[DrWizard]

Greetings to All! I am a bit of newbie to this, although I've long held an interest. But now my business partner and I have decided to jump into the laser cutting and engraving business and are shopping around for a machine. I'm the one doing the research and will make the final recommendation to my partner. I've been looking at the cheap chinese made laser cutter/engravers, but they are not without issues, and since we are just starting up, we will need some hand holding and good support, we won't have the experience to do our own troubleshooting. Initially we are looking for a lightweight but powerful unit which we can move around and take to fairs, shows, and events on the weekends and do while-you-wait custom engraving. During the week we will produce stuff we will be selling from our web sites. We are looking at engraving all sorts of materials, including anodized aluminum, acrylic, and wood, and cutting acrylic (mostly 1/8") and some wood. Based on our requirements, we have narrowed our choices down to Epilog, Universal Laser, and Full Spectrum brands, and probably a model about 50 watts. I would love to hear recommendations, suggestions, advice, & warnings about what machine we should choose, and other aspects of this burgeoning business.

Thanks to all!

[Storen]

//we are looking for a lightweight but powerful unit which we can move around and take to fairs//

The laser machines, similar to most printers are not designed to be moved aroud frequently. In long term the mecanical performance may be affected. It sounds like you are ready to buy an expensive machine. I wouldn’t recommend to treat it that way unless you are ready to repair it frequently. Another tihing - laser machines produce a lot of smoke and some materials smell bad and may be toxic. You will need to carry a fume-filtration system with you eveyware. It may be bigger and havier than the laser machine.

//we won't have the experience to do our own troubleshooting//

Actually if you don’t do anything extreme the laser machines are very easy to maintain and service. IMO every person with average technical knowledge should be able to do it.

//we have narrowed our choices down to Epilog, Universal Laser, and Full Spectrum brands//

Trotec is another high-end brand similar to Epilog and ULS you may want to check.

Full Spectrum are highly overpriced average Chinese machines. They are not in the same category as the other 3. Also keep in mind their machines come with glass tubes. The high quality brands equip theirs with RF Metal lasers. The difference in the performance from that alone will be huge.

// a model about 50 watts //

A machine with 50W RF tube will be very expensive… If you want to start with something more affordable with high wattage you may want to consider Chinese machine with a glass tube.

[DrWizard]

I am well aware that these are delicate and precision pieces of equipment and don't take well to being moved around, jostled, and bumped. I'm not so keen on carrying it around, but my business partner, who is financing this venture, believes that's where the money's at. I think he may be right. I've already been thinking of well-padded shipping containers and locking down the the tube, the X-Y positioning arms, and other components for travel. As for the fumes, I've considered that as well, but we are mainly targeting outdoor events at the moment.

And while I'm all about saving money and being frugal and thrifty - because I am thinking of Return-On-Investment, my partner unfortunately is not. He always wants to buy the very best, price be damned. He believes a little too strongly in the expression "You have to spend money to make money". I expect we will get an expensive one to start, he's paying for it, but if business is good and we need another, I'll be pushing really hard for a more reasonably priced one. I wanna make a profit!

As for targeting ~50 watts -- For weekend use at events, we will be doing engraving, and I realize we don't need much power for that. During the week we will be cutting. I am interested in cutting boxes and artistic stuff. Also, the higher wattage tubes are supposed to last considerably longer, and I've already been plugging numbers into Excel with the rated lifetime estimates and replacement costs of tubes, and my calculations are showing it to be well worth the money.

Trotec is definitely on my radar. There is a sign expo being held near us in Orlando in about 3 weeks, Trotec and Epilog both will be there, didn't seen any other names I recognized on the exhibitors list. I haven't got all the specs from Trotec yet, but their machines appear to be large and heavy.

I'm trying to remain flexible, to be able to change our business plan as needed based on what sells and what doesn't. That's what got me interested in laser cutters/engravers because they are SOOOOO versatile.

Anyone else with some thoughts, warnings, helpful advice?

[Labmaster]

I would never ever move a calibrated and well working flat bed laser type around.
Most of them (especially the chineses models) do not have a internal self contained structure to hold all critical components in place, instead they often use the housing as structure for mounting the critical components (tube, mirrors, gantry ... ) . Every move could have effect on the operation of the machine then.

This is somehow different when it comes to real engraving/marking machine. Such machines use so called galvo systems where such galvo systems (very fast tilting mirros) together with (e.g. a fiber) laser are mounted in one little self contained structure. Such machines are usually not that critical to move around.
We have such a machine from Trotec, a Speedmarker 700 that is mainly used for engraving on bare steel, aluminium and plastics.
(The good thing for such applications, a fiber laser (e.g. 20W) does not need cermark, thermark ... for real engraving onto metal)

The Laser itself is one thing, another is the fume extraction.
For a CO2 lasercutting system the fume extraction with a cleaning stage could cost as much as the laser itself and could even get very bulky. Do not underestimate this part of the system especially when you really wants to use it on /on public places.

For using it in public places you must be sure that the laser system is a real class 1 laser system. (but this may depend on the country regulations)


best regards,
Walter