Would the space benefit from a second laser cutter?
What would that laser cutter to choose?
If there is a case a second laser cutter and this is what members want, I would consider helping with the funding?
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Thank you Tim! Can we go in for a Solid State (Fiber Laser) if affordable? It is said to have less maintenance.
There was a small group of us talking at the space about this yesterday. We were saying an option for a second lasercutter would be a smaller/cheaper/less powerful one that could take care of easier jobs (etching for example) to help offset some of the load on the main one. Though venting becomes an issue for a small desktop one. Also whether a second one is actually needed is still up in the air.
40W lasers are less than $600USD, and would definitely be worthwhile to
have.
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If that’s legit then I think it’s a solid idea, if only as mentioned above to take the lighter work of etching off the load of the main cutter and reduce wait times. If we got a small etch-only fiber, then that would be even cooler to etch things the CO2 can’t AND reduce load/wait for the CO2.
Though I’d strongly suggest we wait until after the move before acting on this, for obvious reasons.
I agree waiting until after the move, if the move will happen this year.
I would suggest not under specificing the second laser.
Can we look at the curent laser usage and find the number of runs that are ONLY etching?
Runs which combine etching and cutting would need to run on the more powerful laser.
You can cut through 1/4" plywood or acrylic with no problems with a 40W CO2 laser, I do it all the time. You just have to slow it down a bit, use a slightly lower frequency (or PPI depending on your brand of laser), use your air assist and, depending on the type of wood or plywood, maybe take a couple passes to minimize charring.
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