Laser for under £2000?

Hi Guys,

I'm thinking about buying a Laser machine from eBay.

I have a 6040 CNC already but I've had a few requests for logos on chopping boards and I just can't engrave them with a cutter for hygiene reasons. Plus one customer wants his logo so small that it doesn't look great on the oak boards he uses.

I've a few other ideas for burning images onto wood for souvenirs etc. so I want to keep my options open. Maybe some metals but this is not something that is crucial.

I've read on the forums here that there are different types of lasers needed for each material but the eBay listing says it can engrave a range of materials! Is this marketing hype or do I need to get one for just wood?

Also, I see RedSail have a Cutter and an engraver but the eBay listing says the one machine can cut and engrave!

If someone could clarify this for me I would be very grateful!

I basically need to know if which is the best laser for under £2000 that I can get for mainly burning images on wood and perhaps some cutting. I intend to use it mostly on wood but I'd like to be able to cut as many materials as possible!

Thanks,

Kevin.

Burning images on wood is easily done with a low power laser. Its cutting that is not.

40W will cut through pine, 50W will cut birch ply. of course it depends on the speeds you run at. engraving can be done quicker than cutting as it only chars the surface.

I have recently bought my girlfriend a the 50W chinese laser from ebay at the bottom of the link you shared. It is easy to use but the software is a bit limited. If they had the 60W at the time, I would have bought that one. Gutted I hadnt seen it :(

Build quality is not bad for the price either. Just be sure that it is in your country already so you do not get slapped with the import duties.

If you want to do greyscale though then you will either have to do it manually by splitting layers or pay more money for a control.

Have you considered using a high powered 445 diode for just engraving? You could even combine a few together for double power

I'm actually selling one on ebay right now... I've got on hold with a Chinese factory that produce laser engravers and hope I can start a business on selling their products. and a 40w machine... is like around £650 with shipping included....

Build one!

Here is the beginnings of my workshorse(build log needs completing):
https://hackaday.io/project/316-simple-diy-laser-cutter

Total cost when finished was £800-£900