Who has the lowest cost laser cutter that'll handle 1/4 wood?

[Clark Pace]

I would modify that a bit.. more often lately, the people who really need a better machine but opt
to get the cheap machines on Ebay look down on US because we're fools for spending too much money.
The problem is that the people who buy those machines often don't understand enough yet to know
whether their purchase will actually do anything the need it to do.
When this happens, they lower their expectations till the machine fits their needs.
They have an emotional investment in the equipment.. they spent their hard earned money on it and
they WANT to love that machine. They HAVE to!

But as Scott mentioned, they'll come in and tell everyone how wonderful everything is with their
machine. And this leads others to believe that there is no value in buying the better equipment.
THIS will ruffle some feathers for sure. Especially with the number of people who use forums like
this and expect the users here to supply the missing tech support they saved money on.

...............

Hi,

Again it depends on what you are doing, your experience, your fix it skills etc.. Like I mentioned before I owned 2 USA lasers(Universal), and ran 2 others. So I am very familiar with the differences. I am just going to say that a USA machine may not be right for all people. A China made or China made US supported may be the way for many out there. In my case I do a lot of vector cutting 90% and the Chinese machine well for me. The engraving portion is slower, but all pretty good. Not as good as the Universal Lasers.

If you are a hobby person a $20,000 machine vs a $3000 may mean the difference between not even getting a laser if the China versions did not exist. I purchased a $500 China laser(from ebay), and while it in no way compared to my $3000 dollar machine, and of course did not compare to my universal lasers I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot.

Here are some pictures from my actual Sub $1000 laser machine. I engraved cut acrylic. I sold it when I got my Redsail.

So please. I'm not looking down on people that buy USA lasers (as a purchaser myself), I just think that not checking all your options before you buy would be silly).

funstuff1.jpgfunstuff2.jpgfunstuff3.jpgfunstuff4.jpgfunstuff5.jpg

[Dave Sheldrake]

or those who want other people to
take up the slack for their own lack of research.

Well worth quoting again!!

"I saved $5,000 by direct importing, by the way, my laser has gone wrong can you help me fix it"

It's the very reason the help and support section vanished from my own forums, I'll happily help anybody but when I get told I'm totally wrong about imports and then the very same people ask me to then help them fix their import I eventually run out of patience!
I truly love helping people, I get royally ticked off though when people ask a question with a pre-requisite for the answer they want to support their own position then argue with the answer they asked for because it wasn't the one they expected or required.

When this happens, they lower their expectations till the machine fits their needs.

Never a more truthful word spoken Chuck

[Scott Shepherd]

I am just going to say that a USA machine may not be right for all people. A China made or China made US supported may be the way for many out there.

I don't think you'll find many people here disagreeing with you Clark. It's been said about 1000 times, there is no "right" machine, it's all relative to one's experience, budget, expectations, and business model.

[Clark Pace]

Well worth quoting again!!

"I saved $5,000 by direct importing, by the way, my laser has gone wrong can you help me fix it"

It's the very reason the help and support section vanished from my own forums, I'll happily help anybody but when I get told I'm totally wrong about imports and then the very same people ask me to then help them fix their import I eventually run out of patience!
I truly love helping people, I get royally ticked off though when people ask a question with a pre-requisite for the answer they want to support their own position then argue with the answer they asked for because it wasn't the one they expected or required.



Never a more truthful word spoken Chuck

You are right. When getting a China Laser it's very,very important that people do their research. And many people don't know what they are getting into. They think a laser is a laser. And I'm glad there are people here willing to help out. Company support is very important.

Since having to sell my USA lasers many years ago I am happy that I have any kind of laser at all now. Without the china option, I would not have a laser at all. Sorry to have stirred up the POT too much. Happy to here on sawmillcreek.

[Chuck Stone]

I don't think you were pot stirring.. My point was I see something different than you do.
There's room for all viewpoints, even the wrong ones like yours. HA!!!!

Kidding.. and my machine comes from Taiwan.

[Clark Pace]

I don't think you were pot stirring.. My point was I see something different than you do.
There's room for all viewpoints, even the wrong ones like yours. HA!!!!

Kidding.. and my machine comes from Taiwan.

Taiwan Huh? Japanese products are actually notorious for having tight production controls. And the cost shows it? So how good your the Taiwan laser? I went to Japan a few years ago for business and it was nice place.

[Chuck Stone]

I have a GCC Mercury, about 15 years old. It's a tank.
It's about what you'd expect from a 15 yr old machine, it needs some
TLC from time to time. But it's on par with the US machines in the same
class. 30w Synrad tube, 18x24 bed with front and rear pass-through for
oversized items. Rotary is the lathe style and takes a little getting used
to, but works fine once you know what it does. It runs from a printer
driver, so I can 'print' from most any program.
FWIW, Taiwan isn't in Japan, it's Republic of China

[Rory Shepherd]

Chinese machines may be the cheapest but the tech support is unreliable, if not useless. US-made machines are great for the price you pay, but most hobby users can't afford them. Why not go for a US based company selling Chinese made machines. The prices are affordable and the tech support will be reliable and convenient.

[Keith Winter]

Chinese machines may be the cheapest but the tech support is unreliable, if not useless. US-made machines are great for the price you pay, but most hobby users can't afford them. Why not go for a US based company selling Chinese made machines. The prices are affordable and the tech support will be reliable and convenient.

