks great for the cost. I'm sure there are compromises, but I had more money in my wood/skateboard bearing machine than that one. When I read you do it on your dining room table, I laughed to myself a bit. . .no way that would be allowed here!

Seems like that combo might be the sweet spot for DIY rocketeers, but can't say for sure.

Sandy.

 

[BigMacDaddy]

I googled the Genmitsu and was very surprised. While the spindle is tiny, the overall machine concept looks great for the cost. I'm sure there are compromises, but I had more money in my wood/skateboard bearing machine than that one. When I read you do it on your dining room table, I laughed to myself a bit. . .no way that would be allowed here!

Seems like that combo might be the sweet spot for DIY rocketeers, but can't say for sure.

Sandy.

Yeah, I wanted something dirt cheap so settled on this after some research. I buy 200x300mm sheets of 1.5 or 2mm plywood so the 30x40 bed after the upgrade works really well for cutting a full sheet.

Apparently the 3020 Pro Max is a big upgrade on a number of components...
https://www.sainsmart.com/products/...20-pro-max-diy-kit-for-metal-carving-and-more
The dining room table thing is frowned upon here as well -- but this unit is really portable so it is not bad to pull it out of storage, cut a few fins sets, vacuum up, put it away again... I am finally getting a workroom / office so this will stop...

 

[cwbullet]

Polystyrene is regrettably notable by its absence.

And, maybe that's why?

I can see from the chart why some of them have raised concerns for all. I can see some might be safe.