Good low cost 2015 Laser Engraver?

[Antonio Robbins]

As many others I'm looking to get a laser engraver and like them I don't have much in the way of funding to afford a big name brand.
To start I used a Universal Laser System engraver about 8(?) years ago and loved the simplicity of the interface. I am also proficient with CorelDraw.

Currently I'm looking at one of the $500 USD Chinese lasers with the new control panel and limiter switch that, supposedly, works better with CorelDraw through CorelLaser output and LaserDRW. Most of what I hear about these types are on the older version (Which, by what I understand, has a different control board on them, not just a new control panel.)
Does anyone have one of these to be able to give some info on how well they work?

Beyond the above Chinese brand what is the best available, lowest cost Laser Engraver on the market?
(My budget is "How long can I survive on Ramon Noodles.")


Thanks for any info available!

[Chuck Stone]

Not to be snarky, but do you want 'good' or 'low cost' ?
I don't think you can get both.. you'll need to settle, somewhere.

Look at it this way .. if someone offered you a brand new car for 97% off,
you would expect some really REALLY important parts to be missing.

Lasers are no different.

[Antonio Robbins]

I know.
Perhaps I should have said "better than this Chinese laser"?

I would absolutely LOVE to get my hands on a ULS Laser Engraver but there's no way I can afford one at this time, so I'm looking to see what options are out there that I CAN afford. I thought there were some non-Chinese brands in the $1k-$2k range but can't find them or what brand they are.


The main thing I'm wanting to use this for is cutting/engraving acrylic and wood sheets so I don't need a powerhouse.

[Gary Hair]

I thought there were some non-Chinese brands in the $1k-$2k range but can't find them or what brand they are.

I don't think that there is anything less than $10k-$15k that isn't Chinese, let alone $1-$2. To be brutally honest, for less than $1,000 you will be lucky to find one that will take a bit longer to turn into a doorstop.

[Mike Troncalli]

To get anything even remotely considered decent your going to spend around 3 - 5k..

I don't think I could put it any better than what Gary Hair said. "To be brutally honest, for less than $1,000 you will be lucky to find one that will take a bit longer to turn into a doorstop."

[Roy Sanders]

Hi Antonio

I was in the same situation and I was afraid of the eBay laser engravers. They offer them for a low cost and FREE shipping. Common sense, to me, indicated that the machine would be deficient; I am more hobbiest than business. So I began researching. After a couple of months of chasing leads and responses from various representatives, who can be quite persistent, I settled on the Nice-Cut.

If you are a business that will be using this machine 8 hours a day/12 days a week, as many of the members of this forum then I cannot say if my laser is soon to be a door stop.

If on the other hand, you will be using this as a smaller part of the business, or hobby I can offer this machine. Now your money responses are important because you are not prepared to pay the import fees. I spent 1900 for the complete journey. $950 for the laser and $800 for the shipping. Then there was a small cost to get it out of customs.

I am well aware that my numbers are bigger than yours. Have you considered a Kickstarter campaign to offset your cost? If you use the machine to make product then you have something to award contributions.

Goodluck
Roy

[Bill George]

As many others I'm looking to get a laser engraver and like them I don't have much in the way of funding to afford a big name brand.
To start I used a Universal Laser System engraver about 8(?) years ago and loved the simplicity of the interface. I am also proficient with CorelDraw.

Currently I'm looking at one of the $500 USD Chinese lasers with the new control panel and limiter switch that, supposedly, works better with CorelDraw through CorelLaser output and LaserDRW. Most of what I hear about these types are on the older version (Which, by what I understand, has a different control board on them, not just a new control panel.)
Does anyone have one of these to be able to give some info on how well they work?

Beyond the above Chinese brand what is the best available, lowest cost Laser Engraver on the market?
(My budget is "How long can I survive on Ramon Noodles.")

Thanks for any info available!

You have received some very good advice. We had another "new" user just pop in here with lots of questions about his eBay $500 laser. We were not much help. It even came with a pirated version of Corel Draw that the Chinese seem to include with every eBay laser. It had a working area of 12x8 inches and used MosiDraw and NewlyDraw for software drivers and not one word of documentation in English.
There are some really decent Chinese lasers, but they start at about $3000 USD. I had one and it served me well. But to purchase one of those $500 machines and then expect people here to help you out with even the basics is asking a lot.

