I have lots of hours of use on the Laser Committee’s awesome machines but zero experience in repairing them or setting them up. I’d like to get a bottom-of-the-line system like this for hundreds of dollars for use in my home and will vent the exhaust outside. The power and bed size will be fine for everything I’m wanting to do.
Anything else I should be taking into consideration before buying one of these bottom-of-the-line machines or in comparing these bottom-of-the-line machines?
CO2 is a good choice for the laser, in high power it is the safest way to go. It can’t get to your retina until it has melted the rest of your eyeballs.
I still can’t believe they can hit 40W with CNC for $439. Bravo!
I have nothing to add other than that I’d be extremely grateful if you’d share your experience if you do get one! I’ve been eyeballing one for a while, but can’t pull the trigger. My uber low end, kit 3D printer from 5 years ago has me rather gun shy
I have used the Dremel LC40 laser cutter - based on the Muse design from Full Spectrum -and while the machines are similar, the BIG difference is in the software. The Dremel software is horrible while the Muse software provides more options.
To me, software compatibility is priority #1 so really spend time thinking about what you need to do (design, cutting spends, etc) and make sure the software can accomplish it AND allows you to fine-tune the options directly. The second issue is speed. Most low-end lasers are SLOW so keep that in mind. Finally, most low-end lasers have weak ventilation systems so if you are concerned about shavings piling up etc then you will want to augment the system with a better blower for the surface and powerful ventilation.
I hope this helps.
Regarding software, check out Lightburn. It’s avail for many Chinese lasers across price ranges. We should have it running on our systems. You can buy it for $10 (a discount of $70) with the coupon from logistics.
Is this coupon from logistics still valid for makerspace members? $10 for lightburn DSP is a crazy good deal.
Our Epilog Zing is our smallest and lowest maintenance laser, if that helps. It’s highly compatable with Adobe CC, so you can just save things as PDF. It is set up at DMS to open with Adobe Acrobat DC.
I used the Lightburn coupon a couple of weeks ago.
yes. IF you do purchase, please provide the developer feedback.
@pinewoodnut @michaelb - who is managing the coupon codes?