Advice on laser cutters for beginner - And differences between all the 40W lasers

[mattcscz]

Hey everybody,

I'm new to laser cutting and looking into adapting one for a enclosed environment system.

I'm looking at getting one of these 40W Co2 lasers off eBay, but I see a ton of variation, I was wondering if anybody knows much about them.

The two below look very similar but 2x different machines/manufacs?

























If anybody has experience with these machines, how often (in minutes or hours) do they need to be maintained? And is the requirement, cleaning, focusing laser and adding water pretty much it?

Also if anybody has any good experience with it, do you know of any good open src repositories for these machines? I would like to add my own automated input to link up with my system, pref c# or c++

Thanks!

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[TokinSpokane]

I bought the larger version of these machines & they get upgraded constantly. You want to find the newest model available. The control boards change & the software along with it. I bought mine on eBay but, check out the ones on Amazon for reference. The case design will probably be the most up to date, as would the controller. Then buy one from a reputable seller on eBay & save hundreds. There is a huge learning curve for setting up & running these machines, so start watching Youtube videos.

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[underthetire]

One has a few upgrades, the vents are nice. Make sure you get one with a laserdraw board, that way you can use k40whisperer, it's a free software that makes these fun and easy to use. The factory stuff sucks. Plan on another 100-150 for immediate upgrade parts, like a decent exhaust fan and air assist.

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