[kennected]

I'm interested in anyone's recommendtions as to which laser system might be best. I'm a print finisher that does a lot of diecutting in the printing industry and I think adding diverse cutting service to our capabilities is a great fit. The printing industry has been good to us over the years but I think cutting parts from woods, plastics, light metals, etc. as a service using laser CNC to for other companies could be right for us. It would seem that one machine could crossover into several industries... signage, woodworking, machine tool fabrication, advertising, etc.

I see many machines from many manufacturers and am confident that there are a lot of knowledgable comrads out there in CNCZONE that will be able to offer some of their experiance. I think a 4' x 4' at least would be necessary and maybe a 4' x 8'. Beam Dynamics has a great looking drawer (they call them pallets) type feeding system and yet they top out at 500 watts. I have talked a local laser user who cuts thin steel and he uses a 2000 or 3000 watt machine. I've heard that there is a lot of "hocus pocus" out there when it to wattage rating. Can someone clarify some of the mystery?

Any and all feedback will be appreciated.

-Ken

[coleong]

The laser power depends on what you are cutting and also the cutting speed.

For paper cutting the power needed are lower than for metal.

A 4x4 price is not a big difference to a 4x8 since the laser unit is the same but a Higher power cost more.

If you are just going to cut the die for punch up paper, a low power laser can be used.