I have been researching the best laser engraver for the past few days because I’m looking for one for home use and some small DIY projects. I’ve checked reviews and comparisons from a few popular laser engraving websites, and I’m currently considering these two:
However, I’m having trouble deciding which one would be the better choice for my needs and I’d appreciate some advice. I mainly want to engrave wood, acrylic, leather and other common materials. Good engraving quality, easy setup, reliable performance and a reasonable working area are important to me.
Which one would you recommend for a beginner? Is there another laser engraver that would be a better option in this price range? Any recommendation will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
The main thing with lasers is they engrave different materials. Want to do depth engraving in metal, you want a Yag/Fiber or something in that frequency range. But that laser will not do well on wood, acrylic and leather. Want to engrave wood or leather (smells like burning cats, btw), you want a CO2 or diode laser for that.
Wattage in engraving lasers (10-100w) is mostly just how fast it’ll work. You can do more passes with a lower wattage engraving laser and end up with similar results in more time. After that it comes down to machine work size, software and support.
Thanks for explaining. That makes sense, especially the difference between laser types and materials. I’ll keep the material I want to engrave in mind before choosing a machine.
Having gone down this path, I can tell you that you will likely be disappointed with any form of low power diode laser, like both of those that you linked. Yes, they work, but slowly, and with limited materials and thicknesses. They are great in the sense that they’re typically very cheap, require little or no support equipment, and minimal maintenance, so for a beginner, they are a logical starting point. But that’s where it ends. At 10 watts you can engrave, but cutting will be limited to very thin materials. Yes, you can do multiple passes and this does work, but only to a point, and each pass tends to cause more and more burning of the edges. Also, without air assist, the debris from each pass tends to collect in the groove so subsequent passes just reburn the stuff you’ve already cut rather than making additional progress.
If you can swing a little more money and are willing to deal with some extra setup and maintenance, I would go with a k40 style CO2 machine. MUCH more power means more speed, deeper cuts, and a CO2 laser will add several materials to your capabilities list that a diode can’t touch (clear acrylic for instance).
FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a demo room and affiliate for Omtech so I do get a cut of any sales through my affiliate links. That said, I am an Omtech owner and have run several of their larger CO2 machines and a MOPA fiber laser so I practice what I preach when it comes to their stuff. IF you would like to go down the CO2 route, I am happy to help and can get you a small discount on whatever you buy (IIrc, it’s only about 5%). If not, no worries, I hate being a salesman and won’t bug you about it, I just don’t like seeing people who are just starting out make the same mistakes I did. I went through 3-4 different diode lasers back when CO2’s were crazy expensive and while it did help to build my knowledge base, given the availability of machines these days, I definitely wouldn’t do it again.
Question first is what is your build needs for pallet size? Creality has an interesting modular multisystem just out. but very small pallet. very inexpensive.
