laser cutting machine?

[lab-dad]

You guys in Europe have got it made!
A group of excellent modelers with different machines/tools/skills all helping each other out.

I am (becoming) a one man band.

I would like to get a laser cutting machine (if I can afford it).
I want to be able to make my own custom pieces.
There are lots out there and prices from silly to stupid.
ready to go and DIY stuff.

I dont need/want something large, I dont care if I have to do one part at a time.
8" x 10" would be great but I'd settle for half that size if I had more power.
I would assume the power relates to maximum thickness of material.
Again - if I laser cut i can always layer.
Something able to do 1mm thick card, wood, styrene?
Could I engrave brass? cut it?
Hell if I could engrave .010" brass I could then fold/cut on the engraving lines.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

-Marty

[mabloodhound]

Marty,
Take a look at these  https://glowforge.com/tech-specs

They're on pre-order but the specs look good. 
Air cooled with it's own software, a lot better than MM.
The MicroMark is water cooled and must be connected to the internet to use it.

If I had the cash now I'd be ordering one

[Hydrostat]

Marty,

there's a thread at Buntbahn (please use Google translate or something ...), started by Henry, a German who lives in the States. He and some guys bought a cheap chinese laser cutter and made some interesting dvices for it for engraving wooden barrels for example. Maybe he can give you some advice. I'll try to contact him.

Cheers,
Volker

[Bill Gill]

Marty, I've also been very interested in the Glowforge project for the RR club at RPI, but if I'm reading this thread correctly on RRL Forums, it sounds like that project has become something quite different than originally proposed, no longer that useful (or affordable) for modelers:
http://railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46492&whichpage=2
Does anyone here know more about this?

[finescalerr]

Why not contact a couple of the more reputable manufacturers and ask their advice? Roger Malinowski and Bob Hartford come to mind. And our favorite phantom, Marc Reusser, also knows something about lasers. -- Russ

[mabloodhound]

Marty, I've also been very interested in the Glowforge project for the RR club at RPI, but if I'm reading this thread correctly on RRL Forums, it sounds like that project has become something quite different than originally proposed, no longer that useful (or affordable) for modelers:
http://railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46492&whichpage=2
Does anyone here know more about this?

Bill,
John was just posting that info about what he was trying to get his employer interested in but his company went elsewhere.
Look at my link in the post above to get info directly from Glowforge.

[lab-dad]

I looked at the article Volker posted but really didnt see enough information for my limited knowlege base.
Volker also gave me a contact for more information as well.
We will see what happens.

The cheapest Glowforge is $2500.00 - not affordable (for me).

-Marty

[nalmeida]

I bought one of the chinese lasercuters to my small business Modelismo Artesanal and as I knew beforehand they aren't plug n play, they are a bit plug n pray!
It was a challenge to have it working properly and I made some custom parts. It costed around 400 Eur. It has a working area of 20 x 30 cm.
I bought it from a chinese supplier that had stock in european wharehouses so taxes were cheaper.
Tuning the machine was an hobby in itself.

[eTraxx]

I found this website. Interesting array of laser cutters .. and they finance

http://fslaser.com/Products/Lasers?gclid=CLXE5ZXh98kCFdgUgQodLqwGwg

[lab-dad]

Okay, since I started this I better chime in.
The only affordable ones to me are the chinese ones.
That said that is somewhat daunting.
Also the whole converting files three times is also confusing.
Why cant we draw and execute in the same program?
Sounds just like sketchup and 3d printing........
For me at this point I am gonna wait and see.
Hopefully my laser guy can help me out for now.
Marty

[finescalerr]

Your comment about file conversion is justified and your decision to continue with your laser guy seems your best solution. It is unlikely most of us could justify the cost of even a moderately priced laser unless we were to use it commercially. Besides, just as 3D printers, they aren't always straightforward to work with. Spend your time designing, building, and finishing because those are your talents. Leave the technical tedium to someone else. -- Russ

[danpickard]

I think with the Glowforge version, the simplistic way they are shown to operate is explained by the price.  Clever little machine where the hard part is done by them with their cloud software.  Draw the image (by hand if needed) and drop onto the cutting bed to be burnt out.  You are paying for removal of some of the CAD learning curve in some ways (however, perhaps not such a sense of cost saving if you are already proficient with CAD software). I see great opportunity for artist applications, but perhaps the hurdle being that artists sometimes have a bit of a financial limit, so the Glowforge can be a bit of a dangling carrot

Cheers,
Dan

[nalmeida]

I have a chinese laser cutter, I design in Corel Draw 12, I cut in Corel Draw 12. I know nothing about file conversion.