So I’m in the market for an upgrade and I’m leaning towards Thunder. Specifically the Nova 35 or the Nova Plus 51. I’m assuming I don’t need the HR head with the nova plus and it already has the camera system with it but can anyone tell me the pros and cons of these machines from their point of view? Will I be limited with the RF tube?
Everything depends on what and how you want to use a machine and what price you want/can pay for it.
Thunder Laser has tried to differentiate itself from the other Chinese manufacturers very early on, with sales and service facilities around the world, the main production itself is still done in China. In this way, coupled with a higher quality level than many other Chinese manufacturers, they have been able to build a good reputation and many of their customers even believe that it is a product from their country. In Germany, for example, they have bought an “old” German manufacturer to establish themselves on the German market. I don’t think Thunder is trying to wash away its Chinese identity, but if you can promote the impression that their products are “German quality” or “made in the USA” then it fits nicely into their concept.
As long as you have an engineer in the EU or the USA and put the laser unit itself in the machine in the USA, then it is Made in the USA or the EU, no matter where all the parts come from.
Advantages of the machine you have in mind:
High quality
Service and spare parts in your country
Disadvantages of the machine you have in mind:
High price, about double the average, (also) good Chinese quality
Relatively few options for using standard spare parts
If you are a 24/7/365 manufacturer and can make a good deal with an extended warranty and you are sure that the armorization time of the machine fits into your company’s portfolio, then it is probably ok with this machine.
Of course, this also applies if you are a hobbyist, have no financial limitations and look at it the same way some people look at cars. When you already have several nice expensive cars in the garage and love having them - why not?
I also love nice cars but “only” have a small Fiat and a nice RV and in my workshop there is an OMT 60Watt CO2 and an old diode laser. Everything has been running fine for many years and the depreciation of my laser machines has been achieved in less than 2 years for the machines, but that will never be made up for for my RV, not with our tax system 
I honestly feel kinda silly for excluding brands like omtech, I suppose I was worried I was going to be buying a “problem” because I don’t know much about the brand. So in your opinion what should I look for in a laser from them? I will be doing a lot of engraving and not cutting a ton of thick material but i will be cutting some, is 90W too high for I machine that needs to engrave a lot? Is 60W the sweet spot for that? I want the best bang for my buck because we are a small business but we need a industrial laser because commercial work is going to kill our poor little diode laser haha
It has been my experience that diode and C02 lasers produce different results. I tend to get much darker engraving on wood with diode lasers. In fact, I won’t even do bamboo on my C02 anymore because I don’t like the results. C02 will cut acrylic, where diode is extremely limited.
I highly suggest that you find someone local to you with a C02 laser and get them to run a few of your jobs to see the results before spending thousands on a machine. Explain the situation and offer to pay them for their time.
You might determine that a C02 is exactly what you need, or you may decide to spend that money on purchasing a few more diode machines to increase your production.
All that being said, I use my Omtech C02 for 90% of the work I do. My Diode rarely gets used anymore, but when I want those particular results, I have it.
I very much agree with Tim and can recognize the pattern.
Regarding how powerful the laser should be, it depends on the maximum thickness you will cut, e.g. Wood signs and the like. In solid wood up to 10mm and plywood up to 6mm (if it is laser -suitable plywood!) And acrylic up to 10mm, is a (min) nominal 60 watt laser OK, 80 watts even better but less suitable for filigal engraving.
Bed size is very important for industrial/semi -professor production, typically large plates of material are cheaper as the small and large series can also be better done on larger machines.
But, there is another aspect you can consider too. For the same money as the laser you have looked at, you can get a 60 watt CO2 laser and a fiber or UV laser. In combination with an autofeed device, super quality and quantity can be achieved.
If I wanted to do some etsy shop work today I will deffinitive go this way.
