I’m considering getting into laser engraving and was primarily looking at the JTech options but came across the Opt Lasers (PLHD3D-XT-50) which is only a 6W laser however this seems to be concentrated to a very fine point/spot due to the optics of the laser (sub 0.05mm resolution). Very new to lasers but here the trade off appears to be overall power to cut through materials with fewer passes vs. being able to get finer details/higher resolution rasterizing images, etc… or small details (smaller kerf of the laser).
As for safety the electronics appear to have various features implemented and it’s up to the user/customer to implement eye safety and ventilation which is no different then any other vendor solutions (for add-on lasers and not complete solutions with enclosures).
Anyone here have experience with the Opt Laser family of products and implementing to their Shapeoko’s? Or have any comments/feedback (good/bad) about Opt Lasers in general?
Main reason for laser:
- surface engraving (text, pictures, graphics, …)
- materials primarily wood but would experiment with others
- cut veneers for inlay work
- occasionally cut through materials (3mm to 6mm like plywood or thin stock)