Chinese machine, laser power & HobbyCNCPro kit

[nio101]

Hello,

I'd like to buy some basic chinese machine to do some acrylic laser engraving and cutting. I'm currently looking at those two offers :
machine1
machine2

They seem quite similar... the 1st one is a little cheaper and has a bigger cutting area. The other one has a usb adapter (I saw parallel to USB adapter for about $15)...

Which machine would be the current recommended choice in this entry level class ?

I saw some 60W & 80W CO2 laser and power supply on ebay... Is it possible to install those 60W and 80W lasers inside the chinese machine (the power supply would be changed for an upgraded one) ?

Finally, I've got a HobbyCNC pro package (HOBBYCNCPro package) in stock. Should I install it in the chinese machine ? What would be the improvements ?

With a common CNC/laser board like the HobbyCNC kit, what are the recommended choice for the software to do laser engraving / cutting ?

I read that there were problems with diagonal motion speed that were different from horizontal & vertical ones... Do both chinese machines have this problem ? Does using the HobbyCNC kit could help me prevent it or use another common CNC/laser software that could handle diagonal moves better ?

Finally, I understood that with those machines, the laser power is manually set, and not controlled by the software as it could/should be... Did anyone try to modify the machine to let the software command the laser power ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards.

Nicolas.

[zax15uk]

Nicolas,

I would absolutely go with the 2nd one, from Strong and suggest you avoid the other machine. It doesn't have an EMO switch and despite their claims about it being a newer version, it is not. Strong represent the machine fairly.

They have the same cutting area, just the other one includes the full table movement area but in reality you can only use the area between the Z-height screw threads.

The Strong machine has Newlydraw 1.5 which is far superior.

The USB board is more than just the interface, it means it has better control (improved controller/driver) which is better for cutting. It will still only be suitable for thin Acrylic (3mm in single pass, perhaps 5mm in 2-pass), but they make excellent engraving machines.

You could upgrade to a 60W or larger tube but would need to make a custom housing since the tube is longer. If you want to cut thicker materials you could change the laser control board and use PWM. There are several options for this if you find it necessary (including your HobbyCNC board and Mach3), but I would suggest purchasing a 3060 system to begin with. They have a larger table area and the longer 60W tube (80 or 100W also available).

Pulse width modulation (or frequency control) allows you to leave the laser power at full (or better 95%) and drive the applied power via software. I haven't found the manual adjustment to be a limitation, but it may depend on the application.

I haven't noticed any significant issue with diagonal moves or curves etc. It may depend on the design/artwork.

What is your application? (materials you want to engrave / cut)

I recommend the honeycomb cutting surface too, but it is only useful on thin materials.

Zax.

[Litografa]

Machine 1 -
"ISO9001 Quality Certification"
"Japan imported advanced motherboard and microchip"
"Germany imported bearing and high accuracy stepping belt"
AND TOP OF ALL
"Engrave almost anything on almost any surface"

I am crying

below is absolute comedy
"NOTICE: There are many new brand name of similar item in the market recently, although their price are really cheap, but the quality of their products are also terrible:"
"NO TAXES OR IMPORT DUTIES IF YOU BUY FROM US AS THEY ARE MARKED AS GIFTS "

Do not forget also purchase from "love-happyshopping" together with laser another products she offer like "FAR INFRARED FIR SAUNA BLANKET/SLIMMING BODY/DETOX h" or " Siemens Super-Power LOTUS 13SP BTE Hearing Aid / NEW h".

PEOPLES! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING WHEN WANT BUY FROM THIS SITES?

[nio101]

@litographia: when we buy from chinese sites, we know we have to make the difference between what the reseller tells you (a lot of bull**** among other facts) and what is the actual value of the product. Of course I know it won't engrave everything, that's not the question... I just wanted to know if the product was better/worse than the other as a starting base...

@Zax: thanks for those very valuable informations.

I mainly want to engrave and cut acrylic from 3mm to 5mm and cut balsa wood and depron for plane models.

So the Strong 40W/USB/Honeycomb solution should be a good base to start with...

I'm often using Solidworks to draw parts... I didn't found any tutorial/manual/info. about Newlydraw but I guess I will be able to export to DXF and import to Newlydraw...

Thanks!

Have fun.

Nicolas.

[geekinesis]

I would go for the second one as well.
Whichever one you choose, make sure the software is not newlyseal as this can only engrave (the first machine). Newlydraw can cut and engrave and import dxf files from illustrator.

I think you are in france? You will probably find it easier to buy from a european source. It will seem more expensive, but once you add on all the import duty and taxes importing from china the price will work out about the same anyway. Plus you will have local support incase you need new tubes etc.

There are a couple of suppliers in the UK that would send to france.

[Grunf]

Hello Nicolas,

I have older model of second one, bought from HPCLaser for about 1300 €, DHL shipping and taxes included.

Issues :

- Bed size. If I should buy one now, I'd take bigger one, at least A4 format.

- Newlydraw software. Some time to spend to learn using it. I export all my drawings in DXF, then import in Newlydraw, so it's working well. Otherwise, it's damn frustrating.
Engraving pictures works fairly well, software is able to vary laser power. In fact, you only set max power manually, and Newlydraw can vary it from 0 to 100% when engraving.

- You cannot use HobbyCNC pro package, steppers are 4-wire ones. Nor you can use other software, and there's not enough space for bigger laser tube.

It will engrave everything non-metallic, cuts perspex and plywood up to 3 mm (allthought in two-passes). I cannot recommand thickier cuts, as you should start or end cutting out of focus (and if you try to move bed up or down you'll lose precision, getting ugly cuts).

This site sells some kits : Full Spectrum Engineering

I didn't tried any, as I found that I can still do plenty of things with this machine as it is. When it became not enough, I'm thinking about buying bigger one, or even building new one from scratch.

Have a nice day,
Ondrej

[nio101]

Thanks for your answers !

Yes, it seems wise for me to get some basic experience with a 40W basic machine before trying to get bigger/more powerful laser cutter...

I will ask HPCLaser if they sell the USB model and check their price...

See you soon when I can cut something ! ^^

Nicolas.

[techfortun]

You can choose the york laser engraving machine from china, like's smart man 350d, smart man 690