# (A) Chinese laser vs. $$$$$machine (B)



## wood-of-1kind (May 27, 2016)

Michael has a real nice thread going in regards to purchasing an "inexpensive" Chinese made laser.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/chinese-laser-engraver-140404/

Rather than adding my personal thoughts on the subject matter, I decided to start this discussion. Like others, I have been debating as to whether or not I should purchase a laser to help with promoting some of the items that I make. It became a no brainer when one of the IAP members here was kind enough to do a test run on the Chinese laser using my logo. Glad to say that I am pleased with the results (picture) attached. However my story does not end there. As an informal and non-scientific experiment, I got another friend to do a similar test with his rather expensive laser using the same logo.

Remember that one is $90 and the other is priced in the thousands. This is what I would like to share with the folks here on IAP. Not trying to engage in any heated discussion as to the merit of one machine or another. Just look at the photos as they are merely intended as "food for thought". Which image is from the cheapie laser and which is from the >$$$$$$laser?:biggrin:


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## BRobbins629 (May 27, 2016)

I recently bought one of the inexpensive ones. If you are just a hobbyist and want to either play or test some ideas, this machine is ideal.  While i am more than pleased with the things this can do, if I were in business and selling hundreds or thousands of items, I would probably go for the more expensive option if it proved cost effective.  I would not expect the inexpensive version to be a work horse, but for limited editions it's hard to beat..


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## wood-of-1kind (May 27, 2016)

Well stated Bruce. My thoughts exactly and thanks for your input.


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## larryc (May 27, 2016)

Haven't seen this laser unit mentioned in any of the recent posts.
You can still get in on the preproduction price and save an additional $100 with this link:

http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=rTevKu


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## jsolie (May 27, 2016)

Bruce, that's it exactly.  I don't know what everyone here expects out of a $90 engraver, but I know not to expect it to be a juggernaut that zaps thousands of pens and says "Is that all ya got?"  I do want to see what it's capable of, and I have had a few requests for engraved pens over the last year or so.


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## sbwertz (May 28, 2016)

I'm seriously thinking of buying one of these and giving it to the center for the blind.  We could even put braille markings on the pens!  People are always wanting names put on pens to prevent them from being stolen.  We could also put the ACBVI logo on key chains as promotional gifts.


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## mecompco (May 28, 2016)

larryc said:


> Haven't seen this laser unit mentioned in any of the recent posts.
> You can still get in on the preproduction price and save an additional $100 with this link:
> 
> http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=rTevKu



Looks nice! Although, at over a grand for something that may or may not come to fruition, I'm not quite sold. How many folks have lost money on Crowdfunded items?

Regards,
Michael


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## larryc (May 28, 2016)

mecompco said:


> larryc said:
> 
> 
> > Haven't seen this laser unit mentioned in any of the recent posts.
> ...



The started their Crowdfunding with 9 million in the bank and raised 30 million in 30 days with crowdfunding.
They are in beta right now and they had several units at MakerFaire in SF last weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkGDIwUE6io


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## mecompco (May 28, 2016)

sbwertz said:


> I'm seriously thinking of buying one of these and giving it to the center for the blind.  We could even put braille markings on the pens!  People are always wanting names put on pens to prevent them from being stolen.  We could also put the ACBVI logo on key chains as promotional gifts.



Sharon, that is a great idea! Not sure how you'd print braille (can one read "reverse" braille?). Upon occasion I am called to get our Juliet Pro working again, and that prints some pretty significant bumps (I'm sure there is a technical term for them).

Here's a version of my logo I've been noodling around with:





Regards,
Michael


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## sbwertz (Jun 3, 2016)

OK.  I've decided to buy one of these for the Center for the Blind.  I think it will be a great addition to our project.


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## sbwertz (Jun 3, 2016)

mecompco said:


> sbwertz said:
> 
> 
> > I'm seriously thinking of buying one of these and giving it to the center for the blind.  We could even put braille markings on the pens!  People are always wanting names put on pens to prevent them from being stolen.  We could also put the ACBVI logo on key chains as promotional gifts.
> ...



Yes, braille readers can read dips as well as bumps. It is all in pattern recognition. Or we can glue tiny beads into the burned dots.  I've been putting tiny turquoise nuggets on bottle stoppers for wine ID.  At first I though I would put a W for white and an R for red....but the two letters are virtually identical...only one is upside down from the other...but the same combination of dots.  Since on a stopper you can't tell up from down, that wasn't going to work.  So we put one bump for white and two bumps for red (or vise versa...just so they are different.)  Seems to work for them....they are very popular.


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## Dan Masshardt (Jun 3, 2016)

My concern about the cheap ones is the power /  depth of the engraving?

Can the cheap one be easily sanded off?   Is it deep Enough for a color fill?


