Looking for advice and feedback

[MilTech996]

Hi fellow makers. I’m in a bit of a situation and was hoping to get some honest advice and feedback.

I’m at the point that I need to purchase a laser to keep at my home design workshop in the garage. The main purpose of buying a laser is because I did a time study and found it cost me too much money in my time to drive, wait and setup cutting at the Maker Space. I would rather spend that time with my family.

My big question is: Should I buy a Nova63 from Thunder laser or look elsewhere? If the Maker space had to do it all over again, would we still purchase our lasers from Thunder?

I mainly cut 60” wide nylon fabric and thin plastic sheets. I’m an apparel designer that specializes in pouches, back packs and military gear.

In July I ordered an LC1610N laser (with Reci 80W laser tube, motorized up down table, red dot, auto focus, RD6442 controller, knives table and honeycomb table) from WK Laser (Jinan Weike), however it arrived last week at the rigging company in Garland, TX damaged. I’m in the process of fighting the insurance companies to get this resolved, however it may take months and I’m without a laser. Total so far, laser, customs taxes, delivery have equaled around $7,500 ($4,500 for the laser alone with chiller and blower).

The Options I’ve identified moving forward are:

A. Buy a laser from Thunder Laser (Estimated $15,000) or someone else in the US that has it in stock at double the price of a laser straight from China (even with the high tariffs you have to pay on lasers now coming in from China). Benefits of having a Thunder is I have a strong support network at the Maker Space and US support through Thunder Laser being 2 hours away from the Dallas area if there are any issues in the future. Thunder confirmed they have the Nova63 in stock at their California warehouse.

B. Buy the same laser from WK Laser in China and have a different company manage the entire pickup and shipping to my door process. I’ve been told it is rare what has happened to me with the crate and laser being damaged during shipping. A buddy in Utah owns the same laser and everything went smoothly for him when he bought it from WK Laser in China. If I do this, the soonest I would receive the laser is in 2.5 months from date of order and my busiest month is this December/early January.

C. Not buy a laser, continue to use the maker space laser and be the guy that sucks up 3 hours of time on the laser per each session (I was at the maker space Sunday doing several runs 3 hours at a time after the maintenance). The main purpose of buying a laser was because I did a time study and found it cost me too much money in my time to drive, wait and setup cutting at the Maker Space. I would rather spend that time with my family.

D. Buy a used plotter to print out our patterns that we then staple to the fabric on a table and do it old-school were we hand cut everything. Very time consuming and it’s what we do now in combination with going to the Maker space for things that have to be laser cut.

The Thunderlaser I’m looking at would be the Nova63 with a 100watt tube. I’ve requested a quote for the following from Clay at Thunder.

• Nova 63 100W (Does the Nova63 come with a blower?)
• Water Chiller
• Air Purifier (Can we vent the Nova63 to the Air Purifier and then vent the Air Purifier outside my garage through a window?)
• Heat Alarm Detector

Please let me know if I should look at a different laser, or if I’m not thinking of a better option, or if I’m missing something with all the different options listed above.

Thank you for reading.

[John_Marlow]

This other thread might give you some insights into using an “air purifier” (i.e., filter).

Laser exhaust filter

Yesterday I visited a small for-profit Makerspace outside of Chicago. Due to landlord restrictions on roof and wall penetrations they are using a filter unit instead of a true exhaust. I don’t know anything about the cost, noise or relative effectiveness but it looks like an interesting solution if we ever want to put one laser in a separate location. [AA9A0BED-F623-444A-8D9F-55BBF17C4C5F]

Bottom line - it seems to work but it’s very pricey. Some people who are cited in that thread can contribute specific insights.

[Lampy]

They do work but still they have a smell when cutting acrylic. UNT’s makerspace has one inside the library. They were in the same boat, no place to vent the laser.

Basically doubles the price of the laser cutter and it then has some big $ consumables. Have heard of people making their own charcoal for it, then it just has a big HEPA filter to replace.

[loganc10]

I recently did a lot of similar laser hunting in the recent months.

Ultimately, I was lucky enough to recently snag a lightly used (but old) 24”x36” 80W/100W peak Full Spectrum Laser last weekend down in Austin for $1600 off Craigslist. FSL lasers are just rebranded G.W.s with a new control board and touch screen.

