Whether you are a professional or a DIY enthusiast? Also, a SMALL BUSINESS OPERATOR wants to deliver better products with more advanced machines. This is where laser cutting machines come in. Laser engraving technology has revolutionized the quality of products, offering engraving accuracy and speed like never before.
Choosing the right machine is crucial to the success of your business. Whether you're looking for a portable laser cutter or a powerful marking machine, etc., one of the machines discussed in this post will work for you.
When purchasing a laser, you need to focus on the power of the machine, the type of laser, the engraving accuracy, the cutting speed, and more.

Uses of Laser Cutting Machines

Before discussing better laser cutters, let's understand the uses of laser engraving machines. You can use laser cutters not only for cutting but also for engraving. You can engrave a variety of precise and intricate designs on objects that add to the uniqueness of the product. Therefore, laser cutters are widely used to make personalized or one-of-a-kind gifts or products. It offers small businesses or DIY enthusiasts a wealth of creativity and product customization possibilities.

Top 4 Laser Cutting Machines for Small Businesses and Hobbies

Gweike G1 Laser Engraver

If you are looking for the best diode laser engraving machine for hobbies or DIY designs, the Gweike G1 could be a perfect choice. The machine's engraving accuracy, speed, and machine quality make it stand out from many other machines of its type. It is ideal for DIY hobbyists, designers as well as professionals.

Features:

1. Low price: The G1 is priced at only $399, making it affordable for almost anyone.
2. Large engraving area: the engraving area is 400*330mm, which can meet most of the tiny engraving items.
3. Adjustable Height: You can also use the riser to increase the height of the machine up to 81mm.

4. Easy to use: the machine supports Lightburn, allowing you to complete a variety of engraving designs quickly.
5. Long life: The entire frame of the G1 is made of metal, which greatly extends the machine's life. The metal body and internal parts have a service life of decades.

Gweike Cloud Pro CO2 laser cutter

The Gweike Pro is a CO2 laser cutter for small businesses. It offers a 55w laser that can quickly cut a wide range of materials. It can cut 25mm wood and 20mm acrylic in a single pass. In addition, the machine incorporates some intelligent designs. The excellent engraving accuracy makes it a great choice for small businesses looking to improve their business.

Features:

1. Increase productivity: the Gweike Pro has a maximum engraving speed of up to 600mm/s. It is able to intelligently recognize patterns in the engraving area with the help of a smart camera. The engraving speed can cater to more orders in the same amount of time.
2. Real-time preview: The Pro's camera supports real-time preview and intelligent image extraction. You can drag and drop the design onto the material you want to work on to see where the pattern will be engraved in real-time. This reduces material waste and ensures high-quality engraving results.
3. Bottom feeding design: This design allows you to engrave or cut materials of unlimited length. This allows you to meet the needs of a diverse market.
4. Cylindrical Engraving: With the rotary attachment attached, the Pro can engrave cylindrical objects, including baseball bats, cups, rings, bracelets and more. This design allows you to diversify the scope of your business.
5. Laser working area: With a processing size of 20.08" (510mm) * 11.8" (300mm), it can accommodate larger projects. This machine is ideal for many businesses that handle large-scale or bulk orders. The huge cutting area allows businesses to take on various orders.

G2 Fiber Laser Engraver

The Gweike G2 stands out from the crowd of machines. It has become the first choice for many DIY enthusiasts and small businesses, delivering an industrial-grade technology experience at an affordable price.

Features

1. Super fast: Thanks to the advanced industrial-grade vibrator laser technology, the Gweike G2 can engrave at up to 15,000mm/s. The amazing speed allows more orders to be completed quickly, greatly increasing productivity.
2. Portable: The compact handheld design of G2 allows you to use it anywhere, anytime, regardless of the object's position. With a total weight of 12 kg, you can move the G2 quickly.
3. Wide range of compatible materials: you can engrave a wide range of metal materials, such as aluminum, stainless steel, iron, copper, etc.
4. Real-time preview: Before engraving, you can preview your engraving design on your computer. This helps to prevent material wastage and ensures satisfactory engraving results.
5. Safe Design: The G2 has been designed with user safety in mind. The safety enclosure prevents the laser beam from escaping during the engraving process, and when used in conjunction with the complimentary safety goggles, sensitive eyes are doubly protected.
6. Rotary Attachment: The latest type of rotary parts can support engraving rings, baseball bats, champagne glasses, pens, and many other cylindrical objects.

