Vinyl cutter V laser cutter

[Tonyz]

wife has a vinyl cutter that is no longer of use due to computer upgrade and cutter not responding.
Vinyl cutter are used for cutting paper, cardboard etc soft stuff with a very fine knife controlled by image from computer. Does slightly over A4 size.
Now we can replace this with a different make or go to laser cutter but dont know diddly squat about them, good things, bad things, what to look for, recommended brands, size etc etc something that would cut fine metal and thin ply would be advantage.

[ian]

just out of interest, have you tried all avenues to get the vinyl cutter working? Often all you need is an upgraded driver

there used to be (i.e. I don't know if they are still available) USB to Parallel port converters.

I believe that in Windows 10 you can configure a virtual machine that emulates an earlier version of windows. (it's also possible to emulate an android system in Windows 10)

[Tonyz]

the suppliers admit its old (10 years) and its computer program is the let down in its design.

[BobL]

I don't know of any small/cheap laser engraver/cutter that will cut metal .
Metal cutting laser setups use a different much more powerful laser than the usual cheap small footprint desktop units that sell on eBay for as low as $100.

Watch out for the "W" versus "mW" laser power labels, eg 1000mW, 1500mW, on small laser engravers.
They are sold as engraver cutters but in practices they cannot cut much and what they can cut ins only in very thin material
These start at ~$100 out of china but I don't know what kind of short let alone long term support is available for them.
They would be fine for playing around with but yf you want support and reliability I wouldn't buy one of these cheapies.

Typical materials small budget level laser cutters can cut include wood, plastic, paper, bamboo, horn, leather, paper.
Specific materials excluded include Metal (regardless of thickness), stone, ceramic. , Jewels, reflective material, transparent glass, ivory, colorless transparent material, some white plastic.

While 1000mW sounds like a lot compared to a 60W CO2 laser, don't forget that 60W is 60000 mW
Small CO2 laser cutters can cut a wider range of thicker materials and some transparent plastics like acrylic but not metal.
Some of the more powerful small CO2 lasers can at best engrave metal.
Price for these start at $2k out fo china but once again who knows what kind of support of any kind you can get with this.
A friend of mine has one that he paid $4000 for about 5 years ago that he uses to cut acrylic sheet but he is also a tech head that can fix most things. Looking at his I realise they can be quite dangers eg start a fire and damage eyesight - I suspect a licence to operate these would be needed in Australia. I will look up the legislation about this and get back to this thread about these.

To cut metal requires 1000's of W of laser power so it's not (currently) a realistic DIY operation.
Typically 5000 W of laser power is needed to cut 6mm thick Al.
A licence is definitely required for these machines.

FWIW SWMBO has a 1 year old "Scan and cut" made by the Brother printer people and sounds similar to what your wife has except it is an A3 size unit.

Its totally plug and play but SWMBO usually uses in a standard alone mode, scans in images, does some manipulation on the printer itself (it has a nice little LCD screen built in) and then cuts out without using a computer. It cuts most softer thinner materials like paper, cardboard, vinyl, thing leather and wood veneer. Sometimes SWMBO usually uses a computer to generate/modify/download images and then transfers the image to the cutter using a USB.

Support from Brother and the "Scan and cut" community is excellent. SWMBO uses it for quilting work, cutting out cloth labels and designs/patterns for the horse saddle blankets and apparel she makes and sells. She also cuts out lots of vinyl labels. I'm currently drinking from a cup that has a vinyl design she cut out for it. I can really recommend this machine.

[ian]

the suppliers admit its old (10 years) and its computer program is the let down in its design.

it's possible that your wife's unit can be "hacked" to run industry standard G-code. The issue would be -- does SWMBO have the patience to learn G-code?

[tonzeyd]

Laser cutters of decent reliable quality are not cost effective.

Also I wouldn't be surprised if laser cutters wouldn't do what you're after with vinyl ie it'll melt the vinyl and definitely won't give you as clean of an edge as a sharp cutter blade would. Also I'd imagine the fumes wouldn't be conducive to good lung well being.

Plus laser cutters on plywood generally need to be sanded back, as depending on how finely tuned your laser cutter is, it'll leave burn marks surrounding the cut, but if thats the "look" you're going for then this is a mute point. Personally i find it looks unfinished.

[BobL]

I looked up the Fed Govt regs on lasers.

As usual its complicated.

A licence may be required if

1. A laser product with an accessible emission level more than the accessible emission limit of a Class 3R laser product, as set out in AS/NZS 2211.1:2004 Safety of Laser Products, Part 1: Equipment Classification, Requirements and User’s Guide; o
2. The laser iproduces non-ionising radiation that could lead to a person being exposed to radiation levels in excess of the exposure limits mentioned in Schedule 1
3. The excess levels of radiation mentioned in paragraph (b) are readily accessible to persons:

• in the course of intended operations or procedures of the apparatus; or
• under a reasonably foreseeable abnormal event involving the apparatus; or
• under a reasonably foreseeable single element failure of the apparatus; or
• without the use of tools or other specialised equipment required to remove protective barriers or access panels.

All lasers imported into Australia should have a classification rating.
I doubt many of those cheap Chinese laser cutters have this and even if they did would you trust them?
Then, users of Lasers that operate outside the above conditions must obtain a licence.
Note that some Class 1M and 2M laser may also be require a licence because they don't meet 2) and 3) above.
If anyone is injured and you don't have the licence you can bet you will be taken to the financial cleaners.
Even if you have the licence and negligence can be established you will be in deep doo-doo.

In short you really need to know what you are doing.

I still remember when a bloke at work was using a power laser and a beam shield did not cover the beam fast enough and a small glint of laser light reflected from a shiny surface on the machine he was using into his eye. Unfortunately he was also not wearing safety glasses. There was faint pop and sizzle as he moved his head down and sideways to avoid the beam. Intense pain and a permanent "L" shaped track burnt onto both his retinas.

[Enfield Guy]

You mention wood veneers Bob when referring to the Brother machine. I gather you are speaking of .6mm. Does the machine do that in multiple passes, or one cut?

[BobL]

You mention wood veneers Bob when referring to the Brother machine. I gather you are speaking of .6mm. Does the machine do that in multiple passes, or one cut?

Sorry I've never tried it so I don't know. I suspect it will need at least 2 passes?