I still have a price list from Thunders Texas warehouse that I can send you if you still are waiting for one.

In my Craigslist quest, I did find another 24”x36” Pro FSL down in Austin that is still available, but for a lot more ($7k I think?). EDIT: Just kidding, I missed the part where you specified the Nova63.

I’ll be doing a homemade pre-exhaust filter in the coming weeks to cut down on the smell prior to venting (cutting in garage of apt right now then venting out, want to cut down on smell a bit) with some activated char coal and probably furnace filters (there are a ton of DIY guides online). I don’t see a need for an expensive HEPA if you are still venting outside.

Once I’m off mobile I will link a few links Ive been

referencing for the filtering.

[heyheymama]

@MilTech996 Alex, what rotten news. We were rooting for you. Still are rooting.

If the Maker space had to do it all over again, would we still purchase our lasers from Thunder?

My understanding is that Laser bought its first Thunder because that’s what we could afford at the time. Now that we have 500+ users in a calendar year, that price point makes even more sense. Why risk a $25,000 machine when we can risk an $8,000 one? We would consider an Epilog brand for capabilities that Thunder models don’t have. We don’t want to burden our instructors and members with needing to teach and learn too many systems.

Should I buy a Nova63 from Thunder laser or look elsewhere?

Benefits of having a Thunder is I have … US support through Thunder Laser being 2 hours away from the Dallas area if there are any issues in the future.

We have not been able to get responses from Thunder’s US distributor, despite it being located in TX, too. Very disappointing. @talkers is going through our original China representative for spare parts.

@loganc10 Congratulations. I know your purchase has long been in the works. Great pictures! Swing by Maintenance Day if you ever feel like it. We’d all enjoy hearing more.

@nicksilva You own a laser, right? Would you add your thoughts?

[frank_lima]

Having used Full Spectrum, Lasersaur, Thunder, BOSS and Epilog, for my money I would buy a Thunder.

The Epilog is the only laser in that list that is mechanically any different and the additional speed from its servos is only helpful if you are doing a lot of rastering.

I wish I could recommend the Lasersaur as the build was a lot of fun but the software is just crap.

As for the rest you are basically just picking the software tool chain you like best. The Thunder and BOSS both use RD Laserworks and Thunder lasers are much cheaper than BOSS making that selection a no brainer IMO. Do you prefer the Full Spectrum print driver workflow or the DXF workflow that RD uses?

The only other factor is if you want domestic support.

[loganc10]

Buying new, i totally agree that Thunder is a good bang for the buck. Personally I like RDworks/LightBurn much better than RetinaEngrave as well.

I’d also be weary of paying the FSL premium (if new) over Thunder specifically for the “local US support”, didn’t take many customer reviews to notice that its shoddy at best. Full Spectrum Forum (not affiliated with FSL) seems to do a good job with technical assistance if you are the DIY type though.

[MilTech996]

This is great feedback!

@John_Marlow and @Lampy The Thunder Texas sales person (Clay) recommends I start with just venting the exhaust out of my garage window and then see if we need an air purifier. He also said they do not have air purifiers in stock in the USA warehouse. I think I’ll need an air purifier/fume scrubber long term because it’s the right thing to do for the environment, protect my family and neighbors from potential health issues.

I’m leaning towards a Thunder at the moment and still plan to keep my membership to the Maker Space. Being able to have a network of Thunder users close by is priceless. I learn something new on each monthly scheduled maintenance day.

@heyheymama I was hoping to hear that the Texas Thunder Distributor support would be more responsive for support and parts. It’s good to know that we can go direct to the manufacturer in China for parts if something happens.

The cost is the main thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger on the Nova63 Thunder 100W ($13,410+ shipping), and waiting to hear what the insurance companies are willing to offer for my damaged laser.

If I buy the Thunder, it’s because of the local user resource and immediate access to one shipped that is in stock in the Thunder California warehouse.

@loganc10 I will definitely be looking on craigslist for other options.

@frank_lima My workflow would need to be PLT or DXF files. I prefer to go direct from DXF from AutoCAD to the laser control software. I’ve had decent luck with RD Works and have Lightburn as a backup. I could not find a boss laser that was under $20,000 with a 60" wide bed. The $10k one is only 50ish inches wide. I agree that sticking with Thunder may be the way to go between these brands.