Would a LS3060 plus laser engraver and cutter suit me best?

[chris1966]

Hi,
I have been looking for a small laser cutting machine for a while, for use in prototype work (I am a product designer in the hobby industry)
I usually get my designs laser cut by the company I work for, in Italy. However, it would be a lot more convenient if I could this at home (I have a purpose built work shed), as soon as I have finished my designs. (Usually wooden ship model kits)
The materials I would use are plywood, hardwood and MDF, from thicknesses of 0.6mm to 6mm. I use a CAD program called TurboCAD, and usually save the files in DWG for the Italian laser people to read and cut the files, although I can also save in DXF.
I have never personally used one of these machines before, so am wondering how difficult it would be for me to own and set up?
The machine that seems to suit my purpose is the LS3060 plus laser engraver and cutter. Would this be OK, do you think?

http://hpclaser.co.uk/index.php?main_pa ... ucts_id=39

Thank you,

Chris

[Spooky]

Hiya Chris,

LaserPly (or liteply) cuts very well, Laser MDF also cuts very well but some hardwoods can be a bit of a niggle. It's all to do with the oil content of the wood and grain density, Daven I'm sure will be along soon and have some answers for you about wood (it's his speciality).

TurboCAD to be honest is a pain in the butt, it's compression algorythm for DXF files can lead to problems when used with a laser machine but Draftsite is very similar while remaining fully compatible (its also free).

Reliable straight cuts into wood 6mm thick isn't an easy task and can be hit and miss on occasions but with time and investigation it will cut very well.

3060 is a good choice and comes with LaserCUT software that is a LOT easier to manage than NewleyDraw is.

In general look at what you will *need* then add 25% to that figure as your pretty sure to find out the first job you design will be too big to fit on the machine of your choice It can be false economy to buy a machine that is *just* big enough as is true with pretty much all machine tools.
Support wise there are a lot of people here who will have faced any problem you are likely to come across and will have an answer for you

best wishes

Dave

[chris1966]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated. I have never heard of 'Laser MDF' or 'Laser ply' before! I use (or have no choice but to use) Marine birch ply (0.6 - 5mm thick), walnut hardwood (2-5mm thick) and standard MDF (2-6mm thick - although 5mm is usually the limit)
The bed size seems about right, as most of the wood sheets are around the 500mm long mark, and the larger 5mm pieces are usually designed in 2 or three parts, depending on the keel length (kits, when ready for the market have to fit in their boxes, so the laser cut component sheets cannot be too large anyway.

I am now worried about saving from TurboCAD, as it's my main design program, from actual designs to drawing the plans and instruction manuals!

Thank you,

Chris

[Spooky]

Hiya Chris,

Download Draftsite and you will see the layout is very much the same, if you can handle TurboCAD you will have no problem with Draftsite.

To be honest the 5mm hardwood figure gives me cause for concern on a standard 40 watt tube, yes it will cut but the speeds will be quite low and staining on the surface is going to be a problem unless higher pressure air is used. Most non laser wood products use resin based glues that cause soot and carbon to be deposited in and around the cut (as well as giving off some quite nasty fumes).

Where abouts are you in the UK? if your close to Halifax drop in and ask Chris to do some test cuts on your wood or if your down this end of the world I'm quite happy to run some samples for you?

Better to go into a purchase knowing what the results will be rather than find out later when it's too late

best wishes

Dave

[chris1966]

Hi again, Dave,

I guess I could save a drawing from T/CAD in DWG, and open it in Draftsite and then save in DXF.
As the machine will be used strictly for ‘one off’ prototype projects, the speed of the cutting isn’t an issue, but accuracy is. Because it would not be used as a ‘mass production’ machine, but just a machine that is more convenient for me, I cannot justify spending twice as much for one of the larger machines
Staining isn’t such an issue, too, as that’s nothing a light sanding can’t cure. The 5mm hardwood makes up only about 5% of the whole project – 30% would be 5mm MDF and the rest is smaller thicknesses. All materials I would use are the same that the company I freelance for use in the kits they produce.
I am in Gloucester, so quite a way from you

Thank you,

Chris

[Spooky]

Hiya Chris,

What sort of accuracy are you looking for? reason I ask is budget lasers (meaning pretty much everything under £100k) don't use kerf compensation so the cut width has to be allowed for in the drawing.

best wishes

Dave

[Daven]

Hi Chris, can't add much more to what Dave has said to be honest - I did post a reply here about cutting wood and what I have found so far on my smaller 3020. The Walnut I tried gave of a bigger flame than other wood so as said good air assist would help.

Cheers

Dave

[chris1966]

Hiya,

I guess it doesn't have to be deadly accurate - as I'm sure the 16 machines my Italian friends have are not £100k each. It has to be accurate enough for parts to slot into each other, like this;



Which ends up something like this;



I can change the slot widths in the drawings to compensate for any overcutting, so that's not really a problem - I just need to be sure as I can be that this particular machine is suited to what I do.

Thank you,

Chris

[Spooky]

Hiya Chris,

Cool, that makes sense now you have pics posted.Yup the 3060 will do pretty much anything like that and the learning curve while quite steep isn't bad as you have a command of cad design.The actual operating procedures for the machine are pretty simple so I can't see any obvious problems with your choice of machine.
Speed = not a problem,
Surface finish = not a problem,
Physical sizes = not a problem.
You have a way round all of the above so there isn't really anything to hold you back other than just getting up to speed with the actual operation of the machine.The fact you are comfortable with a cad package means something like learning to select a few options and hit download won't be an issue

best wishes

Dave

[Daven]

Nice work Chris - rigging looks time consuming

Dave