Thread: Engraver - CNC - Laser

a group I belong to in Calgary has one of these https://www.troteclaser.com/en-au/la...speedy-series/
I'm no sure if it's a 360 or 400 model.
Cost is considerably more than $3600.

BONUS, if it can be called that, is that the Trotecs accept files prepared in Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator.

I've an Emblaser. It's fantastic.

It's an open-air 4 watt laser with an A3 bed. One MUST wear special goggles.

It is used only for cutting veneer patterns, which it does very well.

The Emblaser 2 is covered (goggles unnecessary) and has a ventilation management kit. The lasers when cutting generate considerable smoke! They are not for sealed rooms.

The E1 4-watt will cut veneers and up to 3mm MDF, with a free passes. The E2 will do it faster due to its more powerful laser. They are not toy machines, but they are not production machines.

I do "manufacture" on mine, but it's only 15 or 20 units a day, maximum. One needs to maintain them (clean laser, clean rails, oil rails) so if you have lazy or slovenly users there will be strife. They are relatively delicate - users must be aware of this and cannot be rough or ungentle.

Both machines are outstanding fun to use. I chose the E1 not only because it was cheaper, but the sides/front allow material to slide through. It uses a gantry arrangement which is beneficial, but to the detriment of "safety". A 4-watt laser is bright as hell and one must never not use their goggles. Goodbye retinas if you f*ck up.

Software is super fun to use too. One should learn the free package of InkScape and also the paid version of LightBurn (cheap). Both are fun to use... Not *easy*, for there are novel ideas involved, but not hard either. "Playing" with it to drive it around will get you clued-up competent quickly.

Next! I've been courted by Trotec who have a beautiful machine, but it costs $25 to $30k. It is not a toy to learn on. It is a business machine. It is also huge. It's output is impressive. It's high wattage, long lasting and super fast. They get super expensive super fast! A slight increase in size is priced completely disproportionately to the area increase. They come as little ones (speedy 100 up to monster 400's)... 12 to 60 watts up to 120 watts. Danger Levels!

If my little biz ever cranks up enough, Id definitely grab a Trotec, but for what I do the Emblaser 1 fits beautifully.

There is also Glowforge: https://glowforge.com