# Laser Engravers



## JCochrun (Jul 10, 2012)

Has anyone used or have an opinion on any laser engravers other than Epilogue or Universal Laser?  I found a site for Full Spectrum Lasers.  Prices are drastically lower than Epilogue but I know that sometimes the cheaper product is just that....cheaper, not always better.  Just wanted to see what feedback there is out there on the other companies.

Thanks,

Jim


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## Turned Around (Jul 10, 2012)

wow. those seem pretty cool. very affordable.


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## Fibonacci (Jul 14, 2012)

I have had very good success with the lasers that full spectrum "upgrades".  I looked pretty closely at their claims and reviews and I am not terribly impressed.  Look at the history of their reviewers before making any decisions.

I decided to pick up the one from mkpb international.

Artsign JSM3060U 50 Watt CO2 Laser Engraver

$3k gets you a 60W system.


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## Jgrden (Jul 15, 2012)

Hey!! This thing is neat. I'd like to know more. How does it cut curved material?


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## Fibonacci (Jul 15, 2012)

Stock it will cut something with about 1/4" height variation.  

If you want to engrave something round, you can either do it in sections where you rotate the item between passes or you can get a rotary attachment that temporarily replaces the x-axis and rotates the item instead of moving the lase across it.


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## NewLondon88 (Jul 15, 2012)

John.. this one doesn't work on curved materials. It is too small
for any sort of rotary attachement. It doesn't have the clearance.

Before anyone plunks down money on this, be aware of it's limitations.
it has a small table, and a very short max height. It will require a water
cooling system. It will not work with industry standard programs like
photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw, AutoCad etc.  it only works with it's
own program (which people seem to hate) and they will only support
this one program .. and only on Windows XP Home. It uses a short life
laser tube (1200 hours, but they tend to go sooner than that) fortunately
those tubed are less than the long life tubes. but still..

You need to understand everything about this machine before you buy
it.. if they don't offer support outside of those two programs, it sounds
like you will be your own technician. They DO NOT have technicians, so
a service call is out of the questions. While under warranty, any parts that
fail will either be shipped to you (you split the shipping costs after 30
days) or you have to pay to have the machine shipped back to them for
repair. They do not come to your location.


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## Turned Around (Jul 15, 2012)

NewLondon88 said:


> John.. this one doesn't work on curved materials. It is too small
> for any sort of rotary attachement. It doesn't have the clearance.
> 
> Before anyone plunks down money on this, be aware of it's limitations.
> ...


 

Party pooper....


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## NewLondon88 (Jul 17, 2012)

Turned Around said:


> Party pooper....



LOL ... hey .. I'm not telling anyone what to buy or not to buy..
just what to watch out for. I belong to another forum that's got
lots of people who regret certain things about buying cheap. For
someone who is already familiar with the machine and the company
and especially the software, it could be a good thing. But someone
walking in off the street (so to speak) could find themselves with
a $3k paperweight. 

Fibonacci got one and is telling people about it
so it has to be worthwhile to someone who knows what he's getting
into. Ask around some engraving forums.. owners will give you the
skinny and you can build a better picture in your mind than from only
two or three responses.


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## TurnaPen (Jul 17, 2012)

I can vouch for what Charlie has said. My two hands have been burnt TWICE, and the frustration of communication really gets to you. Let alone the money you spent thinking you were onto a good thing. Amos


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## Turned Around (Jul 17, 2012)

NewLondon88 said:


> Turned Around said:
> 
> 
> > Party pooper....
> ...


 
i was just messing with you.
what's your opinion on the Full Spectrum systems? Mainly something like the "deluxe" hobby version. i know you use a laser doo hicky for some of your stuff like the stands (of which i hav many, by the way).

aside from their site, i can't find too many reviews on it. i lke the fact that they're in the US and getting custome support will be easier than being routed through some other country. i want one, but i am having trouble justifying spending about $3,000, not knowing how long it will take to make the money back on my initial investment.


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## NewLondon88 (Jul 18, 2012)

I admit I don't know that much about Full Spectrum.. but I do know 
there was some buzz going around some forums that the ONLY buzz
seemed to be posts from people within the organization pretending
to be satisfied customers so that they could generate some buzz to
begin with. Didn't sit too well with people and that got talked about
instead of people discussing the equipment. AFAIK (and that ain't far!)
their laser seems to be existing equipment with their own modifications.
I forget the manufacturer name mentioned, but if I remember, they
took someone else's chassis and made it their own. Same with the
software.

Now.. I DON'T know that this is true. it was only my impression from
what I sort-of remember from kinda reading a thread about something
I wasn't particularly interested in at the time. But if true, it means that
the support you get might not be what you expect. Instead of talking
to a technician, you're maybe talking to someone who talked to a tech
about a machine that was similar.




Turned Around said:


> i was just messing with you.
> what's your opinion on the Full Spectrum systems? Mainly something like the "deluxe" hobby version. i know you use a laser doo hicky for some of your stuff like the stands (of which i hav many, by the way).
> 
> aside from their site, i can't find too many reviews on it. i lke the fact that they're in the US and getting custome support will be easier than being routed through some other country. i want one, but i am having trouble justifying spending about $3,000, not knowing how long it will take to make the money back on my initial investment.


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