Gweike RF metal laser cutter

The RF is one of the high-end desktop machines with many great features. It is compact and comes with a camera live preview that helps you preview the position and result of the engraving before you start engraving. The machine automatically adjusts the focal point's height according to the module's height to provide the optimum engraving distance.

This is an RF laser radio frequency cutting machine. Compared with CO2 machines, its biggest advantage is engraving metal. And the engraving precision is high and fast.

Features

1. Fast speed: The cutting speed of RF is 1200mm/s, which is about 2-3 times faster than CO2 laser cutter.
2. Ultra-high precision: RF's engraving precision is 0.001mm, so it can easily engrave clear patterns on objects like coins or keychains.

3. Long service life: RF tube has a service life of about 20,000h.
4. High precision: Machine supports a high resolution of 4,000 DPI and provides perfect 3D engraving.
5. High productivity: High laser power allows for very fast engraving of materials.
6. Wide engraving range: It can engrave most non-metallic materials and some metal materials.

Types of Laser Cutting Machines

Diode, CO2, and fiber laser cutting machines are the three most common types available. Below are the characteristics of each of them:

1. Diode Laser: This type of laser cutter is generally less expensive, currently selling for around $200-$1000. It is usually the first choice for home or hobbyists. It can quickly engrave a variety of intricate patterns, text, etc. The disadvantage is that it can't finish cutting the material quickly, and the laser power of a diode laser is usually less than 20w, so it's not suitable for fast cutting.
2. CO2 Laser Source: This is an ideal choice for professionals as well as small businesses. A CO2 laser cutter can support higher laser power to cut various materials easily. It is more expensive but still an affordable option.
3. Fiber laser: Ultra-high power fiber lasers have been the preferred choice of many sheet metal working industries. Desktop and handheld fiber laser cutting machines are also now available. However, fiber machines are very expensive, and beginners can consider starting with a small power fiber machine such as the Gweike G2.

Do you need help learning about laser cutter

It's easy, especially nowadays desktop and portable laser machines are very beginner friendly. You need to learn some basic operations, just like you use a mobile phone for the first time. You can quickly learn the operation by going through the user guide. And the laser cutting machines sold today are very smart, greatly reducing your difficulty in operating them.
Initially, you may also waste some materials due to wrong operations. But after a few days of familiarity, you can do 100% perfect work.

Things to consider when buying laser cutters

Laser Power

Laser power is an important indicator to check when buying a laser cutter. Laser power represents the output strength of the laser cutter. The higher the power, the thicker the cutting depth.
You need to note that laser and machine power are different, so please check them carefully.

Laser Spot

The laser spot is the primary information that tells you if the laser is suitable for engraving.
It is a measurement of the laser column size. The smaller the laser spot, the better the engraving. It ensures finer detail and excellent engraving results.
Remember, however, that laser spot measurement increases as optical power increases. For laser engraving, a smaller laser spot is preferred.

Speed

The speed at which your laser cutting machine works determines your productivity, with fiber laser sources generally being the fastest and diode the slowest.

Accuracy

Accuracy is a very important aspect of a laser cutter. You will only get the best results if the machine provides high accuracy. Check the motion and repetitive positioning accuracy before purchasing the machine. These are very important for laser engraving. If the accuracy is 1mm, the movement will be accurate to 1mm.
The accuracy should be as good as possible. Usually, the engraving accuracy should be less than 2mm, and the repositioning accuracy should be less than 3mm to get the best results. The less, the better.

Working area

The working area shows the maximum size of the objects with which the laser can work. If the size is larger, it can accommodate more objects. After buying and delivering the machine, beginners find that the working area or height is very small for their needs. Therefore, it is better to check it first.

Types of Laser Cutting Machines

The first thing you need to consider is the type of laser cutter. We have discussed three types of laser machines in this article. If you want to engrave non-metallic materials like wood, acrylic, marble, etc., you can choose either diode or CO2 lasers, but diode lasers are cheaper. For metal engraving, fiber lasers are the best but are more expensive.

Focusing

The laser is focused on the object for fast and excellent results. Beginners should purchase a machine with auto-focus or smart focus. This will greatly reduce your prep time when starting.

