Laser cutter for paper art questions

[Tony Lenkic]

A member of this forum ( Stan Kern) owns Chinese laser distributed by Logilase located in GTA ( Hwy #7 & Keele St.) 5 min. away from me.
Guelph is 45 minutes away so you can arrange a demo with them and see first hand capabilities of their systems.
Good luck, Sue.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Boss, AT, Hurricane, Full Spectrum, HX, Rabbit, Jinan Quan, G Weike, Redsail, WK Laser etc etc...all just variations on a theme really Sue, all of them are made by 3 or 4 basic Chinese manufacturers and rebraned for end vendors requirements.

There aren't a huge number of Chinese actual machine makers, even some that claim to be are still using parts and cabinets from the 4 big names over there.

To be honest, the worst people to ask are the people who want to sell you a laser (with the exception of Ray Scott at RabbitUSA) as most will give a great picture of what their machines will do but but the actual machines rarely actually meet the claims.

For example, you will see a lot of claims of being able to cut 25 - 30mm acrylic on DC Chinese machines....total tosh!! anything over 15mm takes half a lifetime to do and usually ends up with dreadful quality so while in theory true (a 40 watt laser will penetrate 25mm acrylic) the general standard of the work and time will make it a non starter even for most hobbies.

At 1:09 in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI6i-2aeITI you will see the problem with Chinese gantry machines apart from being slow, that little flek of paper if it's in the way of another cut position will catch fire.

Jit is the man for all things paper for sure though as one of the foremost experts on paper I know of I'm pretty sure that if a $5,000 Chinese machine would do the job he would have a whole factory full of them by now

best wishes

Dave

[Jiten Patel]

Thanks Dave, that means a lot.

With regards to the video you posted, that is not just a problem with Chinese machines. We get that too. All you need to do it raise the paper/card off the bed and they fall down. Saying that, we encounter that all the time, it doesn't really pose a fire risk (we have cut over 200000+ sheet) and have never had a fire (touches in wood frantically!). It simply interferes with the cut, but nothing a sharp precision blade can't take of.

With regards to the $5000 machine, you are right, if they were up to standard, we would have 5-6 of them. We had samples from a lot of vendors before we bought the s400, and the cuts varied so much. From almost acceptable to outrageously shocking. Some seriously looked like a monkey had cut them out using a blow torch.

Suzanne, to give you an idea of what we create, I have attached a few images.

Intricate-Creations---Grant-Thorton-Bespoke-Pop-up-Invitation-1.jpg Intricate Creations - Bespoke - Party Invitation Building and Animals7 - £14.00.jpg

[Peak Glass]

I'm in Canada, Bill. I'm actually now considering a boss laser. I've heard good things for the price.

Sue: Sent an message to you about laser machine. Please check it. Thanks.

[David Somers]

Suzanne,

Jerome mentioned Ray and Carole in the above post? He means Ray and Carole Scott at Rabbit Laser in Ohio. Bert also mentioned them. Terrific folks, and well supported machines, but keep in mind they are Chinese lasers and fall under the group that Dave Sheldrake mentioned. I am sure Ray and Carole would do a test cut for you and perhaps video tape it if you asked. But based on Dave's comments I would be very leery of a Chinese laser other than Galvo? No idea if Boss is made in China and rejiggered over here or not.

Dave

[John Bion]

Suzanne, to give you an idea of what we create, I have attached a few images.

....show her more Jit, these images are only your starters, give Suzanne a full course from your menu! You’ve had my eyes pop out at some of your work
All the best, John

[Jay Selway]

Check out Epilog. You might be able to get a used Helix 24 for under $10k. That thing has been great for paper (that's what I use).

One thing to keep in mind with cutting paper, is the paper will get stained with creosote. I've noticed darker papers, especially black release way more. Also, looking at your artwork, the color of the edge of paper seems to be pretty important in your designs. The paper will be burned on the edges, so you won't get that clean look (unless you sand it down after assembling it into the stack / form). You might actually be able to get some pretty unique forms that way actually. Cut. Stack. Sand. Form. I'd imagine you could even take a dremel or belt sander to it to make some pretty interesting stuff.

Shoot. Now I want to try that.

[Bert Kemp]

Sue Yes Boss are rebranded Chinese lasers not much difference then the AT or Rabbits for that matter. Dave seems to think none of these would be good for you application and I would trust his judgement. Sorry its not better news. Maybe you should start making your products from wood and acrylic then we will find you a decent machine.

[Bill George]

Check out Epilog. You might be able to get a used Helix 24 for under $10k. That thing has been great for paper (that's what I use).

One thing to keep in mind with cutting paper, is the paper will get stained with creosote. I've noticed darker papers, especially black release way more. Also, looking at your artwork, the color of the edge of paper seems to be pretty important in your designs. The paper will be burned on the edges, so you won't get that clean look (unless you sand it down after assembling it into the stack / form). You might actually be able to get some pretty unique forms that way actually. Cut. Stack. Sand. Form. I'd imagine you could even take a dremel or belt sander to it to make some pretty interesting stuff.

Shoot. Now I want to try that.

There are a lot of used Epilog lasers on eBay right now, but not knowing anything about lasers and the fact they are used would not be for a beginner.

[Casey kerner]

I'm willing to do a test for you with my Chinese machine if you have a file. I have been very happy with my decision. May not be as fast as a Ferrari but it's still a sports car if you get what I'm saying.

[Casey kerner]

Here are some simple but complex items cut from card stock.

ForumRunner_20141124_194534.jpg

[Suzanne McNenly]

Thx Casey. I'll take your word for it. My files are not even complex at the moment, I just want a perfect edge. Do you have burning on the edges? I assumed that if I finessed the settings, I'd get untoasted edges?

Thx

[Casey kerner]

I have very little experience with paper, so I can't speak for charing to much but settings are key here. There are ways to minimise it, but eliminating is tough because the laser uses heat to burn it´s way through. Nature of the beast.I'll try some white paper tomorrow and post pictures. Fyi, I'm playing in the laser game with a 60 watt, 16x26" unit for under 2 grand. Watch for used items, they are out there.

[Suzanne McNenly]

Thx so much.

[Jiten Patel]

You can eliminate smoke damage and burnt edges altogether. It is just find tuning the settings. Saying that, I cannot speak for the Chinese machines. We would never send anything that had a burnt edge.

Some papers/card stocks are susceptible and hold smoke far more than others. We use over 200 different colours and types, and 90% are great, but there are those that do char, which we use very rarely if a client is insistent.