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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → General Discussion → Laser engraver?
Anyone know much about the low end (<$500) CO2 laser engraving machines seen on Ebay, et al? For example:
http://www.banggood.com/1500mW-Desktop- … ntent=sami
That's not CO2, it's a diode laser. 1.6w is not very much, and that's incredibly unsafe without a laser rated enclosure.
Yeah, you're right, Tim. I looked at so many of them, all CO2, I didn't notice this one wasn't. Anyway, the reviews say the laser is quite powerful (relatively speaking, I guess). And, definitely, it needs an enclosure. Wouldn't want to lose an eye. Or a leg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhRUe-gz690
I sort of looked at the cheap import 40w units. in reality you need something with al least a little power.
on the flip side you get a nice little frame a set of stepper motors and a controller for $200
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You're looking at a minimum of $600-750, for a 40W CO2 lasers. Most of the units sold, will have a fairly low price (~$500-600), but also charge $200+ for shipping.
Here is the cheapest listing I found of FleaBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobby-40W-CO2-L … xy9X5TWsoF
If you do get one, let me know what you think. I've been thinking about one of those myself. I want to use them to engrave knives and guns, but for my intended use, I'd probably have to get one with a rotary attachment and at least a 50W laser.
I got a 40watt unit off eBay for $360 and love it. I picked a us reseller in case there were any problems like damage during shipment, which is not uncommon. There is a good Google+ community and a Facebook group. Just search for k40 laser engraver. I am a member of both and they are both great resources.
Do you happen to have the vendor's name on eBay? I've been looking at these things for months and always, the combined price (item+shipping) revolves around $750+.
The link I posted yesterday for a printer shipping from the US was about $750, is now it's $1400 for some reason. The cheapest I found today, is about $760 from China, and that will probably change as well.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Laser-Engraver- … Sw~OVWwZMl
I would consider paying $450-500 for one of those, but not much more than that.
Also, have you tried it on any metals yet?
I looked and cannot find them anymore. In fact, the shipped prices in general seem almost double what they were when I bought mine last fall. I don't know why. Still, I found one unit on aliexpress for $400 shipped:
http://m.aliexpress.com/item/32431215979.html
*correction* I thought it was 220v but it is either 220 or 110. I don't know about the seller but the engraver looks like it has some fancy extras I don't have like a temp sensor. It may not come with a blower fan, although if u get it I have my original fan that I replaced and u can have it if you want.
That 40W says it will not work on metal. I understand you usually you want a fiber laser for that. So if you are limited to non-metallics, why 40W? All of the 500mW-1600mW-2000mW should as well for less money.
Because none of those will cut more than paper with any sort of speed.
Metal cutting lasers have 5 digit price tags.
(I own a 60w 600x400 laser, and often wish I'd gone 80 or 100w)
You still could get an 80 or 100. Does yours have a panel on the side that opens up to accommodate a longer tube? Mine already has a box to cover the extra tube length, so it's just a matter of making a longer box. Maybe if the 60w dies that would be a time to upgrade to a more powerful tube.
Yeah, I'm just too cheap to upgrade when nothing's broken. Once this tube fails, I'll be movin' on up. There's actually a 80w fatbody tube that makes a true 80w at normal 60w length.
Seems the main distinction on the low end machines is not only whether you want to engrave metal but whether you want to just engrave or cut. Perhaps it is correct to say that the $200-300 machines (under 2W) can engrave wood, soft plastic, leather and paper but to cut more than paper you need to ramp up?
Yes, I got my 40W co2 laser cutter after first thinking of getting one of the cheap $200 diode based lasers too. Besides only engraving, I found that they mostly had quite small beds sized for cell phone cases and such. As most of my projects involve primarily cutting, I suggest that bigger (both in power and bed size) is better in this instance.
If I can't mark metals, I'm not really interested. I was under the impression that any CO2 laser could mark metals like Aluminum, copper and even Stainless Steel. I saw 20W CO2 models that claim they can do it.
I'll just wait for a while I guess.
<100w CO2 can mark metals if you spray them first with moly lube or Cermark. Definitely can't cut, though.
I wasn't sure from your original post whether you wanted to mark metal or actually engrave it, but a 40watt is supposed to work just fine for marking. Cermark makes spray for marking various metals and even glass or porcelain, and an easier to use tape too, which I just got in the mail but have yet to try. As Tim mentioned, dry molybdenum lube can be used as a cheap alternative, and anodized aluminum can be marked without a coating.
I use an Etch-A-Matic for marking metal. Its what the use to mark feeler gages.
And now there's this. Note it can engrave aluminum and glass as well as cut a variety of materials. It has a 5W "shortwave" laser.
http://www.gizmag.com/mr-beam-ii-laser- … 6-91815557
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