Newbie is very confused

[talbrecht]

I am looking to adding to my business trophies and awards. I have been looking to buy a laser engraver and have become very confused about the pricing and why certain brands of machines are priced the way they are. I am certain that there is a reason but just looking through the specs is not giving me the answers. Please help. I look at 12-15 year old Epilog, Universal machines, low power some needing service and the asking price is so extremely high in comparison to importing a much larger and more powerful machine. Even the re-branded Chinese machines are less money. I will be using this for commercial purposes and hopefully will run every day. I have a mill that I use for cutting wax for jewelry so I do understand things like step motors vs servo but would it make that much difference? I don't know if I will be cutting things but I would like to know the possibilities. I don't have a lot of money to invest but I sure don't want to just waste what money I have to spend. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you and sorry for my first post being so long.

[hub]

Hi,
I don't have a laser but here is my opinion:
Usually, there is a reason for a higher price. Precision components cost money. Servos are a lot more expensive. Well made structures (frame etc) will cost. And so on..

The cheap(er) ones might have components that won't last long. Also precision is usually much lower, not to mention lower speed.

Try to decide on how much precision do you need, how much speed, can you live with machine down-time during maintenance because of broken/worn parts?

Power alone doesn't tell much about the performance over all..

Originally Posted by talbrecht I am looking to adding to my business trophies and awards. I have been looking to buy a laser engraver and have become very confused about the pricing and why certain brands of machines are priced the way they are. I am certain that there is a reason but just looking through the specs is not giving me the answers. Please help. I look at 12-15 year old Epilog, Universal machines, low power some needing service and the asking price is so extremely high in comparison to importing a much larger and more powerful machine. Even the re-branded Chinese machines are less money. I will be using this for commercial purposes and hopefully will run every day. I have a mill that I use for cutting wax for jewelry so I do understand things like step motors vs servo but would it make that much difference? I don't know if I will be cutting things but I would like to know the possibilities. I don't have a lot of money to invest but I sure don't want to just waste what money I have to spend. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you and sorry for my first post being so long.

[Exsecratio]

You may be surprised where some of the "Well known western machines" are actually made

best wishes

Dave

[keebler303]

We run a Kern and a Vytek.

In my opinion you are paying mainly for the software (controller included), the laser and the support.

About any idiot can make a machine move back and forth. Only the quality of components and quality of workmanship make a difference there. The designs are all similar. Its good to have a good laser but the bread and butter is really in the software and control part of it.

Lasers: A 100W Coherent or Synrad RF laser will set you back more than $20k new. A similar power Chinese tube laser and power supply is maybe $1500. What's the difference? Quality of the laser beam, quality of control, lifespan, support, availability of repair/service, etc.

Software/controllers: Almost no one likes the Chinese software and controller. Many folks are upgrading to a better (DSP...something) controller for their machines. The laser is a good as a paperweight if it won't do what you need it to. For a trophy shop, you are likely going to be raster engraving lots of small plaques and similar parts. So you might need a machine with a high level of detail, or a machine that is fast, things you might not find in a cheap Chinese laser.

I am not sure if you are interested but lasers can do some wicked 3D engraving. (check Kern Lasers on youtube) That was important for us so we requested a sample from close to 10 different companies. We sent them all the same sample image from Gantry Gray and they mailed us the samples they made using their machines. The quality of the pieces we received ranged across the board. At least in terms of 3D engraving, price and quality go hand in hand. If you are only marking or 2D engraving, you will not get much advantage from the higher end machines.

For your small parts (assuming they will be small) a marking head may work out better for you than a gantry type machine.

In my experience, you pretty much get what you pay for.

When buying used, it is important to measure the power output of the laser. If the power is reduced significantly from nominal, it needs service and that should be worked into the price of the machine. Beyond that, get as much training as you can from the current owner and contact the manufacturer to see if they will support you as a second owner. You may have to "buy in" to their support, its probably worth it.

Matt

[Hurricane21]

Terry,

It was great speaking with you today and I hope that all the good people here on the forums are assisting you with information.

Hurricane Lasers will do our very best to make sure you are a happy customer.

Best wishes.

John

[talbrecht]

Originally Posted by Hurricane21 Terry, It was great speaking with you today and I hope that all the good people here on the forums are assisting you with information. Hurricane Lasers will do our very best to make sure you are a happy customer. Best wishes. John

Thank you for your time. It was very informative.

[Rodney Gold]

I have "western" and chinese lasers and a massive trophy factory/workshop/retail section , I have 8 lasers , 2 of which are the cheap chinese ones. Will NEVER buy a western laser again..the chinese do the same job at 1/5th or less of the cost. They are simpler to fix and spares are dirt cheap - you need a little hands on experience with em , but if you can turn a screwdriver , you away.
Some of the western lasers with so called better software actually encourage bad design habits , for example most western lasers will engrave a line with width as you see it on screen from Corel draw etc.. chinese ones wont . This is bad design , a line with width needs to be a filled bounded entity , if you have a CnC machine , a vinyl cutter , engraving machine etc , these too will have issues with a line with width..
There is another forum which will have a ton of info for you . Sawmill Creek Woodworkers Community - The Sawmill Creek Press , go to the laser engraver section.. start reading the threads there.

[Exsecratio]

Originally Posted by Rodney Gold I have "western" and chinese lasers and a massive trophy factory/workshop/retail section , I have 8 lasers , 2 of which are the cheap chinese ones. Will NEVER buy a western laser again..the chinese do the same job at 1/5th or less of the cost. They are simpler to fix and spares are dirt cheap - you need a little hands on experience with em , but if you can turn a screwdriver , you away. Some of the western lasers with so called better software actually encourage bad design habits , for example most western lasers will engrave a line with width as you see it on screen from Corel draw etc.. chinese ones wont . This is bad design , a line with width needs to be a filled bounded entity , if you have a CnC machine , a vinyl cutter , engraving machine etc , these too will have issues with a line with width.. There is another forum which will have a ton of info for you . Sawmill Creek Woodworkers Community - The Sawmill Creek Press , go to the laser engraver section.. start reading the threads there.

Requoted in full as these are some wise words

Rodney has pretty summed up my feelings too, for what you pay the eastern lasers are by far better value than any western made stuff.

best wishes

Dave