curious

[Tonyz]

where does a CNC router stand in comparison with Laser cutter, ie what can a CNC do that a laser cannot and vice versa?

[KBs PensNmore]

A CNC router can carve/cut a design or shape in/onto timber, plastics etc. Whereas a laser cutter can cut/engrave a design onto timber, to a depth of approx 1/2mm, depending on the size of the laser, this could be deeper.
439261439262
439263

Hope this helps,
Kryn

[elanjacobs]

A few key points come to mind:

Lasers are essentially 2D only, you can cut through the material, or etch a design at a single shallow depth.
Lasers work by burning/vaporising material, so whatever you cut in timber will have a black edge and surface etching will be brown to black depending on power.
You can laser etch on pretty much any material and much faster than you could rout the same image
You can nest very closely with a laser because the beam is only 0.1-0.3mm wide.
You can cut fine details for the same reason and there's no cutting pressure, as there would be with a router, so you're not likely to lose or damage small/delicate parts

EDIT, thought of more:
There is little-to-no dust created with a laser and extracting the fumes created is relatively easy compared to dust/chips
No coolant/lubrication is needed when cutting metal with a laser

[Bendigo Bob]

The one thing about both of them for an old guy like me is programming, understanding all that vector/raster lingo and such.

That keeps me out of the picture, well apart from money of course :)

I've got a mate here in Bendigo who has a large laser machine Tonto. he's done a few small jobs for me as below.

Personally, if those were not holding me back i'd love to mess with routing by CNC. You wouldn't get that black look left by the laser