Today, we will help you by making a choice between all the different laser-cutting machines on the market, what they are used for, and why they are useful in the miniature world.
By the way, have you seen the fairy houses that I made already from these laser-cut kits? I have many very positive reactions to them and I'm so proud. Because after all, it is all about how you finish them, right?
Maybe even nicer than 3D printing, but that's just in my opinion.
Anyway, enough about me, let's dive deeper into the topic and into the reviews!
Updated august 23
But First, what is a laser cutter machine used for?
Laser cutting is defined to be a technology that uses a beam of light referred to as a Laser to produce very fine cuts via vaporization of the material that the laser is focused on.
Its initial applications were seen in the industrial field, but recent advances in technology have seen it get used in hospitals, architectural tasks, small enterprises, and schools.
There is a difference between laser engraving machines and laser cutter machines.
- a laser engraving machine doesn't cut through wood completely, but creates light marks by using less power
- a laser cutter machine, however, cuts through many materials and therefore needs high-power lasers.
There are machines that do both, so I decided to review 5 of them. ( I suspect that a machine like that was used to cut and engrave my book-nook kit. )
How does a laser cutter work?
A laser cutter simply works by focusing a very strong beam of light using optics and a “Computer Numerical Control (CNC)” module on the material requiring cutting.
Sometimes a motion control module is incorporated to make the cutting of pattern-like and complicated cuts on a given material possible.
The material that is lasered either melts away, vaporizes, or gets blown by the use of a stream of pressurized air (Oberg Industries, n.d.). The above methods leave a fine cut noticeable by its high-quality edges (Thomas, 2012).
To understand how this technology works, we first need to understand how the laser is generated. It is generated via the stimulation of a lasing material, often using electrical lamps or, more rarely, an electrical discharger.
The lasing material can be a solid, gas, semiconductor, or even a liquid that disperses light in all directions.
This material is stimulated at increasing levels until the produced light gains sufficient energy to bounce off the enclosure compartment as a ray of monochromatic light.
Inside the enclosure compartment, there is a partial mirror that serves the purpose of bouncing the light coming from the lasing material. The escaping ray of light is directed to the material requiring cutting via fiber optic or even special mirrors.
Why would miniaturists use a laser cutter?
In the miniature world, laser cutters are mostly used for the precise cutting of DIY dollhouse kits and wooden 3D puzzles.
As the ones from Robotime, for example the book nook called Sakura Densya.
This way, you can assemble these quite easily!
Let's head over to the reviews!
This blog post contains affiliate links and images from Amazon and AliExpress, no extra charges for you.
Laser cutter machine number 1: ATOMSTACK A5 M30 CNC Laser
What is the Atomstack A5?
This is a high-performance powerful laser cutting machine. The details:
- The engraving area is 410 millimeters on the X-axis and 400 mm on the Y-axis.
- The device has an acrylic cover surrounding the laser module
- A power supply that takes a 100 to 200 VAC is included and the output is 12V 5A ( 5.5W laser output for the US )
- The software is LaserGRBL and LightBurn, and it runs on Windows XP, 7, 8, 10,, and MacOS operating systems. Supported engraving file-formats including NC, JPG, PNG, DXP, etc.
- The maximum speed goes up to 3000mm/min.
- It has a class 4 laser module, 5W of output power
- 360-degree eye protective shield filtering 97% UV.
- item weight = 11.88 pounds
- item dimensions = 23.6 x 22.4 x 10.6 inches
Below is a good video on how to assemble, configure, and how too work with this device:
On AliExpress.
Or on Amazon.
(you can compare prices)
- the unique laser cover helps you filter out the diffused light from the laser spot. ( but I would advise you to still wear eye protection! )
- one of the most budget-friendly laser cutting machines out there
- able to engrave and cut a lot of materials like: thick wood, acrylic, rubber, plywood, PCB board and bamboo. It even engraves on stainless steel and ceramic materials with ease.
- no goggles are needed anymore, because off the eye-protective shield
- quick to assemble