How to chose chinese laser cutter/engraver?

[JonasM_]

Hi all!
Maybe someone could help me and explain how to choose chinese laser cutter/engraver? Our budget is ~2500$. We want to cut/engrave wood mainly. Cutting not going to be more than 1cm. I dont mind if it wont cut from 1 go, as far as its cuts nice. Engraving on a wood, plastic, maybe glass sometimes parts would be 10cm wide, so need pretty deep working space. So far what I found and have read I think we should be enough with 60w chinese laser and 60cm x 30cm working space (but thinking about bigger working area).
My main question is which one? What to look for? There are plenty of them in alibaba and ebay. Want to buy a good one.. Would appreciate any help! How to know Im not buying old model?

P.S. was reading forum for a while, but didnt find similar topic for my questions. I am sure there should be one so sorry if I missed one...

Similar Threads:

• Help or suggestions with Changing controller on chinese laser cutter/engraver
• Chinese laser engraver cutter 1600 x 1200 mm
• Newbie- Chinese laser engraver cutter
• Need Help!- New 50w 50 x 30 Chinese laser engraver cutter

[epilotdk]

I have a LG6040N with a 80W RECI tube and it has served me well for several years. Whether it can cut 1cm wood or not depends on the wood. You don't get a nice cut in wood that thick with a laser in my opinion. A CNC router is better for that. If you don't mind some charring and an edge that isn't straight then the laser might work out for you.

[JonasM_]

Thx epilot. I am looking for a 80W reci laser tube aswell. What about engraving? Are you happy with the results? We aim to engraving, but we need cutting as well.. If that would be only engraving i would go with 20wRF and add abit of money, but only engraving wont bring us enough money, so need cutting aswell..

[epilotdk]

I don't do a lot of engraving but for my needs it's fine. I mostly engrave simple text or graphics on poplar plywood or acrylic. I haven't done any greyscale image engraving. The LG6040N with the RECI tube is probably as good as it gets within your budget.

I've just bought my 4th laser from G. Weike and have never had any issues dealing with them. I had a HV PSU blow in one laser and the display in another but they were replaced under warranty. Of course you need to be able to replace the parts yourself. If you are technically inclined you should not have any problems. Lasers aren't really that complicated.

[asuratman]

our LG6040N with 80w RECI tube price lower thjan your budget is ~2500$ .

Hi Laser Liu,
Let me know how much is the price LG9060N with 80w RECI tube ?

[Storen]

Hi JonasM,

With a budget of 2500 you don't have many alternatives. Getting the cheapest possible machine form eBay, without a real warranty or support, is probably your only option. If you consider importing the machine yourself from China even the cheapest peace of junk will be around 3500 because of the shipping charges, custom fees, etc.

[JonasM_]

Well. As im reading more. Specially this forum I think we will spend ~4,5k$ instead of 2,5$ and hopefully will get a better one. At the moment I am thinking between 2 companies: Bodor and Perfect Laser. They both offer machines for ~4k$. Still waiting for a better offer. They both use Reci. Seems their machines are very similar. But I found more info about bodor and their website looks better. But thats all I can say. Looking 80w now, but 100w is only ~100$ more expensive. As im planning to engrave I am not sure if 100w is going to be an advantage or a disadvantage more.... maybe someone can say something about this? If theres no big difference of 100w instead 80w for engraving Ill def go with 100w.

[Storen]

Well. As im reading more. Specially this forum I think we will spend ~4,5k$ instead of 2,5$ and hopefully will get a better one. At the moment I am thinking between 2 companies: Bodor and Perfect Laser. They both offer machines for ~4k$. Still waiting for a better offer. They both use Reci. Seems their machines are very similar. But I found more info about bodor and their website looks better. But thats all I can say. Looking 80w now, but 100w is only ~100$ more expensive. As im planning to engrave I am not sure if 100w is going to be an advantage or a disadvantage more.... maybe someone can say something about this? If theres no big difference of 100w instead 80w for engraving Ill def go with 100w.

With $4.5K you won't be able to buy a machine from a western brand, but you would be able to choose between hundreds (maybe thousands) of Chinese configurations. There is one important thing to keep in mind about the Chinese "manufacturers" - unlike the western brands, 99% of the Chinese do not actualy design or manufacture even a single component they use in their machines. They buy exactly the same of-the-shelf components freely available in China, from the same third-party vendors and simply assemble them (very often by technically incompetent people). That's why there are hundreds of Chinese brands and thousands of machines that are super similar or identical. A tiny percentage of them would design only the enclosure and paint it with the "happy" colors their aesthetic sense allows. The most important differences between them are - quality control, after sale support and the experience of their technical team. In all three, they are way below the expectations of the typical western customer.

