Technical, Techniques, Hints, and Tips > Laser & Water-Jet Cutting
Laser cutters and similar
essex2visuvesi:
yep you need to add head of some kind.
They offer a proxxon one for €79 or their own for a not so reasonable €400
But theres also a 3d print and a Hot wire
works out pretty good if you want a versatile tool
Clive:
Hi
Just to mention that CorelDraw is excellent for 2D CAD, very quick to pick up and if the Stepcraft needs an offset line then CorelDraw has a contour function which effectively gives you the offset to any dimension you require. If you don't need the very latest version then it can be found for a very reasonable price. As a teacher I have access to a laser cutter, new 3D printer and a CNC router/mill (non-ferrous metals). The laser is amazingly accurate, often thought I could start a business if I could afford one, just got the 3D router now that's my favourite. I have looked at the Stepcraft unit myself for a home machine but have only held off as access to school machines is always available after about 5.30 each day. Bye the way if you ever want to go 3D then SolidWorks software is superb, we teach CorelDraw & SolidWorks to students from age 11.
Finally though from the research I did the Stepcraft looks to be the best value, even adding the Proxxon drill - good deals at the moment from Chronos Engineering - it still looks cheap.
Cheers
Clive
Time Bandit:
We had a lot of discussions about the stepcraft machines in germany.
A lot of people bought one since it was really cheap here and I also saw a machine running.
I would not buy one, since I own something bigger (selfbuild 300kg CNC Router with 1000x500 mm working area).
So if you just want to mill wood and plastic it will work. Not too exactly (the portal is just not stiff enough). But forget about metal, it's simply not working because of the stiffness of the machine.
There are also some pretty strange design failures, which I as an mechanical engineer will never understand.
Biggest problem is IMHO the Proxxon. It's not intended for milling and it breaks down very fast. The HF spindle from Stepcraft is too expensive. Other alternatives are not available since everthing else is too heavy for the Z-Axis.
You could build a spindle by yourself (brushless motor...)
Biggest plus is the service from Stepcraft, but I´m not sure if it will be so good if in English instead of German.
I´m also not so sure if the software delivered with the machine will work in English, but it's heavily overpriced anyways.
In my opinion the Chinese (e.g. 6030 routers with HF spindle) offer more value for their price.
The machines are much stiffer and you'll get a real HF spindle for the same price as the Stepcraft with a Proxxon.
But you have to get into the topic much deeper, since you have to do a lot of things by yourself.
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