Laser Cutters
 

I'm not sure exactly where this post fits, but here goes:

I'm seriously interested in Laser Cutters.

I've looked at the VersaLaser and it seems like a decent versatile product.
I'd appreciate any other product recommendations.

A few questions:
What sort of materials and material thicknesses can different wattage lasers handle? (Common ones being 10W, 25W, 40W etc.) How long do the lens last? How long do the machines last? What sort of running costs are there? Do parts need to be replaced often?

Any other tips, things I should know?

10 Grand plus? :eek: :drool: ... well, good luck to you.

I too would LOVE to have one of these... but I MUST be realistic. "Not gonna happen!" :(

Re: Laser Cutters
 

I use a 80watt Epilog laser every day at work. $50,000 4 years ago. Went through a couple $3,000 laser tubes since we bought it and a $170.00 lense every 6months or so. But it is heavily used about 6hrs a day.

It will cut up to 1/2" thick plexy, 3/8" acrylic, 1/4" poly. But the lense is only good to 1/8" through the material before it looses focus so it puts a small bevel on the material.

Can't cut metal with these.

Also you will have to get some kind of air exchanger system. You MUST have the air going through the laser and exit outside. I see they got one there for $2,700. you will also want the cutting table other wise you can't cut anything. The computer controlled air system is good to.

How does Acrylic differ from plexy? Seems to refer to the same thing her down under.

I hadn't planned to buy the air exchanger system, but rather just have a decent ducted system with some largish fans. How much air needs to be moved? I presume the issue is the heat of the laser tube?

The justification for this would involve a lot of unpaid work at first repaying the cost of the machine. There is quite a market for fan grills etc.

I thought about selling fan grills but I am finding stainless steel one's cheaper than I can make them on the laser in plastic. :shrug: I see them for $5-$6 and they are real metal cut in all kinds of shapes and designs. i made a proCooling grill out of brushed alumium lookling plastic and it looks pretty good. You need to add some spacers to the mounts though otherwise a strong fan can suck the plastic into the blade. But I just cut those spacers out of acrylic. Little acrylic washers is all they are.

Acrylic is an advanced version of plexi. It is stronger and more scratch resistant for one which is why it is harder to cut. You can probably google for a better answer.

As for the the airflow it is to remove the fumes of what is being cut. Remember you are "burning" material. It is just like a fire but worst because what you cut is full of chemicals. Also if those particles are not quickly exited the system they will build up on the lenses and and rollers and all the mechanical parts in there and kill it. It is a must to have a good strong exaust. Ours is also used to stick a 3" vacume hose onto and vacume the shop floor. it needs a good stong suction. All you really need is a strong blower. You should be able to put something together for $200 or so.

The laser tube is chilled by a chiller on ours. The one on our machine was about $8,000. I don't know what that little one there uses if any at all. It might be small enough to not need a chiller and just be air cooled. If that is the case plan on adding an air conditioner to the room it is in.

First you should figure out what you want to do with it and then do some reserch locally and see how much other companies with do it for. Sometimes it is cheaper to have another company better equipped to do the work for you. I sub-out a lot of work here and make a good profit from it. You might be able to get those grills cut into metal in bulk cheaper than you can make them yourself. Check here for an example of how cheap they are: http://www.pcmods.com/list.asp?CtgID=77

$6.99 and $9.99 for metal grills? I could probably talk the owner into selling the plastic ones for $10 but I don't see the demand to try it.

We use our laser mostly for rubber stamps and plastic engraved tags. We also engrave into wood with them and cut out wood shapes. We have one customer that gives us a dark peice of wood and a thicker lighter colored peice of wood. I them engrave the thickness of the darker wood into the lighter wood into a shape, and then I cut that shape out of the darker wood and he inlays it into the lighter wood. Looks pretty cool. That shape is usually a horse.

You can also mark onto metal with metal marking spray. Seems to work the best with stainless.