Right now it’s a lot of leatherette haha so would you typically deem a CO2 to be suitable for engraving and cutting that? I would still have my diode laser and could always use it for smaller engraving projects but I need something that I can run consistent production on for patches and I just don’t think my diode laser is gonna hold up to the quantities I’m looking at
So would you think 90W is too much to engrave detailed stuff on leatherette? I normally don’t rush these decisions at all but iv got myself in a pickle and orders have began to rack up😂 what I mean is im drowning and I need a bigger boat
Omtech has some demo rooms in Georgia so I may reach out to one of those and try to work out a deal to demo their equipment!
In my opinion, yes.
It’s great that you have the opportunity to look at some OMT machines near you, it’s always good to get a real impression. If they are good and fair sellers, they won’t try to sell you their most expensive machines - if you don’t need them.
I have not tried any leatherette on my C02 so I can’t answer that question.
Leatherette can be hazardous to laser. It may contain PVC, which will release toxic fumes when lasered. In addition, the fumes will corrode metal parts in the laser. Be cautious:
Polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride
Leatherette is a synthetic material that is made to look like real leather. It is made from polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride mixed with other resins, such as silicone and softeners.
That’s absolutely correct, I would avoid PVC under any circumstances. PE and PP are ok with proper extraction, but PVC based material is a nogo.
I make sure I only buy from reliable sources(Lonestar) I appreciate the advice because I had no idea
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Opinion: Unless you’re going for a top-dollar turnkey system with top-dollar paid support (and sometimes even then), you must regard what you get as a parts kit closely resembling a laser machine. You will be responsible for initial tuning, ongoing adjustment, and maintenance. More critically, you must handle all the troubleshooting, debugging, parts procurement, and replacement.
This isn’t unique to any particular brand, although it’s roughly inversely proportional to the price: keeping a bottom-dollar machine running requires far more tech knowledge than many folks realize.
None of which is difficult to learn, as long as you realize you must learn it and are willing to get your hands dirty. The process goes like this:
- How can anybody possibly do this?
- I remember making that mistake before
- That was easy!
- Why does anybody have trouble doing this?
You’ll find nearly everything you need to know in the myriad discussions around here, although the search function requires you use keywords & terms you won’t learn until about Step 2.
Bonus: ask a good question with a picture or two and you must fight off all the incoming advice … 
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If I had a choice, I’d opt for an RF machine for these reasons.
- air cooled – no liquid coolant – can’t freeze
- larger beam size from source – smaller spot size – higher detail ability
- better beam quality (M2) – better cutting/engraving characteristics.
- 100k hours typical MTBF – very long life
- tube can be re-charged - not cost effective with glass tubes.
- digital device, it will lase, down near 1%
- designed for military operation, so they are tough, not nearly as fragile as a glass tube
- quicker response time – faster speeds while maintaining control of the laser
The drawback for me, they were too expensive, so I have a glass tube machine.
Power is only useful for cutting through thicker materials. If you have a high powered glass tube machine, then it usually won’t lase at very low power percentages.
I think the perfect machine would be the Russ Sadler spec machine from Cloudray with an RF source. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have gotten this one, even if I had to settle for a glass tube.
Just my opinion 
If you are mostly doing leatherette patches, you could purchase a Thunder Laser Bolt. It’s only 30 watts, but that’s all you would need for leatherette and cutting up to 1/4". It is a smaller laser, but leatherette can be difficult to engrave on a larger laser. Especially the leatherette that has the silver and gold layers. The laser bed has to be level, and it is easier to maintain level on a smaller machine. I would stick with an RF tube for engraving.
Your other option would be to find a used Epilog, Trotec, or Universal Laser Systems. Be aware that they do not use Lightburn to drive them.
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From what I heard from the Thunder Laser USA team, they will be phasing out the glass tubes over time and only use the RF.
I have a thunder nova 60 w and have had great success with it so far.
My main gig is yeti bottles on the rotary but have done quite a bit of leatherette from JDS supply and it comes out well
I run it part time and have had it for 3 years now with no problems.
It’s been a good experience for me
YMMV
Good luck in your search there are a lot of choices these days
BK
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The Thunder move 24 also fits thru a standard 36” man door very important to me might not matter to others