How To Choose a Laser Cutter, Engraver or Maker

STEP 1 – Determine Required Technology

Technologies Summarized

CO₂ LASERS: process the widest variety of non-metal applications

• Cut & Engrave: wood, acrylic, leather, fabric, stone, glass, etc.
• Engrave: powder-coated tumblers, anodized aluminum, laser-able blanks, glass, stone, and more.
• General Use: most common technology for general use, non-metal applications
• Sheet Metal Cutting: Boss HP Series can cut stainless and carbon steel sheets

UV LASERS: permanently mark most metals, non-metals, and organics

• Highest Resolution: spot size is 30x smaller than a CO₂ (3x smaller than a fiber)
• Lowest Thermal Impact: perfect for heat-sensitive applications
• Transparent Materials: unlike a fiber, it can process transparent materials

FIBER MARKERS: permanently mark or deeply engrave metals and non-organics

• Deep Designs: fiber markers can be used for deep metal engravings
• High Resolution: spot size is 10x smaller than CO₂
• Firearms: meets FFL requirements for engraving identification numbers

FIBER CUTTERS: designed for cutting metals

• Metal Cutting: steel, aluminum, brass, titanium, and more, sheet, plate and pipe
• Flexibility: available in many formats and can be customized for your needs

Technology Highlights

CO₂ Lasers

Benefits:

Versatility: Cuts and engraves the broadest range of materials

• Cut & Engrave: wood, acrylic, leather, rubber, fabric, cardboard, foam, and more
• Engrave: powder-coated tumblers, anodized aluminum, and other laser-able items
• PiBurn Compatible: use the industry-standard PiBurn rotary on all Boss CO2 lasers

Economy: CO2 lasers are less expensive than fiber or UV lasers for engraving non-metals.

Limitations:

Metals: CO₂ lasers do not efficiently process metals

• No Engraving: cannot directly engrave or permanently mark metals
  • Marking spray can be used for a durable mark
• Metal Cutting: cannot cut most metals; steel sheet is limited to HP Series
  • HP Series can cut up to 16ga stainless steel
  • with Iradion upgrade, the 5598 can cut 14ga stainless

Spot Size: when correctly aligned, CO₂ lasers have excellent resolution

• vs. Other Lasers: for ultra-high resolution applications, consider a UV or fiber
  • UV Laser spot size is 30x smaller
  • Fiber marker spot size is 10x smaller
• Heat Affected Zone (HAZ): larger than a UV or Fiber laser, increasing thermal impact.

CO₂ Power:

Boss commercial grade CO₂ laser cutters/engravers are available with power options from 70 to 250 watts. 70 watts is enough power to cut 3/8″ wood and acrylic and our 250 watt HP-5598 can cut 1″ wood, acrylic, and 14ga stainless steel. Higher power not only allows for thicker cuts, but also speeds up cutting of thinner materials and engraving.

CO₂ Bed Size:

Our CO2 lasers are available from an enclosed 16″ x 30″ to an open platform 55″ x 98.” All enclosed LS and HP series machines have a 4-way pass-through, which allows longer items to be processed.

Fiber Laser Markers

Benefits:

Permanent Marking—on stainless & carbon steels, aluminum, brass, copper, gold, silver, nylon, acrylic (non-transparent), and more. Great for manufacturer identifiers like serial numbers, MPNs, UPCs, logos, detailed designs, and photoengraving.

Metal Engraving—Only fiber machines can engrave metals deeply, making them ideal for serial numbers that cannot be scraped or sanded off. While UV lasers also “mark” metals, they cannot engrave to the depth of a fiber.

Firearms: Fiber laser markers can engrave FFL-compliant identifiers into metal gun parts. They can also deeply engrave stippling, logos, or designs into metal & composite gun parts.

Limitations:

Cutting: Fiber laser markers do not cut.

Organics: Fiber laser markers do not process organics.

Transparent Materials—The wavelength of a fiber laser prevents its beam’s energy from being absorbed by glass or transparent acrylics, so these cannot be processed.

Fiber Marker Power:

Boss commercial grade fiber laser markers are available with power options from 20-100 watts. Higher power machines can deliver faster engraving and larger work areas. It is always better to buy a step up in power than to choose the power you need today. This will help guard against needing to upgrade as your requirements change.

Fiber Marker Work Area:

FM Series fiber laser markers have a standard work area of 110mm x 110mm (4.33″ x 4.33″). Their open platforms allow oversize items to be permanently marked with ease. Work areas of 200mm x 200mm and 300mm x 300mm (requires 30 watts or more) are also available.

UV LASERS

Benefits:

Versatility: Permanently mark the broadest range of metals, non-metals, and organics

Spot Size: A Boss UV laser’s spot size is 30x smaller than a CO₂ (3x smaller than a fiber)

• Highest Resolution: serial numbers, UPCs, and more on most metals, non-metals, and organics
• Lowest Thermal Impact: perfect for heat-sensitive applications, like electronics and medical implants

Transparent Materials: unlike a fiber laser, a UV’s wavelength is efficiently absorbed by transparent materials

Limitations:

Cutting: UV laser markers do not cut

Engraving: UV lasers can permanently mark almost anything; for deep metal engraving or firearm, consider a fiber marker

Fiber Laser CUTTERS

Benefits:

Metal Cutting: fiber cutters are designed to cut metals up to 2″ steel with 30kW

Versatility: available with exchange platform and auto material handler

• Exchange Platform: set up the next job on the exchange for efficient metal-cutting
• Auto-Loader: process a stack of materials for continuous production
• Pipe Cutting: cut round or square pipes with a laser pipe cutter
• Open-Platform or Enclosed: choose the one best for you

Limitations:

Non-Metals: Fiber laser cutters do not cut acrylic, wood, organics, or any non-metals

Engraving: Fiber cutters do not engrave