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## sbwertz (Jun 3, 2016)

I ordered it with expedited shipping.  Hope it gets here before I leave on vacation on the 24th so I can play with it and train my three helpers so they can use it while I'm gone.  We are getting a new room to play in.  We have been sharing the ceramics room for the past two years, but since the turnings from the turning project are beginning to bring in some significant income at fundraisers, they are giving us our own large room.  So I will have a place to set up the laser permanently.  Where we are now, I don't even have a permanent place to put the pen press, but have to get it out every morning and put it away every afternoon because we share work tables with ceramics.  Plus the fact that they tend to just help themselves to our glue, sandpaper, dremel tools, etc.  It will be nice to have a room we can close up and leave and it will be the same when we come back!


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## BRobbins629 (Jun 4, 2016)

Dan Masshardt said:


> My concern about the cheap ones is the power /  depth of the engraving?
> 
> Can the cheap one be easily sanded off?   Is it deep Enough for a color fill?


Not easily sanded off, deep enough for color fill.  First attempt; maple, CA to seal, Laserbits pro color fill heavily applied then sanded flush.  Probably could have let it dry a little more, but proved concept.  Have also tried Rub'nBuff on darker woods and that seems to work as well.


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## Dan Masshardt (Jun 4, 2016)

BRobbins629 said:


> Not easily sanded off, deep enough for color fill.  First attempt; maple, CA to seal, Laserbits pro color fill heavily applied then sanded flush.  Probably could have let it dry a little more, but proved concept.  Have also tried Rub'nBuff on darker woods and that seems to work as well.



So you're adequately satisfied to engrave a name on pen for a customer?    

Thanks for the input.


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## BRobbins629 (Jun 4, 2016)

Dan Masshardt said:


> BRobbins629 said:
> 
> 
> > Not easily sanded off, deep enough for color fill.  First attempt; maple, CA to seal, Laserbits pro color fill heavily applied then sanded flush.  Probably could have let it dry a little more, but proved concept.  Have also tried Rub'nBuff on darker woods and that seems to work as well.
> ...



If I sold pens, I would answer yes.  Requires a little playing to get the right size and settings but definitely can work. If I was in the business of selling a lot of pens I might consider a better unit but for the price it's hard to go wrong.


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## sbwertz (Jun 8, 2016)

Mine has been shipped.  Hope it doesn't take the scenic route like someone else's did! I think I will try filling names on dark wood with light colored embossing powder and CA and see how that works.  I've used it for filling cracks and flaws. Even dark sawdust from the sander on light wood might be nice.  I can hardly wait to experiment!


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## Bob in SF (Jun 8, 2016)

Hi Sharon - You kindly alerted me to anti-Windows-10-upgrade software - one good turn sparks return - here's a quick burn of the braille alphabet from an (nbp.org) alphabet card - pdf opened in Photoshop, saved as .jpeg, dragged into the laser printer software, burned after quickly focusing (could have been better) - speed = 45.

I know you'll do a lot better - and this is tiny - like your raised dots idea - have fun.





- Bob


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## KBs Pensnmore (Jun 9, 2016)

For your charity Sharon, I wish the very best for you.
Kryn, from down under.


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## sbwertz (Jun 12, 2016)

On average, how long did it take to get your laser if you paid for expedited shipping?  It has been six days since I got the notice it had been shipped but still don't have a tracking number.


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## BRobbins629 (Jun 12, 2016)

Mine took 11 days with no expedited shipping. Tracking never worked.


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## Bill in Buena Park (Jun 12, 2016)

Mine started tracking about a week after I placed the order (after I sent an email to GearBest to find out what was going on), then took another two weeks to reach me.


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## mecompco (Jun 13, 2016)

sbwertz said:


> On average, how long did it take to get your laser if you paid for expedited shipping?  It has been six days since I got the notice it had been shipped but still don't have a tracking number.



Sharon, mine arrived in about that time frame. I never got a tracking number, either. On a previous expedited order, it took 11 days. On a non-expedited order, it took 25 days. 

Regards,
Michael


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## sbwertz (Jun 16, 2016)

They finally admitted it did not go out expedited, and will refund my 8 dollars.  So I guess it will get here while I am on vacation.  Oh well, so much for being able to make Fathers' day gifts down at the center.


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## sbwertz (Jun 18, 2016)

Finally got some tracking info.  I ordered it on June 4.  It showed "shipped" on June 7.  According to the tracking info, it actually left the Netherlands depot on June 17!  Hope I have it by Christmas.


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## mecompco (Jun 18, 2016)

sbwertz said:


> Finally got some tracking info.  I ordered it on June 4.  It showed "shipped" on June 7.  According to the tracking info, it actually left the Netherlands depot on June 17!  Hope I have it by Christmas.



I'm thinking by the Fourth of July, but hope it's sooner!


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## wood-of-1kind (Jul 5, 2016)

*Got it*

So after a prolonged wait, I now have the laser. Glad to report that I am very happy with the performance so far. A very good value for money and I certainly am happy with the logo.


Conclusion: you do not have to spend a fortune to get more than "acceptable" laser results.


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