Dremel personal laser cutter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 06:02:51 pm
content: Last time I used something like this was to have some plexiglass cut at the local makerspace. They saved me HOURS of work and every piece was perfectly square with smooth edges. I can't justify buying one though because it wouldn't get used too much.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 02:23:27 pm
content: Their pricesetting of $5k is way out of the hobbieist league.I wonder when they are going to sell their drills for > $2500

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 09:39:24 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on May 29, 2018, 02:23:27 pmFrom the video I got that the base introductory price was $5000, with an additional $2000 for the output gas filter, and an additional $1000 for post introduction regular pricing.You could have 14 to 16 K40's for that price and have them all running in parallel for maximum production. Maybe with an army of slave children feeding them in sweat-shop style.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 07:44:46 am
content: Perhaps unfair to compare with the K40 , this should be way better but I really wonder who is going to buy thisIn that price segment you have many A-brand machines some already 10+ years on the market with proven track record.Those companies also have many more customer specific options like higher wattage laser, larger cutting surface etc.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 08:25:09 am
content: The K40 is the perfect laser for EEVBlog members. For about the price of the laser and PSU alone, you also get some reasonably serviceable mechanical parts, a sturdy metal enclosure and electronics that need to be binned and replaced.

author: CopperCone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 04:41:49 pm
content: Despite being rather impractical due to high blade usage, i was rather impressed by the construction of the dremel sawmax ultra with its metal base. It is also capable of cutgrinding shit that would explode if used on a regular table saw.I am not that impressed with their dremel product it seems that if you use it for aluminum milling as a die grinder it can start to have ridiculous vibrations.5000 dollars is alot to cut material you can cut with many other tools. I gues if you are a neat freak.I dont like using plastics for electronics because the emi performance is always degraded unless you use a plastic shell over a metal enclosure but thats like 3d printer stuff.What exactly are these used for in the electronics industry anyway?

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 06:42:18 pm
content: Quote from: CopperCone on May 30, 2018, 04:41:49 pmLaser cutting is super fast and easy compared to other methods. There's effectively no cutting force, so gravity is generally all the workholding you need--that means crazy outlines and delicate shapes are as easy as rectangles are. You can also do thin films that can't be milled, and you can do raster engraving on surfaces.We have an Epilog Helix at work, and some of the things we use it for are:- Engraving anodized aluminum parts- Cutting acrylic panels for assembly fit checks (way faster than machining or sending out for waterjet)- Small jigs and templates out of acrylic or chipboard- Cutting cardboard and foam for oddball packaging- Occasional kapton stencils for small prototype boards

author: CopperCone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 07:12:18 pm
content: Quote from: ajb on May 30, 2018, 06:42:18 pmAh kapton stencils I forgot about them, only remembered stainless , which would probably require a beast of a laser.Yea I guess it seems like it would be pretty useful for the maintenance department in a factory to own, to make little doodads and stuff to make assembly easier. More then just EE use. I looked at the dremel marketing and the ease of use seems like it could allow low levelish management to kinda make alot of on the fly functional stuff without bugging more sophisticated departments busy with design.I am also thinking you can glue together sandwiches made out of cut clear plastic to make very robust stands that have high precision that would require filing wood to make otherwise with the same skill level.

author: julianhigginson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2018, 02:28:02 pm
content: laser cutters are heaps of fun. you can get lots of interesting materials to cut and etch (trotec in particular have some really cool things)and there's a lot you can do.I did up some signage for my wife's office, using a sheet of 2 ply acrylic.. top layer really thin "brushed metal" look acrylic and 2nd layer black, which engraves to make really nice signage.I've seen a guy doing lots of cool things with standard plywood, cutting slightly varying shapes and stacking them.front panel designs for prototypes are very quick and easy to do, too.unfortunately the kind of laser that might be able to etch and cut a PCB out of copper clad PCB sheets isn't very available (and the gas extraction and filtering would probably be pretty heavy duty) because I'd love to be able to do that for small simple prototypes...

author: zitt
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2018, 09:48:00 pm
content: As a backer for Glowforge... this product is an obvious copy as was the Muse.That said; their price isn't unreasonable. BUT; they seemed to have walked away from the client server model Glowforge couldn't seem to master.I dropped out of GF's pre-order because they couldn't ship their damn machine after numerous failed promises / deadlines.I'm glad I got my money out of their product line.This is a nice piece of kit... one I'm glad is making an in-roads into the consumer space.As a Universal Laser owner... and now an Epliog 24TT... I'm a professional "tool" snob... so if Dremel can make this mainstream and help drive down the costs of lasers for consumers ... I'm all for it.