[Robot Dude]

I have owned a couple 45w universal lasers for years. I'm looking for something with some real power. I'm looking for good reviews for a laser capable of 100w to 200w range.

Also interested in squeezing a 80w to 100w laser into a Universal Laser M300! Any advice on either?

[Amar Zhao]

hello, Robot Dude, nice to meet you here.

Robot, can you tell us what size of the machine you need? for what materials? how much thickness? then we could send the offer to you. Thanks.

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[Rodney Gold]

Iv'e had great service via Shenui Laser Read these threads
Tips on buying a laser from China
and
Despatches from China
and
Chinese lasers - they're here !!!!!!
You will find it cheaper to buy a new laser than to adapt your existing one to a glass tube.

[Robot Dude]

It is fine for manufacturers to post here, but I was really looking for some state side people to chime in with good reviews of companies and products they have worked with. 80w isn't enough. I am interested in 160w laser...

Anyone out there had a good experience with buying a laser in the 160w range?

[Robot Dude]

Whoops I replied before I noticed your reply Rodney. I had already read your threads. I need to subscribe to that forum so I can see the pictures though. I am considering Shenui but I don't think they make a 160w laser. I'm currently using 45w lasers from universal, but they actually measured 60w on the tester, I'm marginally able to cut my material at that wattage. 80-100w wouldn't be a dramatic improvement. But 160w (largest I have found) would be!

[cinematic2]

Robot Dude
Your Universals are using RF lasers.
Rodney offers you chinese CW laser machines.
They are different like cat and dog. Both are animals :-)
Of course Rodney will tell you whole story how many machines he has and so, and so...(chair)
But belive me. Nobody pays thousand of dollars for RF laser if 10x cheaper CW would be good enough.
Thanks

[underthetire]

We have some rofin/lasog lasers. They all work well, but are $$$$$ and then some more$$$$ and add one more$ for good measure. Think the new 400 watt system we ordered was over 200k.

[Rodney Gold]

You can get a 180W Reci tube with any size machine , the only thing with smaller machines is that tube doesnt fit , but thats no issue as the mnfgrs will just add a box at the back to keep it covered.
There really is no difference to using a chinese glass tubed machine to a RF tubed one as they will both do the same job in more or less the same manner.
I have a 1500 x 1300 machine on order , with twin heads (using a 150w RECI for each) and this is purely for cutting - I can let you know how well it works in March 2012 as it wont get here till then. My new laser can either do 2 x 1200 x 700 jobs or if I remove the extra head , can do the full size of the table with 1 head.

As to wattage , well a 30w Laser can outperform a 180w as it really is power density at the focussed spot that counts , for eg , a 30w laser with a 0.01" spot will kill a 180w laser with a 0.1" spot size. Thick materials will also require lenses with much longer focal points (and thus much bigger spot sizes) so as to increase depth of focus (when the spot increases to beyond 140% of its focused size it is considered out of the depth of focus)
You have to be aware too , that glass tubes will NOT fire at below 15% of the rated power , so a 150w tube is effectively limited to 22w as its min power , and if you intend to cut very thin stuff like paper , you might find that you cannot increase speed enough to balance the power and might overpower the stuff.
At the end of it all , something like my twin head 150w with a basket full of spares shouldnt cost you more than lets say $12 000 landed and delivered to your door.
PS to the chinese and other "industry" players that spam the boards or offer "advice" that is not specific to addressing relevant questions in the original post , it really is counterproductive as it cannot be "unbiased" advice.. It kinda annoys me , and I would probably avoid any company that does this. The worst thing is when they dredge up threads that are like 5 yrs old and then offer the "advice".

[coase]

hi,

Reci 150w, or 180w will be good enough.

also, GSI 200W or bigger power

[Robot Dude]

Hi Rodney thanks again for the feedback. I will tell you more about my situation. I am cutting 1/8" polycarbonate clean through. With my current setup, 45w head, air assist, 2" lens, I'm down to 1.8% speed, and it's a tiny sweet spot where it cuts cleanly. Faster and it will not penetrate. Slower it wants to flame up terribly. Even a slight dust molecule on a mirror will prevent cutting through. Adjusting the lenses takes hours to get it just right.

I agree totally that a 180w laser is not useful to me if it has a .1" point. How do I know if my $12,000.00 will fix my problem. It sounds like a bargain as I have $50,000.00 invested in my two M300's!

I don't know what kind of laser is in my Universal. I just know somethings gotta give.

Does any of this new information help?

[Rodney Gold]

Polycarb is generally a pain to cut with a laser, however the glass tubed more potent laser MIGHT have a slightly bigger kerf width but not significantly so versus your 45w RF tubed laser but the extra power will go a long way to making life easier.
You don't have to go for a $12k option , you can get a 1200 x 800 100w/130w machine for about 1/2 that. At the very worst it doesnt work on polycarb that well and you try and do other stuff on it , its not huge money compared to a $50k investment.

[Robot Dude]

There's also the issue of fume extraction. My super slow .005" kerf cut generates a tremendous amount of smoke. I would not want to attempt this with a fat kerf. So the true question here is what laser system out there can generate a .005" kerf at higher than 60 watts? Anyone can reply.

[Robot Dude]

Nothing? Really? :I

[Rodney Gold]

The spot or kerf is dependant on the lens , 0.005" spot/kerf is very possible with the right lens , no matter the power.
Look here
Laser Optics Calculators
and you can see the relationships between spot size , depth of focus and energy density.
Ideally you want smallest spot , biggest depth of focus and max energy density - but you cant have all 3 maximised cos there really are no free lunches , something suffers at another's gain. Depth of focus and thus abilty to cut thick stuff will drop as you go to a shorter lens for a smaller spot.

[Robot Dude]

I have no interest in cutting anything over 1/8" (3mm) so any laser version can be optimized to cut with as small a spot as .005"? I'm assuming that's maximum energy density.

I wonder why none of the manufacturers want to join in this conversation...

[Robot Dude]

Getting ready to place my order for a new Universal Laser PLS6.150D with dual 75w heads for 150w, with a .005" spot at the surface. $40,000.00 Couldn't be happier...

[Rodney Gold]

Wow , expensive machine , IMO you can get the same performance or better at under 1/3rd the price.

[underthetire]

Wow , expensive machine , IMO you can get the same performance or better at under 1/3rd the price.

But there is hobby stuff, then there is production stuff. Last thing you want in production is to wait for a part out of china.

[RossMosh]

But there is hobby stuff, then there is production stuff. Last thing you want in production is to wait for a part out of china.

The Chinese machines really aren't hobby machines. They are built like tanks in a lot of ways. They just use a bit dated technology to keep the cost point low.

There are several people in the states who stock various parts for Chinese lasers. Not to mention you can always buy replacement stock when ordering your laser.

I'm not suggesting he shouldn't buy a Universal. I'm just saying what you are saying isn't entirely true. I would suggest looking into Trotec though. They are superior machines for not much more than the Universal.

[Hurricane21]

Ross,

Thank you and I couldn't agree more. Most of us stock all of the parts here in the US so there is no need to wait for China shipments. And yes $40,000 plus seems a bit much.

I think you can get very similar quality at around $15-18k.

But I do appreciate the various input from all sources that is what makes a good forum.

Hurricane Laser Team