laser cutters engravers experience ?

[mooseman]

We are thinking about buying a laser to address some other markets that we think we can snag some cash from
can anyone offer any comments  or thoughts on the machinety / brands of laser cutters / engravers?

Any comments / experience you have would be greatly appreciated
Respectfully
mooseman

Currently we are looking at

Epilog http://www.epiloglaser.com/

Universal http://www.ulsinc.com/

Full Spectrum http://fslaser.com/

FRONTLINE https://frontlinelasers.com/

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

I have a friend with a laser cutter and it has been great for his small woodworking and custom cabinetry shop.  He does both engraving and light duty CNC cutting.

While he was purchasing his unit (the make and model is not known to me) he was dumbstruck by the mountain of pollution and safety regs...and all that in a tiny town in Kansas!

Make sure that in your particular jurisdiction, this thing is legal, and that you dot all the I's and cross all your T's...or you're liable to rue the day you thunk it up.  And in the current nanny state mentality, regs are more likely to increase than decrease. 

Moose, if you can't find a reliable source for info about emission scrubbers, filters, and such, PM me and I'll ask him if he is still "up to speed" on all that, and he might entertain a phone call.  But this stuff
varies widely state to state and it would be better to check the legals first, before pricing and capabilities.  This stuff costs too much to chance a violation.  I'd try googling laser cutting in your state and perhaps even the same city, and see if you can find a knowledgable machine shop operator (friendly, that wouldn't see you as competition.)

[Inkworks]

I used a Universal for several years, great machine! From what I know Epilogues are great too. Both run as a printer out of CorelDraw. On the Universal you can create the file in 8 colours and give each colour a different power/function, choosing whether it vector-cuts or rasters an image, and setting PPI(pulses per inch), power, speed and DPI.

Pretty much everything it does is adjustable to an accuracy or .001"

Most of the units you'll be looking at won't touch metal, but will do clear products like acrylic and glass. 25 watts will do just about anything you want it to. We used to cut up to 1/2" acrylic with that much power without too much problem, but that was about maximum for it.

The older models (Universal) essentially had a computer onboard to store files etc. And that could be a inconvenience if you had a problem with it, the newer ones use your PC, that way if there is a problem with the computer you can quite easily swap in a new one.

Whatever you end up with, make sure it's an air-cooled laser tube, anything else is a PITA. Also set yourself up an exhaust system that is adjustable down to very little air flow. It helps a lot as too much air draw can pull the smoke and heat from the beam across the product marking or distorting the finished product. Many items benefit from pre-masking, and vinyl sign transfer tape works very well for that. Having some Methanol(Methyl Hydrate) on hand for clean-up of cut edges is a good idea too.

Polyesters, Acrylics and the like perform beautifully with Lasers, beware of trying polycarbonates and Lexans over about .030 - .060" as they discolour and more burn than melt.

[mooseman]

hey guys thanks for the great feedback. Many good points that I had not considered and thanks to you Ink,  CrOoked & Gilli for the PM  my education is moving nicely.

As always respectfully
mooseman

[Admiral]

if you aren't against a non us made unit, Trotec lasers are very good as well

out of your choices I would go with Epilog

[mooseman]

Thanks Admiral for the info, Trotec is added to the list.
I am prone to USA made where it makes sense but not dedicated to it .
One of the features I think I like is a pass through for longer items. Epilog has a drop down door but they do not indicate the unit can be operated this way.
As an example we would like to work with things like hockey and lacrosse sticks.
Thanks again for the help,
respectfully
mooseman

[Admiral]

Thanks Admiral for the info, Trotec is added to the list.
I am prone to USA made where it makes sense but not dedicated to it .
One of the features I think I like is a pass through for longer items. Epilog has a drop down door but they do not indicate the unit can be operated this way.
As an example we would like to work with things like hockey and lacrosse sticks.
Thanks again for the help,
respectfully
mooseman

with a magnet it can be used that way still, to make it think the door is closed

[Inkworks]

The older Universals had an interlock defeat.

[larryk]

We have used Epilog lasers in our shop since 1994 and they are great. Service and troubleshooting over the phone to fix the few problems we have had is excellant. My first one I got I cut a hole in the side to fit baseball bats in and the newer one we have now has a removable front for doing larger and odd shaped items.... we do a lot of gun stocks and it works great for that. Works great on fleece too! Good luck on whatever laser you decide on....... and you will have a ball experimenting on things. We have done everything from Bibles to Emu eggs.......... and a bunch of weird stuff too.

[mooseman]

We have used Epilog lasers in our shop since 1994 and they are great. Service and troubleshooting over the phone to fix the few problems we have had is excellant. My first one I got I cut a hole in the side to fit baseball bats in and the newer one we have now has a removable front for doing larger and odd shaped items.... we do a lot of gun stocks and it works great for that. Works great on fleece too! Good luck on whatever laser you decide on....... and you will have a ball experimenting on things. We have done everything from Bibles to Emu eggs.......... and a bunch of weird stuff too.

larryk.....Thanks for the details, I am getting more and more excited about this laser opportunity everyday, lots of $$ and a big learning curve & your help and info really helps.
Thanks for your energy.
Respectfully
mooseman