Need help defining laser cutter requirements

[Pearl Sutton]

Hi! Thank you for all the comments! Not a one hit wonder, my email settings were wrong and I thought no one was replying to me. My error. And I wrote a long reply yesterday and the computer ate it. Trying again.

Thank you for good information. I know I need to read more, most of what I was finding on this site was people who have a machine already, not people figuring out what machine will do what they want. So it sounds like 40 watt is my minimum, 60 would be better, thank you Any suggestions for threads to read that would be more focused for what I need to learn would be excellent, I have not found any that seemed to ask what I am, which is why I started this one.

Further explanation of what I want to do: I already do things for fun and profit that involve cutting paper, fabric, and light wood. I have the tools and supplies to do it. I mentioned I am building a house, the whole walk out basement will be shop/studio space, I have never had enough room to be able to do any sort of production on my work, I have always done things like run my radial arm saw in the kitchen. I’ve always done one time projects due to space limitations. Most of the things I do could easily sell multiples of them on Etsy etc. So I’m not looking for a whole new paradigm in my life, only a way to make my design/layout/cutting systems more effective. Currently I design on my computer, get my layout how I want it, break it all into 8.5 x 11 size, print it on many sheets of paper, tape them together, cut out the patterns, sometimes transfer it to stencil material, cut my stencils, transfer it to my materials, cut out the materials. All that cutting takes a long time, gets done many times, and my hands HURT. So a laser cutter isn’t “how I would make money” it’s one more tool to add to my collection to make what I do easier, to reduce my exacto, scissors, dremel, and scroll saw time. Open gantry is needed because my cuts are generally not small, I can move the sections around, but a boxed cutter that has a 7 x 10 space just gets me back to the same issue I have with my printer doing 8.5 x 11 paper. Makes me crazy, I don’t work that small. I’m used to using good safety equipment, not worried about that.

So, let me rework my question to y’all: Given these specs (open gantry, need to cut paper, fabric, and light wood) what would you consider my best machine? Not interested at all in engraving, just cutting. Cutting does not have to be fast, I can work with slow if I need to. I’ll see what I can come up with money-wise. Building the house is taking all my current cash flow, and without work space or time, extra cash won’t be coming in for a while. I have a part of the house detailing (still don’t have a word for it, 3D painted latticework?) that would be an excellent project to learn laser cutting on, which is why I’m trying to find a cutter now, when the money is tight.

It was mentioned to find a company to do my laser work for me, I’m in the boondocks, as far as I know, no companies around here, no idea how to find out if anyone around me has one. And my cutting isn’t big batch stuff, it’s lots of small weird projects. It wouldn’t help a lot to not learn as I do things, I like to learn, it makes more interesting projects happen next time. The laser I have met that I fell in love with is 1000 miles away, but just watching what he was doing with it (not anything I’d do, his projects are nothing like mine) my head exploded with cool ideas for how to use it to do my work. He doesn’t have time or inclination to mess with my stuff, and shipping it to him would be expensive. I keep trying to talk him out of his cutter, he refuses to ship it to me. Crud!

Thank you for all the feedback, I am listening (and making notes) I apologize for not replying in a timely manner.

I curtsy nicely at you all
Pearl

[Michael Henriksen]

Open gantry machines are usually big with a 130x250cm cutting area or bigger. Probably outside of your budget.

[Michael Ramsey]

Even the RabbitLaser open gantry machine is about $14k over your budget. Someone mentioned earlier that even a 60 watt tube will be more than $500. Whats the largest piece you will require to cut? I am basing my machine size on the 90% rule, meaning that I can do 90% of the projects I design within this format. I will occasionally have to resort to other means. The amount of revenue the 10% generates is not enough to justify the cost of a larger machine, maintenance etc. To Clarify by "piece size" I am referring to the produced piece and not the dimension of the raw material.

[Bert Kemp]

whats the widest material you would need to cut. My Rabbit will cut 23 inchs wide and with the pass thru door length is unlimited.

