Hobby & Industrial CNC Laser Machines You Can Buy In 2023

Welcome to the STYLECNC Laser. Here is the best place to get your own laser machines. You can explore our best selections of the popular laser cutters, engravers, welders and cleaners, as well as compare features and costs.

What we can do is to make your buying process as easy as shopping a candy bar at the supermarket.

What you need is research the one or more of your options.

We know that choosing the right industrial laser machines for commercial use is much like choosing a car with add-ons. We also realize that sometimes you just want a small laser for hobby use, and a simple answer to your laser related questions.

We're here to help you address any of your needs regarding the laser machines, parts and accessories you intend to invest in your business.

If you are a newbie, learn the basics listed below before jumping into buying.

Definition

A CNC laser machine is a high-precision power tool capable of cutting, engraving, etching, marking, welding and cleaning for most types of materials. It uses the energy of the focused laser beam to act on the surface of an object with a CNC controller or a handheld laser gun to form a high-energy spot whose instantaneous high temperature will melt or vaporize the material, and then uses a computer to drive or manually move the laser head (gun) to move back and forth, left and right to finish the cuts and engravings of the pre-designed graphics, as well as the pre-planned welds and cleanings.

Types & Categories

The most common types of laser machines on the market can be divided into cutters, engravers, etchers, markers, welding machines and cleaning machines according to their processing capabilities, and etch type includes but are not limited to handheld, portable, gantry, CNC and robot. You can also define their categories as optical fiber, CO2, and UV laser machines based on various laser sources. Fiber lasers include markers and cutters. CO2 lasers include engravers, marking machines and cutting machines. UV lasers include marking systems and subsurface engraving machines.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Lasers make manufacturing more flexible, precise and data-driven: less energy consumption, fewer consumables (including molds, molds, masks, tools and supplements), less raw materials, and less pollution (chemical and noise).

Reduce Manufacturing Costs (low Energy Consumption and High Efficiency)

Laser machining can greatly reduce energy consumption and improve processing efficiency. Take cutting and welding as an example:

• Comparison between laser cutting and traditional CNC punching: Taking fiber laser as an example, its cutting speed is nearly 5 times that of traditional cutting speed, and the performance is 76% higher than that of mechanical cutting.

• Comparison between laser welding and traditional arc welding: The laser welding speed is 15 times that of traditional arc welding speed, and the performance is 90% higher than that of traditional welding.

Analyzing the reasons, from the point of view of energy transmission, laser can transmit energy and its focus, the spot size is very small, and the transmission efficiency is high, while the traditional processing method loses a lot of energy in the form of heat. In addition, the energy conversion efficiency and processing speed of fiber lasers are significantly better than CO2 lasers.

Get Rid of Consumable Costs

• Laser machining can save raw materials and reduce waste. In stamping, since the die needs to be fully supported to apply force, there must be sufficient clearance between patterns. However, laser processing is not limited and can be cut with the smallest spacing.

• Fewer weld flanges, less material used for the same strength. The size of the traditional resistance welding electrode pad is relatively large, and the laser beam can be easily reduced to make the flange (Flange) smaller (ie reduce component size/weight/cost), and the laser can also be directly welded to the butt joint, no flange (Flange) is required. Laser welding has high flexibility, only one side is required to enter, and welding can be carried out in a very narrow place, while electric welding needs to be close to both sides of the joint, and some welding needs to be drilled at the bottom.

No Physical Mold Required

Laser material processing does not require physical templates for cutting, marking, engraving. Traditional punch cutting must make molds for each specific type of workpiece. As long as the product design and model are updated, new molds need to be made, which takes a long time and wastes resources. The laser processing material is edited by data image, and then the digital pattern is directly converted into a five-way product through data control. No mold is required, and the physical template can be directly changed only by changing the digital pattern in the computer.

Process Quality Improvement

• Laser processing can be completed within a certain distance, which enables the workpiece to move in a certain free space without being limited by traditional machine tools. Laser processing has excellent flexibility, can process arbitrary graphics, and can cut pipes and other special-shaped materials. High flexibility also enables better 3D printing.

• The non-contact advantage of the laser also reduces tool wear. Since it is non-contact, it is not like traditional mechanical cutting because the hard contact between the cutting tool and the workpiece will cause wear, and the tool needs to be refurbished, which wastes materials.

• The laser cutting accuracy reaches 0.03mm, can be carried out on the sub-micron level, and the surface is smooth, and the surface burrs are within a few nanometers. The quality of laser welding is also high, and the aspect ratio is close to 10. Because the laser beam is thin, the speed is fast, and the energy is concentrated, the heat transmitted to the processed material is small, causing very little deformation of the material.

New Material Processing Solutions

• Lasers offer the ability to process new materials. As the electronics industry grows and more multilayer composites emerge, the ability to work within one layer without affecting other surrounding materials becomes increasingly important.

• At a single wavelength, laser beam can completely pass through one material and be absorbed by another, a typical example of which is LLO in the fabrication of flexible OLEDs.

• Laser cleaning is more environmentally friendly, with less chemical usage and less noise. Laser cleaning can clean metal surfaces by ionizing and evaporating substances attached to the metal, which can reduce the use of chemicals. In addition, laser rust removal is less noisy than traditional processing, which can reduce noise pollution.

Cons

• Since laser cutting is thermal cutting, the edge part is easy to stick during the multi-layer cutting process, which has a great influence on the cutting effect.

• Thermal cracks, porosity, spatter, undercut, collapse and pits are prone to occur in laser welding.

• Laser is easy to cause damage to eyes, users can choose to wear special protective glasses to reduce damage.

Costing & Pricing

Buying a laser machine is similar to shopping a Macbook or Mac Pro from the Apple Store. Different features will result in various costs, you need to choose the type and model according to the standard configuration, as well as upgrade with more laser power and table size options. In addition, various popular brands of laser machines have different selling prices due to their different building costs and technical service costs.

Overall the average cost of a laser machine on the market is around $5680. Small CO2 lasers for hobbies start at $2,980, UV lasers for ultra-fine marking and sub-surface engraving are worth at least $10,000, and fiber laser engravers for custom businesses range from $3,600 to $12,000, However, some high-end fiber laser cutting machines for metal fabrication is priced as high as more than $20,000. You can purchase a portable laser welding machine for metal joints online for $5,000, while some CNC and robotic types can be as expensive as $16,000. You can pick up a handheld laser cleaning machine for rust removal and paint stripping in store for $6,000.

You should compare features and costs to choose among a plethora of popular brands and manufacturers that match your needs and budget.