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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Kwartzlab and Site3, maker spaces in Toronto area, have G. Weike lasers. These take a bit more setup but are cheap. And there is someone sort of local to talk to and iron things out with it. Find out more from their website: <a href="http://www.kwartzlab.ca/wiki/Laser_Cutter">http://www.kwartzlab.ca/wiki/Laser_Cutter</a>. The initial cost of these is fairly low, though they may burn out the laser more quickly than higher end systems. The kwartzlab one is 60W and is less than half the price of an Epilog of comparable specs. You can expect to replace the laser after about 1000 hours, and this part is a few hundred dollars. They needed to make a few fixes like replace the switches with better (higher current) ones.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>If you have deep pockets and want a turnkey system, then <a href="http://www.epiloglaser.com/">Epilog</a> makes good and reliable laser cutters. These range from 8k$-45k$. You can expect 4-5 years of professional use before having to replace the tube. That is upwards of 8000 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Generally, the current consensus from various maker spaces is the solid state lasers tend to be flakey and burn out very quickly. Possibly having to replace the tube after just a couple hundred hours, far shorter than the listed MTBF. Cheaper ones also tend to have crappier software as well, and the tool chain is very important.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>For cardboard and acrylic, a 30-60W should do fine, though you may need 60W to cut acrylic 3mm thick rather than just engrave it (others more expert can comment on this). Other things you’ll want to ensure is that you have power for it; you will probably need in excess of 50amps and 220V, depending on the model. If you are cutting anything other than cardboard, you may want to install external ventilation as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>You should also read up <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_cutting">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_cutting</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>-Matt<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> lab-bounces@artengine.ca [mailto:lab-bounces@artengine.ca] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Britta Evans-Fenton<br><b>Sent:</b> 2012.November.12 10:27<br><b>To:</b> Wesley Ellis<br><b>Cc:</b> Lab@artengine.ca<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Lab] Laser cutter advice?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>I like the Zing Laser which is what we have at Artengine, but I am bias. We got ours from Engravers Express.<br><br>Britta<br><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 2:34 PM, Wesley Ellis <<a href="mailto:tahnok@gmail.com" target="_blank">tahnok@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Hi folks,<br><br>I'm Wesley and I'm new around here. I stopped by once over the summer and i think I recognized a few faces at the mini make faire.<br><br>I'm working with the Adventures in Science and Engineering summer camp at UOttawa and they are thinking about purchasing a laser cutter. I think they are mostly looking to cut cardboard and some acrylic/plastic for more durable construction bits. <br><br>Do you folks have recommendations for models and vendors?<span style='color:#888888'><br><br clear=all><span class=hoenzb>Wesley Ellis</span><br><span class=hoenzb><a href="http://about.tahnok.me/" target="_blank">http://about.tahnok.me</a></span><br><br></span><br>_______________________________________________<br>Lab mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Lab@artengine.ca">Lab@artengine.ca</a><br><a href="http://artengine.ca/mailman/listinfo/lab" target="_blank">http://artengine.ca/mailman/listinfo/lab</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>