Talk about sketching out a blueprint of fancy and chic designs on materials; and our creativity is utmost par. But how does one achieve them maintaining the elegance of materials? Look no further, as laser cutting and engraving have become a blessing in achieving it.
Let’s take a deeper look at what these are, how and what it could be used for and further on.
Laser Cutting as the name itself suggests, is the process of using a laser beam to cut materials. This could be done for cutting complex shapes at a faster speed or to trim down a material, delivering an accurate and smooth finish. Point to be noted here, is that, the laser machine can cut a vast range of materials of varied thickness and sizes with its laser beams, making it a handy and an adaptable process. One can also control the intensity, length and heat output of the beam making slits with width as small as 0.1mm achievable with utmost accuracy. Sounds interesting?
Where is laser engraving used?
It is widely used in the industrial and non-industrial activities for engraving, marking, embellishing, cutting wide variety of materials which includes plastic, ceramic, organic materials, metals like steel, titanium, silicon, other reflective materials, and wood to name a few.
Let's get technical
To allow traceability, personalization, identification and signage needs with an extensive range of standards and customized laser machines, different laser sources such as Fibre, CO2 and green allows it to do so. CO2 cutting is achieved using a gas laser and is often used on non-metal materials as they have a wavelength of not more than 10.6 micrometres, whereas; a fibre laser cutting can work with both metal and non-metal materials as the beam is created using ‘seed laser’ which is amplified using pump diodes and glass fibres making it approximately 100 times greater than that of CO2 when it comes to intensity.
Talking about laser engraving, is it a process of removing a layer of materials leaving the engraving below. For example, etching barcodes on to items, or personalizing sign boards or trophies. While engraving laser machines are very helpful in making intrigue impact of designs on materials, they are restricted to lower laser power hence less efficient in cutting through thickness as compare to laser machines.
Now that we are clearer about laser machines and laser engraving machines, let’s look at, how many kinds of laser cutting machines are available in market and how can we choose our best pick?
There is no shortage to picking on these machines therefore it can be quite tricky on picking the right fit. Follow are the best picks for your needs.
- VEVOR 40W Co2 Laser Engraving Machine – this is an absolute fit if you are looking to cut materials like wood, paper, leather, epoxy resin, plastic, marble, double-coloured board, density board, cloth, rubber, crystal, even ceramic tiles, up to 3mm. However, it wouldn’t cut through metal.
This Co2 engravers ensures to extract smoke and fumes. The best part, it is compatible with any kind of printer or scanner. And can be connecter to your computer via USB and can be easily be managed. Additionally, it works on MacOS (parallel desktops) and windows, cuts and engraves multiple materials, comes with CorelDraw and effectively reduces temperature while working.
- Mophorn Laser Engraving Machine 40W- equipped with a super laser head and effective heat dissipation, Morphorn Laser Engraving Machine is one of the most affordable ones. It is suitable for engraving toys and garments along with cutting organic plastic, leather, plastic, fabrics and so on. Moreover, it comes with two LCD displays, few switches such as, laser switch, emergency stop switch, lighting switch, power switch and 4 rotational wheels.
Additionally, it comes with CorelDraw; works on Windows XP, 7, 8, 10; cuts and engraves multiple materials and effectively reduces temperature while working.
- BobsCNC E3 CNC Router Engraver Kit with DeWalt DW660 Router – look no further if you want to get some serious cutting and engraving done. This machine uses a full rail system and belt driver that works on both the X and Y axis. Since this kit uses java-based application, you wouldn’t need a computer to use this at all. Other than Windows, macOS and Linux, you can connect it with Rasberry Pi system directly to the engraving machine.
The highlight of this machine is, it is better served for a woodworking garage. Here, you might want to have some spare wood on hands to feel comfortable with what you’re doing. You’ll be amazed at the intricacy of the cuts you can make with the system, once you get the hang of the machine.
- VEVOR Laser Engraver 50W Co2 Laser Cutter- This machine is best suited for wood, textile, industrial architectural modelling, plastics, rubber stamps, speciality advertising, picture framing etc.
With it’s in-built cooling fan to ventilate the whole system, it saves the product from burning during engraving working. Moreover, it can remove heat and combustible gases efficiently.
Few features of the machine that could help in purchasing this one is,
- it works on windows 2000, XP, WIN7 and Vista;
- the formats are supported on this machine are the ones that work in CorelDraw, Photoshop and AutoCAD.
While there is an absolute variety in picking from the best of laser and engraving machines in the market, depending on the price, software compatibility, material options, connectivity options and size, few of them are mentioned above for your aid. If you are a beginner and interested in learning more about it practically, you can always begin with the entry-level machines, get a good hang of it and gradually climb up the ladder with intense materials to work with like wood or metals.