Hi, I'm a new user & would just like some friendly advice!

[Tom]

The 1290 needs 3 or 4 sq mt just for the machine It's big (spooky & phillydee will know this)
the 6540 is parts warranty only so you need to know abit about lasers
Go for a demo and go from there

Tom

[HardWorkingMum]

Thanks Tom, I think this is the conclusion we are coming to too, hopefully its not too late to book one for tomorrow.

And I think we are going to bite the bullet & go for the LS3050.

[Spooky]

Don't touch the 1290 in the second auction, just been hearing some rather unsettling info about it......

The 3050 by all accounts is a good machine (I've never personally used one) but the 3020 / 3040 series in reality are just hobby machines and not really up to day in day out demands of business use. As Lightning said, the first one on Ebay isn't a 3050 (I looked quickly as I shot out of the door tonight) but does come from somebody I know very well

To be honest if you have any intention of business use for a machine then go for the biggest the budget will cope with, nothing worse than the first job you secure being 20mm too big for the bed size (it will happen eventually and is really annoying )

As to drawings...Both Draftsite and AutoCAD have steep learning curves BUT in the long run well worth it, until you are happy with a drawing package there will always be somebody around here who will help out if you get stuck

Honestly? if you can work out how to post a message on an internet forum then you have more than enough skill to use an HPC laser the extra bits of tips and tricks come with experience and practice, think of it as about as difficult as using a mobile phone

best wishes

Dave

[TimBobTastic]

I have to agree with Dave...

We had our laser delivered yesterday and the engineer showed us everything we needed to know.

My partner who was very very nervous of using the laser has already designed, cut and engraved her first item. She is not as tech savvy as me but picked up the controls really quickly, I think her lack of machine experience helped as she had no pre conceived ideas of how it should work. (I used to program and run very large CNC machines when I was a tool maker so had a few preconceptions, but none that were problematic)

As for software, start simple, Inkscape and draftsight are both fre... Most of my simpler designs are done in Inkscape, converted to vectors amd then saved as a DXF. It takes a little while to find your way around, but there are lots of tutorials on you tube.

[Lightnin]

All said and done .. you would (should at at the right sales price) probably pay for the laser in a **month or three if you bought the basic one. and cut for more than a few hours a day.
I totally agree that bigger is better ! to a point .. .. and yes .. if your business expands, you WILL need a bigger machine. But maybe there will be a point where it's too big !


there are loads of people selling with a 2030 .. and run it all day all night ! .. if it doesn't last a year at full throttle .. it doesn't matter.. it's paid for itself very quickly !

just a thought


** EDIT : Months not weeks ! oops

[HardWorkingMum]

Hey again. Just wanted to thank you all for your posts, they really have helped us make a decision.

We went for a demo yesterday (info still sinking in!) but we've come home very happy with our decision to purchase the LS3050 upgraded to a 60w.

Going to happily research & practice on drawing programs now but I am sure we will be back