[hackerspaces] Choosing a laser cutter, 2021 edition

[Danilo]

Hi folks, happy new year!

About five years ago, this ML discussed where to best get a laser cutter.

At Coredump hackerspace we're also thinking about buying one. Here are our goals:

- At least 40x60cm working area, a bit larger would be better (but <100cm)
- Adjustable bed
- At least 50W
- Air assist
- Ruida controller
- Nice to have: Autofocus
- Budget: Ideally around 2500 CHF / 2800 USD total cost (including shipping, modifications, etc) but 3000 CHF / 3300 USD would probably work as well

The obvious choice nowadays would be the generic Chinese 50-60W Blue-White/Yellow-Black lasers by Orion Motor Tech (aka OMTECH), the bigger versions of the K40. I found a lot of good guides on YouTube[0][1] and they seem to be very affordable (as long as you're ready to do some fixing and mods yourself). However, Amazon doesn't really ship to Switzerland, and I haven't found many Ebay sellers that look serious and who ship to Switzerland. The ones I found are from non-EU eastern Europe or China, so I probably wouldn't have any advantage compared to directly ordering from China.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aChvqAA86QM
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHclUKSMzqY

That reminded me of the G.Weike recommendation that a few of you posted on here in the previous e-mail thread. Their machines do seem to look very solid[2], but maybe outside our budget? (It's a bit hard to find actual prices on Alibaba.)

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp4tMvWjSNs

That brings me to my five questions:

- In 2021, would you still recommend G.Weike, or is Orion a better deal?
- Do you have links to Ebay or Alibaba sellers that ship Orion lasers internationally and with whom you've made good experiences?
- Do you have a contact at G.Weike with whom you've made good experiences?
- Any other laser recommendations?

Cheers and have a safe 2021,
Danilo