Please help me build my new machine!
hi everyone! Here is the deal: I have a $30,000 budget (max), I need 300 watts (or as close as I can get), CO2, 1 tube (not a dual setup), I want the best tube I can afford ( I need brand recommendations) an 8' x '4 cutting area, other specs not mentioned here are open for suggestion as well. What say yee, o' masters of the laser?! Thank you to all of you who respond in advance, and thank you for your patience with me -- I'm no beginner but I'm no expert either.
Re: $30,000 budget -- help me build my new machine!
Hi -What speeds do you want and what do you want to cut? and what accuracy do you need? Peter
Re: $30,000 budget -- help me build my new machine!
Hi - For $30k (USD??) you can buy a machine vs make one? If you do want to make one its best to pick a production machine that does what you want and use it as a benchmark. You will need to settle on some actual speeds vs "as fast as i can afford statements) Peter
Re: $30,000 budget -- help me build my new machine!
Buy a used machine, lots of them on EBay, as an example https://www.ebay.com/itm/BALLIU-LC15...oAAOSwwh5bkWn4 and https://www.ebay.com/itm/MAZAK-SPACE...gAAOSwrZFcveyI
Worst case all of the hard work has been done for you. May require a new tube or other work, but at least has a good base to start from. You can't build a good machine from scratch for $30K
Re: $30,000 budget -- help me build my new machine!
So what was the last CNC laser you built like? I thought so.... follow Jims advice.
Re: $30,000 budget -- help me build my new machine!
The goal is perfectly doable.
There are no actual hurdles to getting such a machine, technically.
Contact in pm if you want.
Re: $30,000 budget -- help me build my new machine!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBBEngraving
Hi Jim--Thanks for the advice. I will certainly look into this option. Do you have any recommendations for reputable 300+Watt laser tubes, single tube, not dual?
Sorry, I'm not qualified to address which tube would be the best. My experience with lasers has been to watch a couple of them run. :D
But I do have a lot of machine building/rebuilding and CNC controls experience. Normally it is better and much cheaper to let someone else do the hard work of building the frame, installing the mechanical systems, and the controls. A used machine will get you all of that, even if a machine needs some work, money can be saved with some sweat equity.
If you have the experience and the equipment needed to build a machine from the ground up, then you should have no problem rebuilding a used machine. Like I said above, with a used machine somebody else has done the hard work for you, as well as supplying a lot of really expensive hardware.
EDIT: This thread seems to be ''stuck'' or somehow damaged. It has quit responding to posts. KBBEngraving please start a new thread if you want to continue this discussion.