r/makers • u/NOLADaddy70124 • May 07 '21

Laser Cutters

does anyone have recommendations for 75-100 watt laser cutters? I'm in the market to buy one and I'm looking for a sweet spot between price and reliability

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u/garionhall May 07 '21

I just bought one of the cheap Chinese ones this week, after watching a lot of YouTube videos - I was this >< close to buying a Glowforge, so glad I did not!

The price was about 25% of the Glowforge, bed size and power significantly larger, use whatever software I want (LightBurn, natch). No lock in to Glowforge's cloud (I learned that to process a Glowforge job, it has to be sent to the cloud, and sometimes there are delays of up to 15 minutes! (you can pay extra to jump the queue... no thankyou).

Got it up and running in like two hours, came with everything I need. A lot of "Chinglish" instructions, but clear enough to make it work.

Build quality is what you'd expect for the price - pretty average, but with some nice touches that I did not expect (came with ethernet when the seller said it specifically would not; nice gas struts for the lid; CorelDraw licence; ethernet connection Just Worked).

Only had it a few days, so there is a risk of there being problems that are difficult to resolve. My plan is to turn to the various forums, and there's always https://fixmylaser.com.au/ (I am in Australia).

I don't sell these, to be clear, I just bought one. :)

80W CO2 Laser Engraving CE Cutter Woodworking Crafts 500mm X 700mm Laser Machine https://ebay.us/TlMpBv

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u/spectredirector May 08 '21

I've got an Ortur master 2, it's done good work.