Laser Shopping

A new laser is an obvious choice for our space, considering that the Epilog is the most-used tool in our shop. Let's collect information on our various options here.

Thunder Laser

http://www.thunderlaser.com/

Sector 67's Chinese Machine

• Purchased as a group of 3 for around $6800 each including shipping.
• Apparently important to purchase in a group because it forces the manufacturer to send three identical looking printers and not a one-off oddball.
• The other two printers are in Detroit. (i3 plus one privately owned)
• Rumor has it that the owner of the third laser in Detroit wants to sell.
• Sector67 / Detroit printers have 1200mm x 900mm bed. So 47 1/4" wide, cannot take a full 4'.
• The manufacturer is now selling all its new ones with slightly wider beds so people in the States to do a full 4'.
• Feed through is supported on at least two sides and possibly all four. You can continuously run a 4' wide roll of fabric through it.
• 150 watt water-cooled tube. Tube is apparently cheap to replace compared to Epilog and Kern.
• Requires water chiller (included) and compressed air / ventilation.
• They have reason to suspect that the manufacturer uses a 130W power supply beyond its specs. So they limit the laser to 120W for better tube life.
• Requires use of proprietary Chinese CAM software that delivers files in a proprietary format to the laser.
• CAM software is locked via crypto dongle to one machine.
• Software isn't exactly super user friendly. That said, the people at Sector67 had no problem taking Elizabeth's Adobe Illustrator file and etching it as a raster.
• Fully enclosed; no need for goggles.
• Has mode where it moves the head in a rectangle bounding the artwork, for workpiece positioning.
• Sector67 has developed a rather nice billing system that interfaces with it. They charge $20/hr beam time.
• Honeycomb is steel. This is awesome because hard drive magnets do well to hold down slightly warped thin wood.
• A cat is recommended to ensure proper laser operation and to check all laser jobs.

Kern Laser Systems

• Total cost for 24"x48" machine with oxygen assist, computer with software toolchain and stand
  • $89,485
• 4 year lease with no down payment, $1 buyout at end of lease
  • ~$2250/mo
• 5 year lease with no down payment, $1 buyout at end of lease
  • ~$1850/mo

What we get

Kern sells a complete turnkey system. The purchase price includes:

• Laser cutter
• Cooling System
• Computer
• Software and licenses
• Two days of training at factory for one person

Warranty

The warranty on the system would be for two years. An extended warranty on the laser tube can be purchased for a cost of $3250 per year. For up to an additional 5 years. Realistically replacing the laser tube is the largest potential expense you can run into once you are out of warranty. An out of warranty laser exchange on a 150 watt laser is $6400. For this you get a new refurbished laser with a new 1 year warranty. With any machines there are moving parts, that eventually will wear and need replacing as well. The components we use on the systems are engineered to last for years as long as you do minimal maintenance regularly. The systems are designed for ease of use and ease of service. Should you need service work or repair work done it can be handled by someone on your team that has basic mechanical skills, with assistance from Kern. This helps to eliminate the potential for costly repairs.

Tube life is estimated at 3-5 years (production environment?), replacement tubes under warranty are covered for the full cost.

Capabilities

Samples have been requeested

Downsides

• Laser safety - this machine has no enclosure, so laser glasses are mandatory