Hello and some questions concerning Laser, wood and china cheapness....

[Lee DeRaud]

I would think the CNC would do cross hatch much better than a laser.

What he said: you can do checkering on a laser (DAMHIKT), but it's a kludge...and it shows in the results.

If I was looking to get into the pistol grip business, I'd be down at the Rockler dealer tomorrow ordering up the Shark CNC. It's designed for woodworking from the get-go, and you can put any kind of high-speed router into it that you want. A bit more than $1500, but way less than you'd actually spend getting set up with a decent dependable laser.

[Mike Null]

You can do what you want with a laser but within the limits of focus. A longer lens will be more forgiving. You can develop 3d drawings in Corel and if the drawing is good quality the engraving should be as well.

If I were considering this I'd find an engraver to work with for a while until the practicality of it can be determined.

I would not risk the $1500 machine.

[todd mckechnie]

With the machine there will be 1.the video on install the machine 2. newlydraw software install video, the newlydraw video has documents on how to operate the software.

Working Size: 400mm*400mm
Laser Power: 40W
Laser Tube: Co2 sealed glass laser tube
Engraving Speed: 1-60000mm/min
Cutting Speed: 1-10000mm/min
Cooling system: water-cooling and protection system
Location precision: <0.01mm
Resolution ratio: 0.025mm
Minimum shaping character: Letters 1 x 1mm
Support Format: DSP, PLT, BMP, DXF
Interface: USB
Operating temperature: 5-40°C Operating humidity: 5%-95% free of condensed water



What do you guys think about this one?

[Dan Hintz]

We all think the same about this unit as we do all Chinese lasers of the same general design. Some like it, some don't. Look at prior threads to see the pros/cons of Chinese units and apply the comments to this machine, but there really is little difference.

[douglas rubio]

Buy it and let us know how it goes. You will not find a quality American made laser for that price.

[todd mckechnie]

I am doing my research on it.

[Richard Rumancik]

. . .What do you guys think about this one? . . .

Todd
1. It is inexpensive.
2. If you want to use it for the parts you showed us, you will probably be disappointed.
3. It might be fun to experiment with it to see what it can do - assuming you have the time and money for the experiment.

[Mark Winlund]

I like the "amperometer".

Mark

[Dan Hintz]

That, and the "End Switch"... flip that and it could be the end of the world.

[douglas rubio]

I like the "amperometer".

Mark

Ha! Waldo is in one of the pictures too!! can you find it?

[Lee DeRaud]

It might be fun to experiment with it to see what it can do - assuming you have the time and money for the experiment.

That kind of sums up my gut reaction to the phrase "$1500 laser".
Cool toy to play with, yes. Tool to run a business with, no.

[todd mckechnie]

That kind of sums up my gut reaction to the phrase "$1500 laser".
Cool toy to play with, yes. Tool to run a business with, no.

I understand, but I guess in one sense, maybe my question wasn't as clear, would this at least get my feet wet and do the parts for me in decent fashion.

Say I make 50 sets of these grips in a year ( for checkering or custom designs ) as a trial. I would like to think I could spend $1500 to learn how to work with a laser, get first hand experience and then if things are feasible and it looks to be prosperous, then pick up a better machine.

I like the Epilog website and I understand customer service , software and machine are all good. But I just cant afford to jump in that deep yet. I ve lost $1500 in stupid deals in the past, so while its alot of money, if it gives me experience and knowledge, then it may very well be worth $1500. And I am hoping if I choose to go this route that I will learn have a better idea of what I am looking for in the future.

I built my last small cnc machine just to cut these grips. I spent a small amount of money, but in the speed and accuracy of the machine are awesome. I like it. Its not a $500,000 HAAS, I understand that, but it works as good as any machine I ve worked with in the past for what I need it to do. I am just thinking the same thing with this little laser. Heck I almost thought of building one, but I just dont have time to do a learning curve like that.

I would love to have the machine hooked with Mach 3 and I see people offering breakout boards for that. But again I dont have time to mess with things like that right now.

We'll see, maybe I ll be the guinea pig for you guys and get this setup and then hook a Mach3 setup into it and see what happens then......

[douglas rubio]

I understand, but I guess in one sense, maybe my question wasn't as clear, would this at least get my feet wet and do the parts for me in decent fashion.

Say I make 50 sets of these grips in a year ( for checkering or custom designs ) as a trial. I would like to think I could spend $1500 to learn how to work with a laser, get first hand experience and then if things are feasible and it looks to be prosperous, then pick up a better machine.

..

I say go for it, I have never owned one but I have seen one in person and to be honest the laser did a darn good job.
Buy an Epilog whenever you have enough money

[Doug Griffith]

I agree with Lee and would go with a small CNC like the Shark. You won't be happy with a laser. Plus you'll have to deal with char. Plus you'll have to deal with registration. Plus you'll have to deal with different settings per type of wood. plus, plus, plus...

If the grips are made in small quantities just for you, I'd guess they are machined on a CNC. Why not work with whoever is machining them and have them apply the patterns?

[todd mckechnie]

I agree with Lee and would go with a small CNC like the Shark. You won't be happy with a laser. Plus you'll have to deal with char. Plus you'll have to deal with registration. Plus you'll have to deal with different settings per type of wood. plus, plus, plus...

If the grips are made in small quantities just for you, I'd guess they are machined on a CNC. Why not work with whoever is machining them and have them apply the patterns?

I machine them myself on my own equipment. I just know that machining fine detail on them like I would like to try in some designs just wont happen with a cutter that will resemble any kind of speed. I thought the laser would be faster and more precise in some respects.