[John Lifer]

You mentioned paper, don't expect laser to cut thru multiple pages well. Laser will probably burn it up under the top layer. Just say'n

[Robert Bonenfant]

I would suggest putting this idea on the back burner for a while. $500 for a decent laser cutter is just not enough - Check out Rabbit Lasers, Camfive, Boss lasers (Other can recommend a few other companies) Look at there entry level laser cutters and work from there. Im just trying to save you some head aches. You cant just jump into laser cutting and expect a plug and play machine for $500 , you need a good machine before you even start the learning curve. You also want to make sure you have customer support and I highly recommend a warranty. Imported Lasers are not built like tanks they have problems and you'll need support when they break down. Do you want a paper weight or a tool that can help you make money ?? I would get your budget to atleast $3000

[Bill George]

I have a wonderful true 40 watt laser / engraver with a 12x20 powered table that was less than $3000. The LightObject machine worked out of the box, no issues in over 6 months. It just works. Highly recommended.

Get a machine that works, and put your gantry machine on your List.

[Bert Kemp]

Bill glad you got a good machine, but after reading the payment methods and their return policy I don't know if I'd want to buy from them.

[Mark Davison]

I would suggest putting this idea on the back burner for a while. $500 for a decent laser cutter is just not enough - Check out Rabbit Lasers, Camfive, Boss lasers (Other can recommend a few other companies) Look at there entry level laser cutters and work from there. Im just trying to save you some head aches. You cant just jump into laser cutting and expect a plug and play machine for $500 , you need a good machine before you even start the learning curve. You also want to make sure you have customer support and I highly recommend a warranty. Imported Lasers are not built like tanks they have problems and you'll need support when they break down. Do you want a paper weight or a tool that can help you make money ?? I would get your budget to atleast $3000

This ^^ Its not often that waiting is the best option, but in this instance it is.

[Bill George]

Bill glad you got a good machine, but after reading the payment methods and their return policy I don't know if I'd want to buy from them.

I have dealt with LightObject since before my first post on here. Subject returns.... I ordered nearly $1000 worth of stuff from them and others as I was going to "build" my first machine. After reading here and learning, I sent all of it back to LO and got my money back. On another occasion I can recall, I received some defective merchandise from them, no return needed just take a picture and refund without an issue.

[Pearl Sutton]

Thank you all SO much! Need to fix my settings again, I didn't get notifications again. Not sure what I'm doing wrong there...

I don't have a specific size I need to be able to cut. I know 7 x 10 is way too small. Some of my work ends up huge but gets done in sections, mostly I want to have enough options to make the tool useable to me. The stuff for the house, for example, will end up being about 12 foot tall at highest, and 28 foot long. Not going to get that in a cutter! Not even going to get 4 x 8 wood in the cutter. But if I can turn it, move it, and make it cut everything it can reach, I might be able to get something decent sized cut if I start with a 18-24 inch cut swath. That's part of why open gantry. So I can make it cut more than the bed size.

I may have to wait on this. I just hate the idea of doing a huge project (the house stuff) with a dremel and jigsaw, and not learning to do it on a cutter. I have little problem with my learning curve errors being in my house, rather than on things I'm trying to sell.

I have looked at most of the machines/companies mentioned, and realized they are out of my preferred price range. That's why I'm looking second hand. I'm hoping to find a machine someone built or outgrew that they are willing to sell cheaply. This wouldn't be the cornerstone of my business, only a good addition to my current tools. Hard to justify a very expensive item when it may or may not make it's own money back soon. If I start with a used machine, and learn if I can sell the output, I can move up easily enough to something better. If I buy something more expensive, that makes a very pricey paperweight if I don't find a market for it's output.

Thank you all I'll think hard on all of this.

[Michael Henriksen]

Why not have someone cut your designs for you to begin with? You might not make that much profit on them but it should give you and idea of market demand.