What you can make with a Laser Cutter / Engraver!
CO2 lasers are becoming more affordable and are already one of the easiest digital fabrication tools to use. You can cut or engrave a wide variety of materials to make a very wide variety of parts, jigs and fixtures, tool holders, labels, arts and crafts, and a thousand other things. Laser cutters are so fast, precise and easy to use they make bringing your ideas to life much less work than with most other machines.
Click on or hover over images to see descriptions of these items that I've made with my laser cutter
My favorite thing about my 45 watt laser cutter is how fast and precise it cuts. It is common for a laser cut part to be within +/-0.003" of the perfect size. That's about the thickness of one human hair. Laser cutting is very easy because there are just three settings... 1. Material thickness, 2. Laser power and 3. Speed. Once you determine the best power and speed for a given material you can cut all day long with perfect results.
Thanks to the digital revolution you can now make parts and artwork in your home workshop for pennies that used to cost thousands of dollars each and several weeks to have made by machine shops. You can turn pieces of scrap metal, plastic or wood into precise parts that make up complex machines, signs, sculptures, artwork or any number of gadgets and gizmos that you can dream up. Your imagination is now the only limit to what you can make. Even if you don't want to dream up your own creations you can download thousands of plans and files that can be turned into real parts and pieces before your eyes with a simple download and the push of a button.
You will hear many old school craftsmen say, "laser machines take the craftsmanship out of scroll saw work". But if you ask them if they use power scroll saws they will say, "Of course! It would take too long to make a piece without power tools". They wouldn't think of an electric scroll saw or router as limiting their creativity at all. In fact, they would defend these tools as ways to unleash their creativity by taking the monotonous tasks out of the process and freeing up time to build whatever they can imagine. Old habits die hard but we are in a new world where digital fabrication tools often cost less than a table saw. Not to mention, many popular software options are free and well supported by growing communities of makers, like the Shop Hack's community, who are able and willing to help newcomers as much as we can. We are living in the future so it is time to embrace the future.
You will hear many old school craftsmen say, "laser machines take the craftsmanship out of scroll saw work". But if you ask them if they use power scroll saws they will say, "Of course! It would take too long to make a piece without power tools". They wouldn't think of an electric scroll saw or router as limiting their creativity at all. In fact, they would defend these tools as ways to unleash their creativity by taking the monotonous tasks out of the process and freeing up time to build whatever they can imagine. Old habits die hard but we are in a new world where digital fabrication tools often cost less than a table saw. Not to mention, many popular software options are free and well supported by growing communities of makers, like the Shop Hack's community, who are able and willing to help newcomers as much as we can. We are living in the future so it is time to embrace the future.