BODOR designs their own cases with the help a small European design consultancy. The rest is the same as 99% of the other Chinese brands. They tend to use cheaper parts. The quality control and the support are not their strong sides.

Never heard of Perfect Laser, but I doubt anyone knows them all.

RECI are designed for cutting applications. They can engrave but very ugly. Very few brands will offer machines that are equally good for engraving and cutting. They come equipped with two independent laser sources (one for engraving and one for cutting) and as you may expect are very expensive.

[Likai]

I agree with epilot.a laser engving machine with 60w or 80w laser tube is not efficient in cutting wood(especially for 10mm).They are good in engraving.I'm a salesman,not a technician.But some of my customer told me that.

[Routerfiend]

Re how to choose Chinese.
Simple DON`T DO IT !!!

[epilotdk]

Re how to choose Chinese.
Simple DON`T DO IT !!!

Why not? I have two now, both are earning me money.

[mtechus]

Reci is a popular brand but i've read that a watt reader shows their power is only about 85% of what you buy. So a 150 watt will typically reach around 130 watts. 150 is apparently only peak power.

[scadvice]

Understanding how a laser tube works is very important. Just because you have say a 60 watt laser doesn't mean you want to run it at 100% rather it's best to run it at lower amps (ma that is) because they will fail at a accelerated rate. i.e. a 1500 hr. rated tube may /will fail at 20% life. Most people I’ve talked to suggest never going over 40% power, just take more cuts.

People think you cannot have too big of power supply… wrong…

Example: I was just talking to a distributor who had a problem with one of their ‘in house use’ 100 watt lasers, it kept burning out tubes every 20 hours of use, came to find out that a 200 watt power supply was installed at the factory. Replaced the power supply with the 100 watt…problem gone. Simply put, the laser tubes will try to take all the power available. The pot used to adjust the power to the tube will be proportional to the power supply output . i.e. 60% on the pot was 120 watts in this case... output was 20% over powered causing the tube to burn itself out.

Cooling is absolutely also one of the most important things to control a hot tube can kill itself in minutes.

[davek0974]

Re how to choose Chinese.
Simple DON`T DO IT !!!

Why not?

I have just bought a red/black Redsail Clone from eBay, listed as 60W. I was fully aware before buying that it would only be a 50W tube and was not expecting any great technical quality. I have built cnc before so not new to it and i was quite surprised how good it was out of the crate.

It was aligned to cut pretty well, the gantry was square and it worked first time. I have since pulled it all apart and realigned it all properly, fixing a few minor issues and replacing dodgy universal sockets with quality items. It now cuts even better and i know a lot more about it. I know i will be buying a new tube soon - they ship with the crappiest junk tubes you could find but i knew that before buying.

I paid £1500 for the 500x700 with rotary attachment and i think its pretty good value for money, as long as you know what to expect.

So far it has cut 6mm birch ply in one pass and 10mm Acrylic as well as paper and card etc.

[epilotdk]

Dave, we are on the same page here. Provided you know what to expect, a Chinese laser can be a good purchase. Fit a RECI tube next if you can. I have an 80W that has lasted a long time already.

I had a look at your homepage and you make some very interesting stuff. I might "borrow" some of your ideas once I get a metal cutting laser (hopefully in the next 6 months). Don't worry about competition - I live on Faroe Islands! BTW, I used to live in Herts before we moved to Faroe Islands. Not much interest in firepits here. Too windy and on my island there is not a single tree.

[SPT-Laser]

Hello,

We are co2 laser tube factory, specialized in manufacturing co2 laser tube.

60w and 80w mainly for engraving or cutting textiles. If wood cutting, 100w is better.

[jram]

What would the price be with the 5000 chiller and a 100 watt tube?How many hours will the tube last?

[UnionTech]

Why you think the machines from China are not good. They just make the cost lower than the western. But they still acquire the latest technology. Besides, there are many labors in China, so the Chinese machine price is lower than western ones.

[UnionTech]

For the Reci brand laser tube, it can work for more than 10000 hours.

[SPT-Laser]

Hello,

We are laser tube manufacturer. The lifetime of 100w 1450mm tube is 10000 Hours.