Laser Cutting Speed Comparison - How do Chinese and Top Brands Compare?

[tperceval]

Hi everyone!

Can I just briefly say thank you to all you amazingly helpful people, this forum, alongside with Sawmill Creek are truly life saving! I am in the process of trying to decide which laser cutter to upgrade to from my HPC/Rabbit Laser 1290. My primary use of the laser cutter is engraving wood and scribing/kiss cutting/low power cutting into the surface of the wood.

I have seen quite a bit about the advantages of high brands like Trotec, in terms of engraving speeds, over the cheaper Chinese counterparts. It seems that Chinese machines are generally about 40% slower engraving than the top brands, for a similar quality. However, I have not found much info on the advantages of cutting speeds with the more expensive brands.

Currently I kiss-cut/vector scribe/lower power cut, with my HPC/Rabbit at Speed:100, Power:7. I then layer many lines over the top of each other to create designs. The designs can sometimes take many hours to complete.

Can anyone tell me roughly how much faster, if any, Trotec machines are than Chinese models, at cutting, to give the same result? i.e say a 0.1mm depth vector scribed line, or cutting all the way through 3mm birch ply? Is there a considerable difference?

I am trying to decide whether to bite the bullet and invest in a Trotec, or just go for a better quality Chinese machine (thinking Thunder or Bodor), and the cutting speed/scribing speed is a factor in helping me come to a decision.
Many thanks for your help!!

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[abyss]

Read carefully this thread : Trotec VS Epilog (yes, another thread) - Page 2

[tperceval]

Thanks abyss. It does seem that Trotecs are not the best machines for intricate and complex vector line files! The high number of nodes seems to be problematic. I actually tried a trotec yesterday, and the programme would not accept my file for a long time. In the end we had to do a much smaller sample test of vector lines.

[DLDude]

My opinion has always been: Buy 3 Chinese lasers instead of 1 USA laser. I just purchased a 12x18" laser from china for $2500. The smallest Epilogue is what.. $12,000? If the quality it close or as good, why not double capacity rather than a 15% increase in speed?