[Psycosis]

I have looked through the forum and I can't find the info I am looking for so I hope someone can help me on here easily.
I am looking for an inexpensive laser cutter/engraver that needs to do the following:

Engrave glass coasters
Engrave river stones (this is important as its key to its use for me, the stones aren't completely flat so don't know how this affects the marking)
Engrave the metal band on USB sticks. I assume these are coated and therefore a regular machine will handle the marking. I don't need to cut metal.

I have been looking at the 6090 chinese machines on the web (example below)
Top quality and Distributor wanted laser machine 6090 SMART laser cutter 150w-in Laser Equipment from Industry & Business on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


I have no experience of laser cutting, but from a business perspective I have some work lined up that could help pay for the machine.
I don't have a hell of a lot of cash to spend on a machine, so cheaper is better.

Can anyone offer any advice, or is there anyone local in NZ who has a machine that can chat about it and provide me with some information

[Psycosis]

I have spent a day watching a ton of video's and i believe i would like the following features:

Ability to line up the business end with a laser pointer
Replacement cooler - like a K3000 as a bucket of water doesn't seem like a good plan approx $300
Air assist - to keep the item being cut cooler
Speed control - I gather this isn't available on the cheaper units without modification
Control over multiple formats - lower end units only seem to work with the Moshi or similar software. Support for more maintream software would be better.
Auto height adjustment - not really a requirement but a nice to have.

I hope this provides a better picture of what i am looking for.
The Chinese units appear to have OK internals but the build quality leaves a lot to be desired. I don't plan on heavy usage so this may be OK.

One other thought was a CNC router could do most of the work i require, but i can't find any examples of how small the text can be and whether a small unit will give me flexibility (like a shapeoko)

[buddydog]

I would suggest looking for the newer unit with digital readout and push button power control (no meter, no power knob) with LaserDRW software and not Moshi(I don't have Moshi but have not read much good).

I'll be throwing a manual z table mod/kit and maybe throw in a 3D printed head (air assist) on ebay soon for under 30. You should read up on DCKIII, DK40, and cheap Chinese laser on cnczone and also sawmill creek forums for more information.

As to the one in the link... FOUL! Not 150 watts, Not 50 watts. Actually the unit is the one known as the "K40" or "DCKIII" or just "40 W laser/engraver" on ebay which isn't actually 40 watts at all but really maybe 30 watts on a good day! Now that said and in spite of what some will tell you they are a decent unit "if" you are a gearhead? You need have no expectation of them working right out of the box, no expectation of service or warranty,and no manual. If yours happens to immediately work, well go buy a lottery ticket. They are well supported on ebay and by the company Lightobject and pretty well documented on here. Cheap and easy to work on and you have to learn to work on any of them so you might as well learn on a cheap one. If your not up to it, your not out much. See posts by "Herby" and myself and others. I would not be seduced by company's rebranding these at 2K. If your not a gearhead maybe a Rabbit laser? But really for real satisfaction budget 15K for an Epilogue and such. You still have a steep learning curve. Most of us start at the bottom for 600 or so delivered shipped from a US warehouse and that seems to work real good. The K3000 is just a radiator and fan.The 5000 is the recommended one with an actual compressor. I am going to use a water cooler modified for mine. Air assist is mandatory add on(3D printed head and a cheap air brush compressor. The bucket with a couple of gallons allows you to work for an hour or so at a time. Speed control is built into LaserDRW.. I have not found auto z to be needed at all. A Z table becomes essential when you get a little experience which is why I have designed a kit. I'll try a rock tonight since I have not tried that yet. Glass is no problem if it's thick enough. I did break some thin stuff. If USB sticks are "annodized" aluminum this machine will work fine. Works good on those black aluminum LED flashlights if you can find a blank spot. The curve on a fairly flat rock will not cause much problem if the material will engrave at all. I have engraved curved glass cups and as long as min and max distance are within 1/4" and focal point is set to center, they look fine. These units are not for commercial use according to everything I have read.

The pointer adds weight to the head and there are ways around it that you get used to pretty quick.

[Psycosis]

That would be great if you can test. I would be interested to see what kind of resolution you get as well. I have included an example of a rock that has been lacquered with a small font.
Is there a suggestion for any particular K40 type laser cutter, they do all seem pretty similar even the one i suggested. I assume they all offer the same limitations and none are better than any other manufacturers.
I don't mind using a bucket for the first short while to keep the cooling side of things to an acceptable level. I assume so long as the water has ice in it, everything should work ok.
The USB sticks are aliminium but they have a coating so i assume i should be able to mark them in the same way.
The coasters are the regular square type you can buy off alibaba in bulk for about $0.5 each
I want to use this machine for very light use, essentially to knock out a couple of items to help pay for it. If i end up doing lots of stuff i will buy a decent machine to give the reliability.
Attachment 263446

[buddydog]

We'll all the ones shipping from the US have dried up at the moment but here is one from China:
New High Precise Speed USB CO2 Laser ENGRAVER Engraving Cutting Machine 40W | eBay
The reason to buy from US is you can return it for sure. ebay does not offer that guarantee from foreign ports. How about customs? Anyway that is the type I would recommend. Maybe watch over next couple of months and someone will get another container of them to ship from California. I paid $471 delivered to my door from "professionalsell"on ebay. I did get warranty help from them. I guess I should have bought all of them!

