How to Buy a Laser Engraver

We know that many of you will only buy a laser once or twice in your life. Because of that you might not have a lot of confidence that you're approaching it correctly. We'll try to help you with that process here in this post.

First - What kind of laser?
Lasers are frequently defined by their light wavelength. CO2 lasers are one type. Fiber and YAG lasers are a second group. What you want to decide is what types of material do you want to cut or engrave and then the type of laser will pretty much be decided for you. For instance, generally speaking, if you want to work with organics (wood, marble, glass, leather, paper, painted/coated metals, etc) you'll want to utilize the CO2 style laser. If you want to etch directly on or in to metals or some specific plastics you'll likely use a Fiber laser. Yes, there are a number of exceptions to these generalities but for now let's leave well enough alone. At this point you probably have a good idea what type of laser is better for you.

Second - Size vs Power/Speed!!
Without fail, the most common lament we hear is, "I wish we had purchased _____" with the blank being filled in by either *a larger table* or *more power*. It really is important to buy the right laser in the beginning. Yes, many of the lasers on the market today have some upgrade ability but we really feel that it's important for you to buy the best laser for your application with your initial purchase. With that, your equation for picking a laser probably looks something like this,
Cabinet Size + Laser Tube Power = Purchase Price
and that would be a good formula, but too many look exclusively at the Purchase Price side of the equation. Of course we understand that you'll have a budget to work within but know too that if you are purchasing a laser based mostly on price there is a strong chance that you are purchasing the wrong system. To choose a laser size, ask yourself a few questions. What is the biggest size I need to be able to accommodate (remember to consider length, width and height)? When I do multiples, how many do I want to do in one job and what table size do I need to accomplish this? If I need a rotary attachment, what is the largest diameter that I need to work with?
Once you have the size issue well in hand, let's address laser power. The first thing to understand is that, in many cases, low power lasers (say 25-40 watts) will do the same applications as high powered lasers (75-120 watts) but the high powered systems run them faster. The higher powered lasers will also give you the opportunity to cut through thicker materials than their low powered little sisters. So, with that in mind, to help decide on a power level ask yourself these questions. Is the production time for the material I want to work with going to be affected by the power of the laser tube I choose? If you are going to engrave wood or acrylic, you will finish more products in a given amount of time with a high powered laser than you will with a low power tube. If you are running something like anodized aluminum or microsurface plastic, you will see little increase in throughput by going to a high power laser tube. Next question is, how many widgets do I want to engrave in a specific amount of time? Your laser sales professional will need to help you with this, but if you need to produce, say, 100 pieces in an hour, it will likely take a specific laser power to achieve this number. Have a test run or rely on the experience of your sales rep to help you figure out what laser power is right for your production needs. Last ask yourself, will I have room for the unexpected in the unit that I am now considering? You never know what is around the corner. You can't figure for everything that might come in your door but do your best to make sure that you can handle overflow jobs that come your way.

Third - How to pay for the fool thing...
When we sell lasers, it is almost always one of three types of sale. Cash sale, bank loan or lease. Large companies tend to have capital accounts from which they pay for equipment purchases. Start up companies (in our area) tend to gravitate to bank loans. Established companies tend to like the lease option. I do not want to spend a lot of time talking about these options in this thread but I do want to say that this is a VERY IMPORTANT decision for the laser buyer. We have our opinions but I think the very best advice we can offer here is for you to talk with your accountant or financial advisor. The sales rep should never care how the buyer chooses to fund their equipment. We get paid the same amount in all cases. The decision should be made based on what is best for the company or individual acquiring the equipment and no one will know that better than the buyer and their money people.

Is this all that needs to go in to the decision on what laser is the right choice for you? Not by a long shot, but if you start here, I believe that you will be on a good road to selecting a laser that will fit the needs of your production facility.

Have a question on these comments? Contact me here-
http://www.classact.net/contactus.asp?catid=19710&fileID=9439