This is somewhat true Rory but not 100%. Think of hurricane lasers, later called World Lasers or whatever they are called now. Also all the people that buy off ebay from "US based" importers. Those people are right up the creek with the direct import people, no support. To say a Chinese import's US based service is comparable to the service of Trotec or Epilog or Univeral is a complete misnomer. Even the best us based chinese laser support doesn't match the big 3's support, it's simply not possible. They don't have the manpower to man a support desk 12 hours a day and overnight parts and send a tech the next day across the country to you. The big three can and do. The few times I've had an issue with my Trotec they have overnighted the part and been there the next day to fix it. That's part of what you pay for.

[Bert Kemp]

From personal experienced and what I read on this forum and others, Rabbit Laser USA (Ohio), Boss Laser (FL),and Automation Tech (IL) are the 3 USA based companies selling imports that have decent support. Granted its doesn't compare to the big 3 but they do have support and parts on site if you need them.and 40 watts is enough to cut 1/4 but its slow 60 or 80 watts is better.

[Kev Williams]

Old thread brought back...

I have a few opinions here...

First is, "the big three". There's more than three. One is made in France. It is in fact, every bit as fast and reliable as any of the "3". But a couple of dozen people on the planet have had issues with the company's customer service, so the praises of other thousands of satisfied customers (ahem) go unnoticed. Oh well, more for me! -- and there's more than just 4 too...

Second, on the subject of machine complaints, one reason those praises go unnoticed is because, well-- how often does one log onto to a forum to proclaim "My laser didn't break today, anyone wanna help me celebrate?" Not very often. But if the sucker don't fire just once...

Stats-- I have to wonder, what's the ratio of eastern to western laser owners who frequent this board, or the net in general? Just as a wild guess I'd have to say, roughly 5 to 1 eastern to western. Simply because of the prices. Ok, now just for fun, lets assume that eastern machines only have problems twice as often as westerns. I'm sure many of you would think that figure is low. But, if there is 5x as many people using eastern machines that break down 2x as often, then the number of eastern machine complaints we read about would outnumber western complaints by 10 to 1. Myself, that seems high to me. Even if not, a fail rate only double that of machines costing 6x+ more money isn't all that bad. And of course, I do realize that extra money buys a lot more than less breakdowns.

Hey, it's all just conjecture, but really, how far off could I be?

So in the NOT conjecture department, I own 2 of the big 4, both of which have the "4" badge. Hey, the one's a '97, it was the 'old days' -- AND I own a great big eastern machine. I have nothing but good things to say about all 3 of 'em. And none of them have operated 'flawlessly'. My eastern Triumph is so big it's labeled a "cutting" machine rather than an "engraver". But with the tune-ups and tweaks over the nearly 2 years I've owned it, I can get almost the same quality of engraving out of it as I can the other 2 machines. And when it comes to deep-engraving wood, no contest. Yes, the Triumph has 80w vs 40 and 25w, but the 40w machine takes 3 times as long to engrave wood to 3/16" deep as the Triumph. Would an 80 watt western kick its butt? I doubt it. Might prove to be a snick faster, but not $25,000 faster.

Bang for the buck- My eastern simply can't compete with my western's in several departments: speed, high precision, and likely longevity. BUT, for the work I do with it (and in general around here), it's by far the best cost vs income machine I've ever bought. Even if I have to replace it every 3 years, it will STILL be the best bang for the buck.

And finally, in answer to the original question, "who has the lowest cost laser cutter that'll handle 1/4" wood"--- ME! Not only will it cut 1/4 wood quickly, it'll cut a LOT of it at once! And I paid less than 5 large to my door for the thing...

[Junior hall]

I got a 60 watt BossLaser machine 1620 with the roller and computer and chiller. Yes it is made from China. As they say they go threw it with a fine tooth comb and redo things. They even pack it for shipping so good it took me about 3.5 hours to unpack it with a pry bar. It comes on a pallet in a wooden box and shrink wrapped. The customer support is far above perfect. You can call them any time and they will walk you threw it ,even remote access. Believe me im sure they had to drink a case of beer or some forum of alcohol after they got off the phone with me. When i do call i tell them its the again calling, as i was so lost confused. They stuck threw it with me and helped me with any thing i needed and still helping me. So customer support is far best along with the Bosslaser machines as they do what i want when i need it until now as trying to find out why it started skipping. Its not Bosslasers fault its probably mine again i might have hit a number some where in the program like always

I give BossLaser 10 thumbs up for the machine quality and customer support. Could not have asked for any thing or any company or any customer support better. If i ever do decide on another laser engraver you bet I WILL GO BACK TO BOSSLASER AGAIN

Hope this helps

[Clark Pace]

You'll regret not having a USA machine daily but if you don't have that kind of cash to spend it's an easy choice. Some types of wood are more difficult to cut than others and multiple passes are often not good.

Not true. I have been very happy with my china laser. It ended up costing around $3300 after shipping. And it's paid for. Do it right, and it can get you into the business.

Or another option would also be to lease a USA laser. You can see if lasering is for you.

P.S. I can cut 1/4 on my 50watt just fine.

[dirk martin]

Why is everyone so secretive with make, model, and prices on the lasers they own, or are writting about?

[Lee DeRaud]

Why is everyone so secretive with make, model, and prices on the lasers they own, or are writting about?

Eh? I didn't go back and reread this whole thread, but I didn't realize that's what you asked.
ULS VL200 25W, $10K. Of course that was ten years ago, I have no idea what they cost now...