About to buy a laser...

[yourhinote]

Hi Everyone

We are a stationery company about to make a huge purchase (for us) - a MornTech 3050D from a california reseller. We are looking to laser cut paper, both individual sheets and stacks, make stamps and engrave bottles, glasses, etc.

Does anyone have experience with this particular model? I guess my main concern is the precision we will need for some of the artwork we are trying to cut, as well as not burning the edges of the paper too badly. Im guessing its all a question of power vs. speed - but Im looking for as much info as I can before I go ahead and buy this thing.

Any info anyone has would be much appreciated! Thanks Again!

Michael - Hi Note
yourhinote.com

[Tweakie]

This guy produces brilliant work with paper and card Intricate Creations - Bespoke Laser Cut Wedding Invitations - The Intricate Collections the key to avoid charring of the edges is power and speed (as you already know) and to this end he uses a scanning head for the speed. My best attempts with an X-Y vector cut produced charred edges as can be seen in the photo.

Lasers do engrave glass but they don't do it that well, at least compared to the results achieved by masking and sand blasting although you really need to see comparative samples to be able to make up your own mind on this one.

Tweakie.

[Rodney Gold]

You will not be able to cut stacks , maybe 2-3 sheets , but no more than that , even if you use an inert gas , you will get bad charring on edges. The laser you are considering , a flying optic co2 laser is not ideal for your application either , you really need a galvo head laser for speedy paper cutting. The other applications will be fine for your flying head/optic Co2 you intend to purchase.
You will also have to balance out power with "delicacy" and precision , the higher powered glass tubes , barring some of the the Reci ones , will not allow delicate or high precision engraving and are better for cutting applications. Your optics will also dictate the quality of the beam , it's spot size etc , so if your vendor offers imported or high quality optics , I would go with that option.
There is a guy on sawmill creek that uses his laser to do a ton of stationary work and wedding invites , go to the site and search for his posts , jiten patel

Engravers Forum

[fullspeceng]

Check out the pics below of paper cuts we have made and our customers have made:
www.fullspectrumengineering.com • View topic - Contest: Free Replacement Laser Tubes for Life!

All pictures have not been retouched.

After an exhaustive study, we claim to have the best vector trajectory planning system of any flying optics laser despite our extremely low cost.

What this means to you is that there are no "pierce points" or black dots when the laser fires giving perfect cuts in delicate materials like paper.

This a direct unedited quote from our customer: "Wanted to prove to the wife that the laser could utilize any material for any reason. Worked MUCH better than a dedicated electronic paper cutter. Bigger size, no proprietary cartridges for the graphics, FAST, and many different cardstock thicknesses (weights)."

See his video here:
YouTube - Laser cut cupcake wrappers
See our facebook page here:
Full Spectrum Laser | Facebook

[OldEngraver]

Some of the examples of work on your forums are excellent, some are OK and some are definitely not up to a commercial standard. Hope it's only operator difference.

[fullspeceng]

Real people produce real stuff on our forums.

The best quality goods are the ones that use the laser commercially and sell their items like Shiny Rabbit.

The main benefit of our lasers is that everyone can afford it so if people are having fun making things, our job is done.

[kofi_sunic]

Hi Micheal,
I can supply you with this kind of machine,recommending u our SCK7050 laser cutting&engraving machine.Its platform is 700*500mm,and laser power is 50W.It is widely applied in the fine engraving on nonmetallic materials like acrylic,organic board,bamboo product,paper,glass etc.
I wonder if you need a rotary device.
50W is enough for u to cut and engrave.
PLS think about it,thank u!

[yourhinote]

Thank you everyone for all the extremely helpful info - after researching more, it looks like what i really need is a 'galvo head marking laser' - yes?

in the end - i need something that will cut paper precisely without burn marks - if it engraves stuff as a bonus then so be it.

maybe i should just buy $5000 worth of x-acto blades and call it a day...

ugh - so much info/questions - thank you everyone again

[Rodney Gold]

A co2 galvo head will also engrave anything a flying optic type will ,except about 10x faster. The issue with a glavo is the marking field , you might be limited to far smaller engraving areas than a XY flying optic type , typically for your application , 200mm x 200mm would be your biggest size. You might be able to push this to 300x 300
These are also available ex China at far cheaper prices then in the US or euro zones.
You can make a fair amount of money engraving promotional items if you arent using your galvo with paper. Just be aware that whatever laser you get , stacks of paper are NOT do able.