Laser Cutter

[M.Kong-Sivert]

Yesterday, I was informed that my school would be offered a laser cutter costing anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000, but we have to pick one out. I am supposed to be doing some research for this, but I don't know much about laser cutters. Will you help me find a good one? Thanks.

[qnetjoe]

Look at Epilog laser, but their smallest laser (Zing 16) starts at about 7-8K.

[MrBasse]

Were you offered a laser costing $4-5k or offered $4-5k to buy a laser? If the latter you are in the used market. I have an 30 watt Epilog in my classroom and it is great, but if I had to do it again I would spend the extra cash to get the highest wattage possible.

[M.Kong-Sivert]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

Were you offered a laser costing $4-5k or offered $4-5k to buy a laser?

We were offered a laser cutter costing $4-5,000. We just get to choose which one they give us.

[Joe G.]

With the quantities and types of material you would typically want to use, a laser cutter is one of the few tools where I would recommend a cheaper brand with more wattage/work area. While not a ULS, Epilog, or Trotec, Rabbit Laser has some pretty good machines for the price. There's also the option of saving some money to build your own.

Note that no matter what you get, you won't be able to laser cut metal anywhere near this price range.

[MrBasse]

Originally Posted by M.Kong-Sivert

We were offered a laser cutter costing $4-5,000. We just get to choose which one they give us.

I guess it has been a long day as I'm still not picking up what you are putting down...

Do you get to choose from a group of lasers they have already? Or are they giving you a check and saying "go buy a laser?" If the former, pick the one that seems to suit your needs (probably the highest wattage available). If the latter, I still vote used market with the highest wattage you can find.

You can use them for really cool things, but just know that at this price range you can't buy a laser cutter . You can get a used laser engraver though (it will cut paper, some plastics and other soft materials). We use ours to cut foam core, card board and paper for prototyping. I have engraved promotional items. Fundraisers are a cakewalk when you have a laser and a bunch of time to load a part and press "go" several hundred times. I have even read that you can use them to create custom circuit boards by engraving off coating to leave your circuits behind.

Just be sure to get adequate ventilation for the space you run it in as nasty fumes come out of things when they are vaporized...

[Greg Needel]

if you only have 4-5,000 look at full spectrum laser. Their customer service is not great but you get a good amount of machine for the money.