I'm a total newbie when it comes to laser engravers... or engravers in general. I work IT for a small company that is going to expand into the engraving market and the boss has charged me with finding the Engraver since I'm the only one that shows any interest in metal working. I don't know where to start really, but I know he wants the engraver to do name badges for companies that we supply to instead of going through a middle man. We'd love to have the ability to engrave a few more small items, but that would be icing on the cake. He's dead set on laser as opposed to rotary engraving.

I've looked at Rabbit, and IE500 stuff, plus a few other el-cheapo chinese solutions.

What would you guys recommend as far as the most reliability/ease of use per $

Thanks! Any help is greatly appreciated.

i you want to engrave on metal, forget CO2 laser, try YAG laser
i have rabbit laser, you could see my product on other thread

Does he truly want to engrave, or is marking what he really wants? For metal (an assumption on my part, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong), CO2 lasers are great for marking with coatings like Cermark. If you want to actually engrave metal, you'll need to look at YAG lasers.

If you want/need reliability, good support, etc. go with a US-made brand and steer clear of Chinese models. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty and problem solving on your own isn't an issue, Chinese models will save you a boatload of cash. Chinese models will require water cooling, give you reduced lifetimes, use half-assed software, etc. US-made models will cost 10-15 times more for the same machine, but will be more reliable, are air-cooled, and the software is more user-friendly and bug free.

Really I suppose the main thing will be marking... I don't think he wants true "engraving" per say especially not for metal, as we'd use a coated "plastic" for name tags... I'm not sure he knows exactly what he wants at this point, but as he looked at name badge machines and saw the prices he decided to look for alternatives that could be used for other purposes..

I don't mind tinkering, and can figure most mechanical and electrical problems out so the chinese ones don't bother me too much.. Throw in the fact that the boss is cheap and unwilling to spend 7 grand plus on an engraver so the chinese models look to be our way to go.

I've always wanted to do some laser work on anodized aluminum, I'm trying to steer him toward something that could do that as well... Would a CO2 laser be effective for that? I've seen listings that claim they will, but the claims for the chinese models seem to be that they work with almost any material.

Yes, CO2 works with anodized Al... the etch will be a gray/white color unless you use a marking dye.

I don't mind tinkering, and can figure most mechanical and electrical problems out so the chinese ones don't bother me too much.. Throw in the fact that the boss is cheap and unwilling to spend 7 grand plus on an engraver so the chinese models look to be our way to go.

Make sure you can allocate an ample amount of time for "tinkering". You'll probably find that the amount you get paid for tinkering and trying to get things working will more than cover what you would have paid for a more "mainstream" laser. There are lots of people that have been able to get their Chinese lasers working, but there are plenty that spend more time messing with them than actually working... My GCC laser has worked pretty much from day 1 and has been making me money from the start. Not to say a Chinese laser won't do the same, but I couldn't afford to take that chance, not just to save a few thousand dollars.

Gary

Sadly I'm basically here just to tinker... for some odd reason the boss has never figured out its cheaper to replace things than to pay me to fix them...so as long as that works for him it works for me...

Hi Guys,
I suppose it all depends on how much you want to tinker with it.

Just have a look at the forums and see for yourself all the threads wanting help with troubled Chinese lasers and the problems with the software.

Maybe it's time you explained to the boss that it is cost effective to buy good new stuff. After all, what would he do without you and would he still buy junk if you weren't there to fix it. Sounds like you need a pay rise. :-)

My boss buys 2nd hand stuff all the time and it's all crap and he expects it to go to work and make him a million dollars in the first month but the stuff sits in the workshop waiting for "2nd hand" parts for months.
I have just about had the proverbial guts full of junk.
I know, even with my home brew setup and using good quality American made parts, I can just walk into the shed and push the "on" button and I will be cutting stuff in a few minutes with no hassles.

I'm sick of tinkering as it gets you nowhere except a ride on the frustration train.
My 2c worth.
regards
Rich.