[Nolan Yang]

Hello Psycosis, maybe our price is not in your consideration range, it doesn't matter, our website has many samples and tutorial videos, I think it's useful for you to learn more about laser cutter machine.:banana:
Materials Archives - Thunderlaser
Materials Archives - Thunderlaser

[imperial90303]

The reason to buy from US is you can return it for sure. ebay does not offer that guarantee from foreign ports. How about customs? Anyway that is the type I would recommend. Maybe watch over next couple of months and someone will get another container of them to ship from California. I paid $471 delivered to my door from "professionalsell"on ebay. I did get warranty help from them. I guess I should have bought all of them![/QUOTE]

there is a Port slowdown at the LA - Long Beach Port , so many imports are stuck "somewhere"

[buddydog]

Ha found this this morning. It's more than I paid but if mine disappeared today I would reorder from these folks.
New Operation Panel 40W CO2 Laser ENGRAVER Engraving Cutting Machine w USB Port | eBay

[buddydog]

The one linked above ships from California so ebays warranty applies and no unknown additional customs fees. It is only a warehouse so any damage in shipping won't be noticed.

I'll try to get to the rock this morning.

edit: What I meant by the warehouse comment is I doubt anyone opens the box after it's trip from China so any damage will be unknown to them. You will still be the final inspection agent. The machine will need alignment at the very least. All communication is still with China and difficult. They shipped a replacement power supply from China for free and no hassle but I had to troubleshoot to their satisfaction and if I had not been capable of that I am sure they would have sent the wrong part and frustration on both sides of the pond would have happened. YOU need to know what your doing or you need to spend 15k$ at Epilogue. If you don't know what your doing make friends with a ham radio operator and a machinist for the box opening and setup. Make these forums available to your "friends" and together all those skills will get the correct parts coming if needed. No whining! :-) Your basically stealing advanced technology at these prices...

[Psycosis]

I saw this on ebay today and this looks like its got a few optional extras that might save a few $$ in the long run even though its slightly more expensive.
40W CO2 Laser ENGRAVER Cutter Engraving and Cutting Machine USB K40 Wood Stamp | eBay
I am based in New Zealand so shipping is a big hurdle for getting anything cheaply

I fortunately have someone i know who is very familiar with laser cutters and electronic bits, and he is building a CNC router from scratch so i will enlist him for some help.
Thanks for your help with this, much appreciated as there are limited resources over this side of the world.

[buddydog]

Ok went out in the pasture and picked up a Universal River Pasture Rock (URPR). Placed the URPR of unknown heritage in the machine, set it such that focal point was 1/8 inch and this was halfway between the min and max engrave points for the design on the rock. 3 passes at 50% just barely marked it. Very detailed and such but no depth. My wife liked it (a horse design) so it won't be tossed out but not a product I would sell due to lack of depth.

[Psycosis]

OK thanks for testing that. I heard from someone that the guy that originally produced that rock in my picture had to do 8 passed to get it marked to that depth but i don't have any additional info. Possibly Cermark or something similar was used to get a better cut? That could explain the black colouring where the letters are.
From your expert opinion now you have interacted with an ERPR do you have any thoughts about what is would take to make more of a mark on it? Higher power laser i am guessing?

[buddydog]

I saw this on ebay today and this looks like its got a few optional extras that might save a few $$ in the long run even though its slightly more expensive.
40W CO2 Laser ENGRAVER Cutter Engraving and Cutting Machine USB K40 Wood Stamp | eBay
I am based in New Zealand so shipping is a big hurdle for getting anything cheaply



I fortunately have someone i know who is very familiar with laser cutters and electronic bits, and he is building a CNC router from scratch so i will enlist him for some help.
Thanks for your help with this, much appreciated as there are limited resources over this side of the world.

Yeah that looks ok but note: "not responsible for additional customs fees etc" Not the exact wording but that's what they are saying. Air assist-compressor, tubing, and head worth about 100$ additional if you don't already have a well stocked junk box. Good luck!

[buddydog]

OK thanks for testing that. I heard from someone that the guy that originally produced that rock in my picture had to do 8 passed to get it marked to that depth but i don't have any additional info. Possibly Cermark or something similar was used to get a better cut? That could explain the black colouring where the letters are.
From your expert opinion now you have interacted with an ERPR do you have any thoughts about what is would take to make more of a mark on it? Higher power laser i am guessing?

Expert eh! :-) Nope just another hacker.

Well in spite of all my preaching I haven't cleaned my mirrors in a while but my semi trained eye has noted something. I seem to be able to tell when the laser is engraving if the "fire" is kind of orange and "in" the cut. If it's super bright and on the surface it's not really working so well (except on glass and annodized aluminum. It's bright on those when it's working good). That's the way it looked on this particular brand of rock. It was a quick try and I didn't attempt anything like the wet rag over it that works so well on glass. Different rocks would probably react differently. More power? Probably help but I'm guessing this particular rock would take a lot more power. Anyway YMMV but I would say I was not successful. Unfortunately my "customer"(wife) gota look at it and so now there will be a 4" rock permanently in our house. Shoulda tossed it before she came home! Would have been fun for her to have found it outside someday.

[Psycosis]

Now she will get you marking up rocks for birthdays, maybe you could mark some up and leave them in random places for people to find.
I stumbled across this today after a few hours of additional searching.
Laser Engraving Beach Pebble Stones: Indepth Material Review - CNCROi.com
This doesn't spell it out but using a commercial 110w laser possibly with only one pass produced these results which are deep (in my opinion) vs the rocks i hae seen.
Interestingly the rock has turned black where the laser hits and they make no mention of using anything to cut it, just relying on the lasers power alone.
I think i might be able to make this a good example of a test, even though it has only slightly marked the rock, it still might be possible with a bit more messing about and trial and error.

Thanks for testing this all for me, this is an important part of my decision and getting the wife to release the purse strings