I sold mine on here and it was also listed on the local Craigslist. You might even find a Epilog, ULS or Trotec used at a decent price. That way if its local you can see it running before you buy, which is very important.

If you truly think you have a money making business lined up, then credit cards can be used to help finance.

[Dave Sheldrake]

There is a Weike/Shenhui 3040 series that runs Lasercut on HiWin rails at around $1,600 (Plus the usual import fee's etc)

The cheap machines (and in some cases expensive machines) that use roller rails and LaserDraw/NewleySeal/LaserSeal/CorelLaser etc etc are junk...sorry to be brutally honest but they are. I understand that people can't always rush out and chuck money at a machine but there is a baseline that it is unwise to go below else you risk spending more time swearing at the machine rather than using it.

[Keith Winter]

I don't think that there is anything less than $10k-$15k that isn't Chinese, let alone $1-$2. To be brutally honest, for less than $1,000 you will be lucky to find one that will take a bit longer to turn into a doorstop.

Gary said it perfectly. Agreed.

[Chuck Stone]

I think you'd do well to watch the used market. Every month I see a few systems on
CraigsList and some pretty decent prices. If you can get info from the manufacturer
based on the serial number and find out what kind of issues it may have had, you
can make a more informed decision about buying. But you can probably get a lot more
machine for your money that way.

Keep in mind that after you spend the $500 for the Ebay machine, you'll likely spend
at least twice that much more trying to make it do things you want it to do.

The best thing I can think of is to find someone near you who has that machine and
go see it. Talk to the owner. (but keep in mind that they spent good money on it.. they
really WANT to like their machine) See if you can spend some time in another shop that
has other brands. Doesn't have to be US machines, but at least a machine with a decent
bed size and some metal in the cabinet. Check things like the carriage rails, the sheet
metal the cabinet is made of, the laser bed, the lens housing, fans, air supply etc.. not that
you need to have the same things, but that you can see what kind of thought went into
the process of designing a 'good' machine. Then look at the Ebay machine again.

I think you'll come to the conclusion that the manufacturer used the least amount of
material they could legally get away with and still be able to call it a laser. That's really
not something you want to put money into unless you can afford to lose it.

I view that laser the same way I view the "X-Ray Specs" in the back of the comic books.
Granted, I'm biased and I got spoiled by the deal I got for my machine. (also asian import)
But some hands-on time couldn't hurt. And then if you still decide to buy that machine, at
least you will do so having done some research and have a better idea of the limitations
you'll need to work with.

[Bill George]

Actually that GWeike Storm 500 I had was pretty decent and worked great when a true 40 watt tube was installed. I think I had $2800 or perhaps a bit more invested.

[Junior hall]

Try Bosslaser they have some real nice ones cheap As you can get the cheapest smallest one and do good with it . I got a 1620 and it is serving me well. I am still learning the software as i know how to cut and engrave and use the rotary But with the software engravelab it has all kinds of things such a making a picture look like it is in motion and all kinds of other things.

Try bosslaser they are out of Florida very helpful tech support

[Scott Marquez]

I recently purchased my first laser and went the Chinese route through an American supplier, the machine was delivered, set up and tuned up. I was also given training on the software, which is very important if you want to hit the ground running. From the research I have done, the supplied software is not nearly as easy to navigate as the big named brands, but with a little but of training I have no problems bringing a project in, resizing it, making multiple copies and making cuts.
Looking at a "low budget" Chinese machine is big mistake, because besides getting a POS machine with no support, you will have to learn the software in Chinese, there are some "off brands" out there on these low dollar machines, not generally Lasercut, from some of the YouTube Rants I've seen.
I would suggest working on your designs with Corel Draw then finding a Makerspace with a Laser to burn your designs out. When you do that you will have interactions with people that are familiar with lasers, and can give you more advice based on the products that you are cutting.
Scott

[William Adams]

Are kits / DIY such as the Lasersaur or Buildlog.net 2.x Laser kit an option?

[Bill George]

Are kits / DIY such as the Lasersaur or Buildlog.net 2.x Laser kit an option?

I was going to build my own Spring of 2014, had gathered a lot of the needed materials and started adding up the price of what I had yet to buy.... It was darn close to $3K. I started reading on this Forum and learning a lot. I decided to stop and either return or sell off what I already had purchased. Short answer, its cheaper to buy a decent Chinese machine or used ULS, Epilog or Trotec .