Anyway if you get into this let me know and I can try and help you out with any questions/problems. If your in the USA I got a decent list of suppliers for laserable materials.

I'm in Australia, and there is a much smaller supply of modding stuff like grills etc. I think the demand would be much higher.

If I do get a machine, I have no problems doing a lot of work for no profit to just pay off the machine. This is a long term investment, and I have a fair amount of spare time to do this stuff in.

Another question:
Do these smaller lasers require three phase power?
Will it be a problem getting one from the US with the power being different? (110V, and 240V for AU)

Also cutting time is another issue. How long does it take to cut simple shapes? I believe that the slower you go the better the finish.

Ours takes 3 phase 240V, I have no idea what would need changed for your area. Probably have to take that up with the manufacturer. I would bet they have that already figured out.

Cutting time will depend on the machine and the material. The thicker it is the longer it takes. The more power them laser has the faster you can go etc. I can cut out the procooling style snow flake in about 1 minute for a 120mm with decent results. Here are a few pics. Note the one with the acrylic spacer as I mentioned before.


http://www.customcomp.us/fangrill/003.jpg
http://www.customcomp.us/fangrill/004.jpg
http://www.customcomp.us/fangrill/005.jpg

Thats a LOT of cutting there.
Like I said ours is an 80watt laser and at full power and slowest speed it bearly gets through 1/2" plexy or 1/4" poly. Your going to be limited to 1/4" or thinner material on that 25watt one and you will have to go slow. It might take 4 minutes to do the same grill I did in a minute.


Would like to get one of these metal cutting lasers:
http://www.kernlasers.com/metalcutting.html :drool:

Acrylic is the common name for resins containing mostly polyacrylonitrile (PAN).

Plexiglas is a registered trademark for a certain brand of acrylic.

Acrylic is *not* a type of Plexiglas.

Alchemy

Yes, correct. After looking at several sheets of Acrylic I have at work they all have a Plexiglass brand name on them. They seem to be different grades though. Some break easy, some are hard to break, ect.... maybe it depends on the manufacturers process? I guess I have some new questions to ask our supplier next time I need acrylic.....

Here is an interesting chart:
http://www.machinist-materials.com/c...r_plastics.htm

Thanks for the info, I'm looking into it further.

Hopefully the VersaLaser mob get back to me.

Absolutely. Just like steel or any other material, the specific chemical makeup, structural makeup, casting process, etc. etc. can alter a plastic to a whole range of different strengths, toughness, creep resistance, clarity, heat resistance, and so forth. I'm sure there are hundreds of types of Plexiglas.

Don't confuse this with Lexan, which is a trademarked brand of polycarbonate. Same general idea, though - many different grades.

Very good link.

Alchemy

Electrical: Single phase 110 VAC, 15 amp, 50/60 Hz. Single phase 220 VAC, 8 amp, 50/60 Hz.
Exhaust: Outside exhaust required. One 2.5" (64mm) connection requiring 150 CFM air flow at 6 inches of water (255m3/hr at 1.5kPa).
Cooling:
Air-cooled, ambient operating range of 50°-95°F (10°F-35°C)

That info pertains to a slightly larger Universal Laser (the guys who make VersaLaser) machine. That should be fine.

If your planning on making an actual business and being legal and all make sure you cheack your local enviromental laws. We had to put a filtration system in our exhaust system because of the chemical fumes and particles it emits. Might not be an issue there though. 150CFM at 6" of water? What the hell does that mean?

150 CFM at 6" of water is a pressure drop for the fan. Its just like a pump, though at first it seems weird since your moving air, not water. but inches of water is just a pressure measurement.

I will check the laws about these.

So what does 150 CFM at 6" of water mean? I mean, what do I need to produce that CFM at that pressure.

http://www.emissiontechnologies.com looks interesting. Offering a cheaper alternative by being a bit more build it yourself. Not sure what the quality will be like though.

6 inches water = 11 mm Hg = 0.21 psi

Alchemy