This will be my first laser engraver.
the laser engraver i want is 8" z-axis with a 62" wide bed, 4-way pass-through.
i wanted the option for 4’X8’ sheets of plywood, but yet engrave images and things on more delicate material, like you guys. i was hoping this would do 90%-100% the same work as I see other people doing.
but it’s 150W… and i guess burning at 3% isn’t the same as 10% on a more common sized laser engraver?
is this right? I won’t be able to tune power settings low enough or rail speed quick enough on a 150W CO2 for common tasks like you guys perform?
edit: if 150W is not ideal… what do you feel is the perfect wattage?
Keep in mind that most lasers have a minimum power before firing. My 90W lasers does not fire below 13%.
Increasing the speed doesn’t fully solve it because the tube might not fire quick enough for super high speeds.
So a laser above 100W might not be the best option for engraving.
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Thanks, @MichMich … are you saying 100W may be the perfect level?
It really depends on what you want to do. If you are going to mainly use it for engraving it is probably overkill. If you are planning to only use it for engraving (no cutting) it is definitely overkill. If you will mainly use it for cutting 100w is perfect. If you wil only use it for cutting (never engrave) I’d say the more power the better.
So yeah, as always: it depends.
Tube wattage aside I don’t think you can engrave without the proper lens. Cutting lenses are not the same at engraving lenses. One high power or low power machine isn’t ideal for everything
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You may need two lasers…depending on what your real needs are. The 150 watt would be, as stated, too much to do engraving in certain situations like say maybe the Norton on tile as minimum power probably is too high…or no feel photo engravings on wood. Yet if you need to cut full sheets of plywood then you need the higher power and larger bed…so…two different lasers.
If you plan on engraving and need lower min power and your material size is not that large then an OM Tech 60 watter is prefect as the min power is in the sweet spot and it comes with a front pass through.
Then you would need a larger laser for your plywood…granted you did not state your laser purpose on plywood but I assum it is more the ability to take full sheets.
Now if you can use smaller sheets then the compromise might be the 80 Watt with the larger bed option with a 4 way pass through. The 80 comes in two bed sizes…again though this depends on your actual need for full size plywood pass through.
But your needs are split between two different size lasers. I would decide which use I was making the most money with and buy that one first and then the other second…or if I can only get one but work around a small 4 way pass through and 80 watts was good…go that route. Again though not sure what you are actually doing with the larger plywood and what thickness it is. If it is 1/4" baltic birch an 80 or 100 watt is fine if you are cutting it. If it’s 1/2" then 100 to 150 is better.
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Hello everyone, I was reading this post and wanted to add my personal experience. I’m running a 150W Omtech laser and having good success engraving very detailed work on glass, wood, and acrylic. For glass engraving, I’m using Omtech’s recommended 275mm/s @ 16%.
Or look at an Aeon Super Nova - has a high output glass tube (best for cutting) and a lower power RF tube (best for engraving) - I have a Super Nova 14.
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I have both a 100 watt and a 60 watt. The 60watt is the engraving master. It has a short fokelpoint lens and has to be vary close to the work. Abt .25 inches. It can cut .125 wood or acrylic in one pass. .25 wood usually takes two passes. But the kerf is abt .05mm. The 100watt has a long lense abt 3 inch fokelpoint. It has to be abt 2 inches above the work. It will slice half inch materials with ease. Sometimes it’ll cut things as thick as .75 however it struggles to do this and everything must be set just right. It dose a good jub of engraving but understand that the curf is.09mm. Quit a bit bigger than the 60watt . This is because the tube in the 60 is 60mm diamiter and the 100 is 80mm diamiter. Also the long lense has a less tight focus. Like a sharpie vs a pen. A 150watt would also have a 80mm tube, just longer than my 100watt but the beam size should be the same. It si possible to equip a 100watt or a 150watt with a short lense. This will pull the beam to.07mm. I have done it in the past, it improves engraving substantially but with the cost of cutting beyond.25 inch. Typically with the 100watt machine I engrave at100 mm or 125 mm per second at a power of 12.5 percent. As the tube doses not fire consistantly below that. Sometimes it is a little heavy handed. Then I speed it up a bit. Engraving wood i find that the best results are deliverd by a low speed which allows the laser more time to blacken the wood. Acrylic can be engraved much faster with more power as it dose not blacken. A 150watt should engrave sucesfuly at 12.5% and175 to 200 mm per second on wood. And should do brilliantly at 20% power and 400mm per second on plastic. Just get a short fokelpoint lense.