As far as western lasers go, are Universal, Epilog, trotec and laserpro all along the same quality when comparing like for like year for year? They all seem to be around the same price
As far as western lasers go, are Universal, Epilog, trotec and laserpro all along the same quality when comparing like for like year for year? They all seem to be around the same price
Not really, no. Each has it's strengths and weaknesses, but they aren't the same quality. Some are built better, some have simple, easy to use drivers, some have more complex drivers that allow you to do more things. As far as end results, there's probably not much difference. As far as support, probably not much difference. User workflow? Quite different.
Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers
Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.
Laserpro is a Taiwan made product of pretty good quality but support is not on a par with the others.
Mike Null
St. Louis Laser, Inc.
Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
Gravograph IS400
Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
Dye Sublimation
CorelDraw X5, X7
Noah,
Folks might be better able to answer your question if you can tell us what you are thinking of using it for and how?
Will you be mostly engraving? Cutting? What materials? Using it for light or serious hobby work? Using it as part of a suite of tools in a larger businness? Using it as your sole tool in a laser focused business? In a production environment where throughput is very important? Using it in a less time sensitive environment where speed of jobs and repetition is not the key thing? Will you have one person operating the machine? Will you have several folks doing it who may or may not be that strongly invested in knowing how everything works?
Any details you can give will help Scott and Mike and others compare the machines better for you.
Dave
900x600 80watt EFR Tube laser from Liaocheng Ray Fine Tech LTD. Also a 900x600 2.5kw spindle CNC from Ray Fine. And my main tool, a well used and loved Jet 1642 Woodlathe with an outboard toolrest that helps me work from 36 inch diameters down to reallllllly tiny stuff.
Hi Dave
I am ready to purchase which is why I am asking so I appreciate all your help. My main business will be engraving logos and pictures on wood boxes. Speed would be good for high production but not necessary. However since i am making the large investment I figured I should get as much bang for the buck . I may be incorrect in my thinking as I continue reading
I've demo'd the big three (ULS, Epilog, and Trotec/Rayjet) recently. I did not look at the Laser Pro because they simply don't have the resources the other three have.
Build Quality: Trotec, Rayjet, ULS=Epilog
Features: Trotec = ULS, Rayjet = Epilog
Driver/Software: ULS, Trotec, Epilog, Rayjet
Price: Rayjet, Trotec = Epilog = ULS
I don't think you can make a wrong decision buying any of the machines. What I will say is keep your eye on the used market. There are deals out there. It's important to know your numbers before looking at used machines because it's also very easy to overpay.
Equipment: IS400, IS6000, VLS 6.60, LS100, HP4550, Ricoh GX e3300n, Hotronix STX20
Software: Adobe Suite & Gravostyle 5
Business: Trophy, Awards and Engraving
Be sure to tell Trotec that you are a member of SMC. They give a nice price break for that.
I own a Trotec and I can speak from experience on that.
Robert
Robert Tepper
Trotec Rayjet 300/80 Watt
Dahlgren 500 Engraving Machine, CNC Engraving Machine
Pad printer with 5 3/4 x 5 3/4" print area
Jackson Vulcanizers, 15 x 24", three total
Hegner Scroll Saws, 14", three total
Hi Noah,
Have you thought about getting a galvo for the job if speed is an issue. It will massively increase your production times if all you are using the machine for is engraving wood.
Jit Patel
London UK
30w Trotec Speedmarker CL (Galvo) with 400mm & 250mm lens
80w Trotec Speedy 400 with Rotary, Vacuum Table, Cutting Lamellas, 2" & 1.5" lens, Pass through
Oki Printing Press
Abobe Creative Suite - Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign.
Vector Magic
60w EFI 6090 & 100w Z4 Reci 6090 G Weike Lasers, 4 X 4 CNC Router
CLTT using Oki C822dn & Adkins Press
Glass Sandblasting, Woodwork Shop, etc...
V Carve Pro v8 & Photo V Carve, Lasercut 5.3, Corel Draw 2017 on Windows 7 and iMac (via Parallels), etc
+2 for Jit's suggestion.
Galvo is the only way to go for volume engraving
cheers
dave
You did what !
While I hope a galvo unit is in my future I believe it may be too limited area wise to fit your needs. You need to evaluate that carefully.
Mike Null
St. Louis Laser, Inc.
Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
Gravograph IS400
Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
Dye Sublimation
CorelDraw X5, X7
60w EFI 6090 & 100w Z4 Reci 6090 G Weike Lasers, 4 X 4 CNC Router
CLTT using Oki C822dn & Adkins Press
Glass Sandblasting, Woodwork Shop, etc...
V Carve Pro v8 & Photo V Carve, Lasercut 5.3, Corel Draw 2017 on Windows 7 and iMac (via Parallels), etc
Noah,
Just curious. What would you consider an acceptable time to engrave a box? That might help determine if a Galvo is needed or if a different machine would work for you and be more versatile in terms of size.
Dave
900x600 80watt EFR Tube laser from Liaocheng Ray Fine Tech LTD. Also a 900x600 2.5kw spindle CNC from Ray Fine. And my main tool, a well used and loved Jet 1642 Woodlathe with an outboard toolrest that helps me work from 36 inch diameters down to reallllllly tiny stuff.
They do go pretty big Mike, my Vytek was 1600mm x 1600mm but relied on a moving bed to reposition the work in 400mm square blocks, It had what looked like a HUGE 1.8m lens but in fact was just a flashy cover for all the optics, the actual lens was a std 520mm.
The other problem with some galvos is the loss of resolution at the edge of the working area, a 300 x 300 work area for example usually means an effective work area of 275mm ish x 275mm ish running an F-theta of 425mm.
Must admit though, speed wise...9,000 reliable mm's per second was mind bending
cheers
Dave
You did what !
You can get a 3-axis galvo head which allows an area of around 850mm x 850mm or larger depending on budget.
Jit Patel
London UK
30w Trotec Speedmarker CL (Galvo) with 400mm & 250mm lens
80w Trotec Speedy 400 with Rotary, Vacuum Table, Cutting Lamellas, 2" & 1.5" lens, Pass through
Oki Printing Press
Abobe Creative Suite - Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign.
Vector Magic