Laser Question

[Bob Horn]

Marc, I am in Jacksonville, where is this located? Maybe I could help in some way. Bob.

[haasmarc]

Thanks for the offer Bob. 

He lives in Palm Bay, which is quite a distance from you.

[TiVoPrince]

Generally
the bigger car rentals will do a one way SUV. Although having a 'frequent flyer' affinity card and using airport locations for pickup and dropoff are the critical elements. Appears to be a 'once in a lifetime' price point and a fine opportunity to become an instant player in the laser cut products industry.

My own dreams of the Port of Los Angeles Cascade Warehouse that would scale over eight in N-Scale turn to a laser cutter with a long table like this as it would be practically impossible to hand build (poor skills on my part) or dozens of unnecessary seams that would be incredibly time consuming and tedious to finish using a cutter limited to eleven inches. These elements are my current (lame) excuse for not moving forward on this project that would be a signifigant layout feature that could not be left off, pushed onto the backdrop or left off. Even though the traffic in 2015 would not support the effort but the recognition factor of Film and TV appearances by Signal Street means that I would substitute traffic from an earlier era for operations...

[Chris333]

I just read the ad in MR for the Micromark laser. Says you need CorelDRAW, I don't know how to use thst program.  Also says you need a 5 gallon bucket. So that probably means the is no cooler for the laser. You fill the bucket with icewater to keep it cool. This is just like the ones on ebay.

[peteski]

I just read the ad in MR for the Micromark laser. Says you need CorelDRAW

I don't know much about laser cutters but many vinyl cutters run off CoelDraw plugin.  Corel Draw is quite popular with the sign makers and embroiders as it is vector-based and cheaper than AI.  But I suspect that as long as the software you use can generate vector-based designs, you can import them to Corel Draw for cutting.

I have a CraftROBO cutter which also uses a Corel Draw plugin for cutting right from Corel Draw.

I had the exact opposite reaction when I saw the MicroMark unit - I have been using Corel Draw for years and I felt good knowing that I can use my skills for using the laser cutter.

[Chris333]

Oh I know. Just thinking what if I bought it and found it wouldn't work with Autocad.

[PGE_Modeller]

Oh I know. Just thinking what if I bought it and found it wouldn't work with Autocad.

Chris,

If the Micro-Mark laser won't communicate directly with AutoCAD, an easy solution is to import the AutoCAD file (DWG or DXF) into CorelDRAW (any version as far back as Version 9 at least).  Home and Student version of CorelDRAW X7 (the current version) is $130 list (less that $80 from Amazon).

Well down (about page 12 IIRC) in Layout Engineering reports, there are a couple of CorelDRAW renderings of my PGE Squamish Subdivision track plan.  The original drawing was done in AutoCAD LT 2000 and then the DWG file was imported into CorelDRAW X3 to get better artistic control over the final rendering.

Cheers,

[Chris333]

I basically did the same thing. Saved my drawing as dxf and e-mailed them to someone with Corel and a laser with perfect results.

But I've had it backfire and end up showing a drawing with tons of triangles that I never drew.

So for me to personally buy a laser I want it to work with CAD.


Back when I looked into it similar lasers were on ebay for around $700. Buy one and get a spare for parts (no joke)

[peteski]

I basically did the same thing. Saved my drawing as dxf and e-mailed them to someone with Corel and a laser with perfect results.

But I've had it backfire and end up showing a drawing with tons of triangles that I never drew.

So for me to personally buy a laser I want it to work with CAD.

I think you will have a hard time finding a hobby-grade or small business-grade laser which will interface directly with a CAD program. Most of those types of users use a graphic illustrating programs more often than real CAD programs.   BTW, according to Micro-Mark, educational versions of Corel are not compatible.  But still, you can find older Corel Draw on eBay for less than $40.  That is how I got my latest (version 12). IIRC, current version is X6 or 16. Silly marketers are mixing Roman and Arabic numbering system for version numbers. 

[JMaurer1]

You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!

[engineshop]

I just read the ad in MR for the Micromark laser. Says you need CorelDRAW, I don't know how to use thst program.  Also says you need a 5 gallon bucket. So that probably means the is no cooler for the laser. You fill the bucket with icewater to keep it cool. This is just like the ones on ebay.

I have a Full Spectrum Laser which is about the same price as Micromark. I use a $50 CorelDRAW version since it works great with the printing software that is necessary for the laser. It seems everybody I know with a laser, does not matter which manufacture, uses CorelDraw.
I also have a 5 gallon bucket but it is only filled with distilled water (Home Depot bucket labeled "Wasser"). I never had to cool down the water but I don't run the laser 8 hours a day. My water never heats up more than 1 degree after running it a few hours in my garage during 90 degree weather. If it would be a problem, I would drop some ice packs in the bucket.

[Chris333]

In some videos and reading I did they say you have to put ice in the bucket and that the water temp should be around 40 degrees. They say when the water gets warm the laser output decreases.  I myself have no idea, just been gathering info.

[peteski]

In some videos and reading I did they say you have to put ice in the bucket and that the water temp should be around 40 degrees. They say when the water gets warm the laser output decreases.  I myself have no idea, just been gathering info.

I would tend to believe what Roland said about the cooling water since, as the photo proves, he actually owns and uses one).   

[haasmarc]

CorelDraw is pretty easy to use.  I use it for designing circuit boards and control panel graphics and decals.  Using it for laser graphics feels like home.

[peteski]

CorelDraw is pretty easy to use.  I use it for designing circuit boards and control panel graphics and decals.  Using it for laser graphics feels like home.

Same here (except for the laser).  But it is quite different than any CAD program I played with.