Help for setup

[MrBeefy]

Hi Everyone,
Sorry complete newbie here, don't really know too much at all about laser cutting, having said that myself and my wife are looking at setting up a hobby, where we can cut a material such as 3mm plywood, we are looking at purchasing this machine;
Mini 2000MW DIY Laser Engraving Laser Engraver Laser Cutter / Printer 17x20cm
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/201674757874

Any ideas if it would be suitable, or what would be our best entry level machine?

Thanks.

[kecked]

2W is not much power. If you got the space this would be a MUCH more versatile device.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/50W-USB-L...cAAOSw8w1YBcXn

Also the software to drive it is very important. What kind of file does the cutter take? Does it come with good drawing software...

I also think the cut size of the diodes will be a lot larger than the CO2. If you do get the 2W let us know if I'm wrong and it works well.

[VDX]

... I'm cutting plywood with blue 2W- and 3,5W-diodes - you'll need more passes through to get it cut without much charring on the surface:
http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?13...275#msg-610275

And yes - wood is mostly cut with a CO2-laser, which are available with 40 Watts and more for cheap too -- but then the machine and software could be an "adventure"

Read all the other threads about lasercutting to get more infos here:
http://forums.reprap.org/list.php?133

Viktor

[swamidog]

i use my homemade co2 laser cutter for plywood. i strongly recommend co2 over diode for cutting wood.

[MrBeefy]

Thanks for the reply's, we have a budget of around $1000, as I said we really don't know that much yet, so all feedback is welcomed.

[MrBeefy]

Sorry, hopefully the last question.
I am seriously considering purchasing this machine;
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40W-...c-a0f49d477058
But wondering if anyone has purchased from ALI express? Can it be trusted?

[kecked]

Sorry, hopefully the last question.
I am seriously considering purchasing this machine;
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40W-...c-a0f49d477058
But wondering if anyone has purchased from ALI express? Can it be trusted?

Let us know how it works. For that price I might bite myself! Cheaper than just the tube alone. Find out how much anew tube costs

[swamidog]

Let us know how it works. For that price I might bite myself! Cheaper than just the tube alone. Find out how much anew tube costs

those k40's are the bottom of the barrel laser cutters and are often missing parts, not square, not level, not grounded well, and sometimes arc hv to the chassis.

but people do get them to work and maybe you'll get lucky. think of them as ishow of the laser cutting work.

[sugeek]

I have wanted something like swami's setup. Lightobject now has some decently priced x/y tables and controllers. If you do end up with a K40 look at upgrades here: lightobject DK40-upgrade. I have priced out upgrades and kit builds you can spend your entire budget easily. I would suggest adding the air assist at a minimum as well as dismantling and checking the entire machine. I just checked AliExpress searching for K40 laser and found similar if not the same upgrade kits with singles day coming up you may get a decent deal.

The other route of getting a XY table kit, controller, laser and power supply. If you get to the higher wattages a chiller will be needed to cool the laser. X-Y-Stages

We had a K40 at a laser enthusiast meeting last year and an epilog the year before. The higher quality epilog did have better detail, but the K40 engraved out name tags just fine. This made me a bit more tempted to get a cheap one with plans to replace it down the road with a larger table.

Hopefully you don't do what I have which is just window shopping and not ordering either...