Software for creating laser cutting designs

Laser engraving and cutting machines require designs to be imported into the software. Once the design is imported, the machine will cut and engrave accordingly. The design contains information about each point the machine needs to make on the object.
It would help if you had special software and tools to help you create the graphics for the design. A wide range of software is available, and you can choose according to your expertise.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator needs no introduction. It is one of the masterpieces that Adobe has created so far. Whenever we talk about creating vector graphics, Adobe Illustrator is the first thing that comes to mind.
The possibilities are endless when using Adobe Illustrator. You can make almost anything you want and express your creativity.Adobe Illustrator's tools allow you to create vector graphics from scratch. You can create unique designs based on your choices and preferences. The vectors you draw in the software can be engraved by a laser machine.

Inkscape

Inkscape might be the right choice if you are looking for a free vector-based graphics tool or software. It is an open-source graphics editor that offers complete functionality without charging you a single cent.
Many users consider Inkscape a better choice because it is free and easier for beginners. Although using these tools requires prerequisites and knowledge, you can quickly learn everything.
With Inkscape, you can create incredible vector graphics, and it also supports 3D. It also supports 3D. You can use the software to create SVG files and then use it on an engraving machine.

Lightburn

Lightburn is an advanced, professional laser engraving and cutting software. It is compatible with various laser engraving machines used for personal and commercial purposes.
The software has advanced tools and setting options that give it an edge over others.
You can even start and pause the engraving if required, a special feature not available with various tools.
Lightburn is a paid tool, but you only have to pay once. Once you get the key, you can use the software for life.

LaserGRBL

LaserGRBL is a simple laser engraving and cutting software compatible with various laser machines. It is open source and completely free. Engraving machines that do not offer any native or special software are usually compatible with LaserGRBL.
LaserGRBL has no advanced features. You cannot create graphics from scratch and make special edits. It is very easy software to start, but you must rely on something other than advanced engraving and cutting. In addition, it is only available for Windows.

Gweike online

This is a free laser engraving and cutting tool. It is designed for Gweike machines users to enjoy all the features of this tool and engrave/cut anything they like using Gweike machines.

How to design for laser cutting

Download a free design from the Laser Projects website

You can get free designs or buy special laser engraving and cutting rights on many websites. You can obtain these laser designs, import them into your software, and get started.

Use software that creates designs from scratch

But if you want to create something unique, extraordinary, and attractive, you need to design it yourself. You can use various design tools and software and create designs from scratch.
However, if you want intricate engravings and special designs, it is recommended to use professional vector graphics software such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.

Necessary Laser Cutting Machine Accessories

Air Assist

Beginners usually overlook the air assist, although it is a must when purchasing a laser engraving and cutting machine.
Air assist helps to achieve a clean and deeper cut. You get a better cut because it removes debris from the laser path. Secondly, it protects the laser head and improves its life.

Rotary Attachment

By default, laser cutters can only engrave flat objects. However, if you want to engrave cylindrical objects such as rings, bracelets, baseball bats, champagne glasses, etc., you will need to get the rotary attachment.

Enclosure

There is no doubt that enclosure is very useful when you use a laser engraver. It does not allow smoke and debris to spread around the room.

Honeycomb panel

It accelerates the discharge of fumes. It keeps the object stable during engraving or cutting and ensures that the bottom of the material does not turn yellow.

Laser Cutting and Engraving Safety Precautions

Some safety measures and precautions need to be ensured when using a laser cutter.

Wear laser safety goggles

The laser cutter emits laser light, which is harmful to your eyes. Therefore, you must wear goggles when using the machine.
Remember that not all goggles can block these rays, so use suitable goggles designed for this purpose.

Filter Cabinet

The fumes produced when cutting and carving various materials are harmful. You have the option of venting it directly outside. If your office area does not have or is not near a window, then you need to purchase a filtration cabinet. It effectively filters out debris, fumes, or harmful substances produced during cutting.

Can you make money with a laser engraver

Yes, you can sell your products online or start a "laser engraving near me" service. With people looking for more and more personalized or one-of-a-kind products, creating various unique and attractive objects is possible.
Laser engraving and cutting is a business that is in high demand. You can start at home with a simple desktop laser engraver and cutter. With minimal investment, you can start a laser engraving business and earn substantial money.

Conclusion

Laser cutting and engraving offer endless possibilities for hobbyists and small businesses. The laser cutters and engravers listed above represent some of the best options, each with unique features and capabilities. Investing in a high-quality laser cutter can all significantly enhance your project.